The selection of podcasts is colourful and now very large. From news to comedy to finance, there is something for every taste. But a maths podcast? Yes! The podcast "Eigenraum" by Prof Dr Thomas Kahle from the Institute of Algebra and Geometry at the University of Magdeburg is all about mathematics and its stories. The idea for it came about during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. "I initially started the equally mathematical podcast "Pi is exactly 3" with my colleague at the time, Petra Schwer. It was a kind of experiment and because I listen to a lot of podcasts myself," he says. After the end of "Pi is exactly 3" in 2022, the maths professor started his own podcast "Eigenraum".
"The podcast imparts knowledge, but has no educational mission. I'm always in contact with maths in my day-to-day work and I keep my eyes open for things that I find curious or interesting," he explains. He likes to draw inspiration from social media or publications. His list of possible topic ideas is now very long. The episodes published so far have covered topics such as Bulgarian solitaire, infinite sums and empirical coin toss research, with Prof Claudia Frick from the Cologne University of Applied Sciences as a guest. "I found out from Claudia Frick, a professor from Cologne, about a publication in which people tossed a coin half a million times and filmed it all. The two of us then told the story in the podcast."
Prof Thomas Kahle defines the target group for his podcast quite broadly: "I always say that the podcast is aimed at anyone who says "oh, I was always good at maths" or that I was interested in maths - people who just want to hear a few maths stories". Unfortunately, "Eigenraum" is not suitable as a tutoring tool, as it does not impart enough knowledge relevant to school. "To do well in maths lessons, you certainly need a lot of practice, which of course you don't get here either. Maybe you can listen to the "Eigenraum" to relax or to get new motivation and ideas? I know from feedback that some maths teachers like to listen to Eigenraum.
It was there, at school, that the mathematician discovered his passion for the natural sciences, which has continued beyond his studies: "I once studied physics, a natural science, but then during my doctorate I came to maths because it seemed even clearer to me."
At the University of Magdeburg, Prof. Thomas Kahle teaches lectures in algebra on the mathematics degree programme and has also been teaching mathematics for the computer science degree programme for several years. He would recommend studying maths to anyone who "enjoys logical thinking, puzzles, board games and so on. Studying maths allows you to pursue completely abstract things as well as learn really practical things that underlie technology and progress in modern society".