Kickstarting a season of monthly Relatively Primes, a great math podcast

Samuel writes, "The mathematics podcast Relatively Prime (previously) is currently running a Kickstarter to fund a third season, this time with monthly episode. The episodes will features stories about how network theory can help better understand cancer, how a marijuana dispensary license lottery is designed, and the act of mathematical vandalism which liberated algebra from the shackles of arithmetic. — Read the rest

Kickstarter from the Relatively Prime folks

Samuel sez, "ACMEScience.com is the home of many math and science podcasts, including the mathematical story series Relatively Prime. It has been run for the past four years in the spare time between jobs, and with cheap or second-hand equipment. Now ACMEScience wants to change its lot and turn itself into a full-time operation for the next year, and it plans to do this through its new Kickstarter project. — Read the rest

Chinook: the story of the computer that beat checkers

Last month, I blogged about Relatively Prime, a beautifully produced, crowdfunded free series of math podcasts. I just listened to the episode on Chinook (MP3), the program that became the world champion of checkers.

Chinook's story is a bittersweet and moving tale, a modern account of John Henry and the steam-drill, though this version is told from the point of view of the machine and its maker, Jonathan Schaeffer, a University of Alberta scientist who led the Chinook team. — Read the rest

High quality math audio programs from a successful Kickstarter

Peter sez, "Samuel Hansen completed a successful Kickstarter
project and as a result has created eight high-quality audio
documentaries featuring in-depth stories about the world of
mathematics. Samuel describes them: 'While each episode
revolves around a single theme, the themes themselves vary widely
and include a checkers playing computer, new tools for your
mathematical toolbox, and things that were flat out unexpected. — Read the rest