Math Therapy

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Season 3 starts April 8th, and for the next 10 weeks Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, will be exploring the relationship between math and the media with a diverse range of guests.   Subscribe now!Follow Vanessa @themathguru on Instagram or TwitterMath Therapy is also on Twitter: @maththerapyTranscript for this episode can be found at www.maththerapypodcast.com

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)We're back!!  Well, we'll be back for real April 8th when Season 3 of Math Therapy officially launches.   To get in the zone, today Vanessa is sharing a few short stories we received from some teachers who are determined to be part of the education solution after their own brushes with math trauma.If any of these stories resonated with you, let Vanessa know @themathguru on Instagram or Twitter, and follow our brand new Twitter account @maththerapy!If you have a story you want us to consider for future mailbag episodes, here are instructions:You can record with your phone's voice note app1-2 minutes longRecommended: write your story down and read it outSpeak clearly & record in a quiet space (no background noise)Listen back to your recording before sending to make sure it's not noisy or muffledEmail it to vanessa at themathguru dot ca with your name and locationStay tuned to the feed and you might hear your story!Transcript for this episode can be found at www.maththerapypodcast.com

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)It’s a Math Therapy holiday miracle!!  After bawling her eyes out watching the groundbreaking Netflix Christmas movie Jingle Jangle and raving about it to literally everyone in earshot, Vanessa had the most festive chat in the history of the podcast with the film’s creators!  Writer/director David E. Talbert & producer Lyn Sisson-Talbert discuss representation on screen and why they chose to make math such an integral (didn’t you miss the math puns?!) element to this magical story.Connect with the film and it’s creators:Lyn: @LynSissonTalbert (Instagram) and @lyntalbert (Twitter)David: @DavidEtalbert (Instagram & Twitter)@jinglejanglenetflixfilm (Instagram) and #JingleJangle (Twitter)@netflix (Instagram & Twitter)And find Vanessa @themathguru on all socials.  Happy holidays and stay tuned for Season 3 of Math Therapy coming in 2021!

