In this series of posts, we’ll be featuring mathematical podcasts from all over the internet, by speaking to the creators of the podcast and asking them about what they do.
We spoke to the team at the Center for Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences, about their new podcast, Mathematically Uncensored.
Podcast title: Mathematically Uncensored
Website: minoritymath.org/mathematically-uncensored/
Links: RSS feed
Average episode length: 50 minutes
Recommended episode: Episode 4: Give Us Justice or Burn It Down!
Tell us about your podcast!
The podcast, launched in October 2020, is about creating a voice for People of Color and other underrepresented Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences. It’s produced and published through the Center for Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences.
The format is a back-and-forth between the hosts – Dr. Pamela E. Harris and Dr. Aris Winger – about major topics of the day. The goal is to be as open, honest, and real as possible, as a way of pushing back against the surface level, nearly non-existent discussions about the issues of underrepresented minorities in mathematics.
Who is the intended audience for the podcast?
The audience could be anyone. The show is centered around the experiences of minority groups, so they can expect to hear themselves in the show. Other groups should feel like they are getting insight into the issues, concerns, and success of minority groups in mathematics.
Why should people listen to your podcast?
Minority mathematicians should listen to this podcast to hear themselves reflected in the narratives often missing from mathematical conversations. This podcast is a place to share our stories and our experiences without censoring ourselves for those in dominant demographics within the mathematical sciences.
We also hope those who are not underrepresented in math listen to the podcast to learn about our experiences within these spaces. If people want to know about those stories and gain insight into those perspectives then they will get something from this podcast. This podcast is the only public place to hear the unfiltered truth about these issues.
What are some highlights of the podcast so far?
What we share of ourselves and our experiences in these podcasts are things we would only share with long time friends and are very personal and at times even painful. This to me is a highlight of what our podcast brings: centering the stories and experiences of people of color in the mathematical sciences. Episode 4 is right after the election and we have a lot of hard conversations about the notions of justice and grace in the mathematical discipline.
There is also a popular “Competing Perspectives” segment where two sides of a topic often heard within academic spaces are presented and debated, but from the perspective of being a minority mathematician.