Numberphile
Numberphile is Brady Haran’s maths video and podcast project, where mathematicians share curious numbers, playful puzzles and ideas from their research.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Numberphile’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Numberphile claims this page.
Latest
Numberphile’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
YouTube
YouTubeOverview
- Started
- 2011
- Creator and producer
- Brady Haran
- Format
- Maths videos and long-form interviews
- Early signature
- Experts explaining ideas on brown paper
- Podcast launched
- 2018
Mini bio
How it started.
Brady Haran launched Numberphile in 2011 after working as a BBC video journalist. Early videos often centred on a single number. The project grew into conversations about mathematical ideas, with experts drawing explanations on brown paper while Haran asked questions from behind the camera.
Videos that travelled.
The 2014 video about 1 + 2 + 3 + ... and -1/12 drew attention beyond the channel, including coverage in The New York Times. It also prompted debate about divergent series: the ordinary sum does not converge to -1/12. The Scientific Way to Cut a Cake and Mile of Pi show another side of the project, making mathematical ideas tangible with cake and an enormous roll of paper.
The people behind the numbers.
A sister podcast began in 2018, giving Haran more room to explore mathematicians’ lives and careers. Numberphile2 carries extra footage. The official team credits Pete McPartlan for most animations and Alan Stewart for music.
A shared project.
Haran received the 2024 Christopher Zeeman Medal for communicating mathematics, with Numberphile central to the citation. In his response, he stressed the contributions of collaborators and supporters. The medal was presented at the Royal Society in May 2025.
Creditschronological, newest first
Videos
- 2014Mile of PiNumberphile production; film by Brady Haran, presented by Matt Parker; music by Alan Stewart
- 2014The Scientific Way to Cut a CakeNumberphile video featuring Alex Bellos
- 2014ASTOUNDING: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + ... = -1/12Numberphile video featuring Tony Padilla and Ed Copeland
Podcast
- 2018The Numberphile PodcastInterview series hosted by Brady Haran
Awards
Quotes
It really is impossible to list everyone who has contributed to Numberphile.Brady Haran, The Zeeman Medal
Writing in September 2024 after receiving the award, Haran thanked the many people involved in Numberphile.
Trivia
- Mile of Pi put a million digits of pi on one piece of paper measuring 1.05 miles.
- CGP Grey was among the people credited with unrolling the Mile of Pi paper on a runway.
- Numberphile2 is the official home for extra footage.
- Haran singled out artist, animator and editor Pete McPartlan in his response to the Zeeman Medal.
Find Numberphile
Follow the videos, listen to the interviews and explore the extra footage.
Are you Numberphile?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.