This post is a hub for videos and podcasts which relate to my recent surprise birthday present - an aerobatic flight at Sywell Aerodrome. I discuss the flight in detail with Tim in the latest Unmade Podcast (episode 181) - which can be found in all the usual places, including on the web , Apple , Spotify , and YouTube . The YouTube version (embedded below) includes some footage from the flight…
Some people are probably aware I have a fascination with aviation (and plane crashes). With that in mind, I’ve started a podcast with my long-time friend Hoffers - who just happens to be a commercial pilot with 15,000+ hours under his belt. It’s called Runway 23 and the first episode has been published… here are some key links… Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runway-23/id1896917264…
Last weekend I hiked up Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak. I was part of a team fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy UK, and if you’d like to make a donation to this worthy cause then here’s a link . The Scottish mountain, topping out at 1345m, is probably a modest challenge for regular walkers. But for me it was a cold, hard slog. However I struggled on, motivated by a small green bag stowed at the…
Incredibly honoured that the name “Bradyharan” has been chosen for an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Artist’s impression of 46925 Bradyharan (Pete McPartlan) The name was approved by the International Astronomical Union and announced in this recent bulletin . I’ve made a video all about it . After a lonely billion years orbiting the sun, the asteroid was discovered in 1998 by…
Just a short post to mark the passing of my dad, Peter Haran. Peter died on February 10, 2025, the day before his 77th birthday. I won’t write his biography here - plenty about his extraordinary life can be found from other sources (see below). But I was very proud of him and grateful for the time we had together. We travelled to Vietnam in 2014 and made some videos about Peter’s experiences in…
I’m very proud to have been awarded the 2024 Zeeman Medal for the communication of mathematics ( press release here ). The medal is awarded by two esteemed organisations - the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and the London Mathematical Society . The prize is named after a famed British mathematician and populariser of maths, Sir Christopher Zeeman . It has a distinguished list of…
At the time of writing, many UK high school students will shortly receive their A-Level results - exam grades that can decide their path into higher education. For some the results may be surprising - better or worse than expected! This can result in a last-minute scramble to change pre-selected university courses via a process called “ clearing ”. Some might desperately consult university league…
One of my favourite video projects is in some peril. Objectivity is the video series where we look at historic items and papers from various archives and museums. Most (but not all) of the objects are science-related… and most (but not all) have been filmed at The Royal Society . From 2015 to 2023 the channel received support from the Royal Society itself. This funding made it possible to travel…
Thanks Jennese for this great email (and pictures of Nathaniel). It relates to Periodic Videos and our beloved Professor Martyn Poliakoff . “My son Nathaniel is 7, he is a huge fan of the show! He loves learning about the elements and seeing all of the different experiments. For Halloween this year he wanted to be the Professor! “He insisted on having his very own elements tie and has refused to…
A perk of this job is occasionally receiving nice emails from strangers. This one is from Nathan in Australia - it’s shared with his permission and I have added some links. SUBJECT: Peter Haran in Vietnam 50th anniversary commemoration speech Hi Brady, My name is Nathan, and I work as a speechwriter for the Australian government. Recently, I was asked to write the national commemorative address to…
Numberphile viewers may be familiar with The Parker Square - an ill-fated mathematical construction by Matt Parker. Well, recently I recorded a follow-up video with mathematician Tony Várilly-Alvarado. He explained that the elusive “3x3 Magic Square of Squares” may be impossible! A crumb of comfort for Matt perhaps? I wanted Matt’s reaction , so asked him to film a “reaction video”. Enamoured by…
People who support our chemistry channel ( Periodic Videos ) via Patreon receive an unusual perk. Their names are included on our unique Periodic Table of Patrons , which is regularly updated and shared on our website. But the next version (*) will also be printed out and adorn the wall of Professor Martyn Poliakoff’s office. Sir Martyn has an assortment of Periodic Tables on his office walls -…
Most years we try to make videos about the Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and physics. You can see past videos on chemistry at Periodic Videos and on physics at Sixty Symbols . But this year we had a “spooky” coincidence. I had a video with Professor Mike Merrifield scheduled for 4 October - it was about so-called Spooky Action at a Distance and Bell’s Inequality . Literally minutes before I was…
The recent death of The Queen is dominating all forms of media this week - so in-keeping with the reminiscing and Queen-related articles... Firstly, how The Royal Society deals with the death of a monarch (and its patron). From The Diamond Jubilee 10 years ago… Etching the Queen onto a Diamond . The Royal Society Charter Book . A deeper dive into royal signatures at the Royal Society. The Royal…
We’ve finally done it. On the channel Deep Sky Videos , we have made videos for each of the famed Messier Objects. This is a catalogue of 110 objects devised by the astronomer Charles Messier - mainly galaxies and star clusters. YOU CAN WATCH ALL 110 VIDEOS AT THIS PLAYLIST M1 is the Crab Nebula We have also created some special posters and a “checklist” to mark the finale - learn more about them…
I’m so pleased to be writing this post about an award for Neil Barnes . Neil is a senior technician at the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry. People like Neil are the unsung heroes of science - the men and women who keep the machines, labs and experiments running. But Neil has another string to his bow - he has long been the heartbeat (and cult hero) of our Periodic Videos series on…
The International Mathematical Union has named the 2022 Fields Medallists . They are Hugo Duminil-Copin, June Huh, James Maynard, and Maryna Viazovska. I was particularly pleased to see the names of Huh and Maynard - because both have contributed to Numberphile videos. James Maynard has contributed numerous videos - and a podcast . MAYNARD VIDEO PLAYLIST And June Huh did this video about the…
In the latest Numberphile video , Marcus du Sautoy introduced me to the notion of n+7 writing/poetry. Take an existing text, and replace the nouns with words seven places advanced in the dictionary . I decided to apply this treatment to the most famous Star Wars crawl, from episode IV. I used a 1999 Oxford English dictionary, and occasionally had to take a few licences. I used a list of women’s…
Two videos posted for Easter this year. First, the legendary Johnny Ball showing how to draw an egg shape by using the geometry of a pentagon . But we also wanted to share some recent breakthrough research about the shape of eggs. I contacted the authors and managed to arrange a Zoom call with Val Narushin in Ukraine. Despite being based near the war frontline , Val was able to do the interview…
I didn’t intend to make anything for Pi Day 2022 - feels like I’ve already done my bit for the Pi cause . However a few serendipitous opportunities arose. First, Matt Parker was working on his own epic Pi video - and we helped him film some things at the Royal Society. With Matt there, it seemed like an opportunity to make some extra videos for Objectivity and Numberphile … so we did. The above…