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)This season of Math Therapy might be over, but not before Vanessa meets her own personal mathematical hero, Canada’s very own Dr. John Mighton. Brace yourself for a season finale filled with joy, laughter, and tears (shockingly, NOT Vanessa’s) as Vanessa and Dr. Mighton dig deep into the way in which math, the most divisive subject of all, could actually be the key to achieving social & systemic equity if we only knew how to help teachers and students unlock its powers, once and for all. Spoiler: you’re going to want to have kleenex nearby for this one!About JohnDr. John Mighton is a playwright turned mathematician and author who founded JUMP Math as a charity in 2001. His work in fostering numeracy and in building children's self-confidence through success in math has been widely recognized. He has been named a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, an Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Canada, an Ashoka Fellow, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and has received six honorary doctorates. John is also the recipient of the 10th Annual Egerton Ryerson Award for Dedication to Public Education.Follow John on Twitter @johnmightonFollow JUMP Math on Twitter @jump_math and Instagram @jump_mathToday’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/johnmightonReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)This week Vanessa goes out on a limb and does something she’s never done before on the pod: she talks to real, actual children (and their mom, of course)! Despite her rocky relationship with math growing up, Tamara Rebick chats with Vanessa about her determination to show her two daughters that math ability isn’t genetic, and that anyone - even MOMs, can do math. Her two kids Eden and Nomie also share their very different feelings about math class, math teachers, and well, math in general!About TamaraTamara is Founder and Chief Experience Officer of CORIPHERY Holistic Consulting Solutions, a boutique consulting firm that promotes respectful disruption in organizational culture and systems by challenging the status quo with audacious authenticity.  Tamara is an eternal optimist, a community catalyst, a night owl and most importantly, mom and role model to her two daughters, Eden & Nomie.Follow Tamara / Coriphery on Instagram @coriphery and twitter @CORIPHERYcanadaAnd follow Eden’s baking business on Instagram @obsessed_cupcakesbyeden (which definitely requires a lot of math!)Today’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/tamararebickReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Ever wonder what it would be like if your math teacher was like, the editor of TMZ and like, if your textbook was filled with juicy goss about all of those seemingly-boring-actually-scandalous mathematicians that plagued your high school existence? Today Vanessa talks to Sunil Singh about how different our relationship to math would be if we humanized mathematics through storytelling, and - he spills the TEA, bigtime!About SunilSunil Singh was a high school math and physics teacher for 19 years and has taught every grade level in places from Canada to Switzerland.  He is the author of Pi of Life: The Hidden Happiness of Mathematics and Math Recess: Playful Learning in an Age of Disruption. He is also a co-editor at Q.E.D., a very popular blog for "disruptive" math writing, and was also a regular writer for The New York Times Numberplay section.Follow Sunil on Twitter @MathgardenToday’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/sunilsinghReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)You’d think by 2020 we’d finally be done with the archaic views society has traditionally held on women and math ... um, not quite.  Today Vanessa chats with Feminist Book Club founder Renee Powers about the different ways that boys and girls perceive mathematical intelligence, why women get a bad rep when it comes to reading maps, and how feeling confident with math might actually be the secret to tackling economic equality.About ReneeRenee M. Powers is a feminist speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur who founded Feminist Book Club in 2018, named one of the best book subscription boxes by Oprah Magazine, Shondaland, Glamour, and Forbes. As a PhDropout, she leans on her academic training in feminist theory to create and cultivate this monthly subscription box and podcast. She lives, thrives, and topples the patriarchy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Learn more about Feminist Book Club on Instagram @feministbookclubbox and feministbookclub.com, and find Renee at reneempowers.com.Today’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/reneepowersReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Have you ever had the feeling that you might have peaked too early? Meet Mike: a math-dropout-turned-software-cloud-architect. He chats with Vanessa about faking it til’ you make it, learning that it’s ok to admit you don’t know everything, and that #selflove can sometimes be way harder than #SOHCAHTOA.About MikeMike is a big phony who is somehow able to achieve all of his dreams and is waiting for it all to come crashing down.  Is it luck?  Is he just so innocently charming that you can't help but give him a shot?  Is the bar for his dreams shockingly low?  All of the above.  He didn't pass grade 12 math and yet he can still afford to pay his rent.  Mike is a Cloud Consultant working at one of the coolest tech companies in the world.  How is that even possible?!Today’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/mikesReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Welcome to our most intense (and successful!) math therapy session yet!  Has your inability to fit into that mythical “math person” category haunted you for your entire life?  Today Vanessa talks to Tamica Marcano about how being labelled ADHD led to mega feelings of inadequacy, especially when it comes to math, and they discover what’s truly possible when we leap out of the boxes we once forced ourselves into. Ready to hear math therapy legit transform Tamica’s life? Let’s do this!About TamicaFollow Tamica on Instagram @tamicatoutlemonde and Twitter @TamicaMarcanoToday’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/tamicamarcanoReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Ever dream of quitting your job and starting over again? Today Vanessa talks to Jill Waddell, a nutritionist who decided to finally face her fear of math to become a friggin POWER ENGINEER! AT 40!! Crazy, right?! From crying in the bathroom, to melting down in front of her husband, to doing everything in her power to keep her eye on the prize - this episode has it all so BUCKLE UP KIDS.About JillAt the age of 40, with three children at home and following a lengthy career in the fitness and nutrition field, Jill did a complete 180. She dove in head first to the world of Power Engineering, spending countless hours practicing math, seeking out her daughters high school math tutor for help, watching YouTube videos, and shedding more than a few tears!  With her newfound confidence in math and herself, Jill wants to play a big role in the power generation industry in New Brunswick.Follow Jill on Instagram @theunstoppablemama.Today’s show notes & links: themathguru.ca/maththerapy/jillwaddellReach Vanessa on all socials: @themathguru