Best Kyle Dykema Podcasts (2025)

1
Get the politicians out of the classroom w/ David Kochberg 35:07

6M ago35:07

35:07

If you're a fan of the podcast, you've often heard Vanessa mention our producer "David" in reference to him getting mad at her for yelling into the mic or hitting the mic or generally doing things that impact the quality of this AUDIO medium. And if it isn't apparent, this is actually David typing, because I also handle publishing the episodes, so …

1
We're not teaching content, we're teaching students w/ Kevin Dykema 43:55

8M ago43:55

43:55

Having attended and presented at the annual NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) conference, Vanessa reached out to "famously nice guy" Kevin Dykema, the organization's President, to learn more about his journey to the top. Along the way she was surprised to learn that even he battles imposter syndrome, and the way he's learned to dea…

1
Math Therapy is now a book! Vanessa tells all ... 36:36

9M ago36:36

36:36

HUGE news - Math Therapy is now a book! Vanessa has taken everything she's learned in her career helping students overcome math trauma, and all the insights from the 6 seasons of this podcast, and formulated a 5-step process to bring math therapy into classrooms and help all students develop a better relationship with math. To celebrate, Math Thera…

1
We are born to love math w/ Dan Finkel 42:44

12M ago42:44

42:44

Dan Finkel is an author/educator who believes that humans are wired to be curious from birth, and that play is the secret to maintaining that joy of learning throughout childhood. On today’s season 6 finale, he and Vanessa discuss how teaching kids about math can be so much more fun than we think; it can mean playing board games, counting on their …

1
Grit is your superpower w/ Dr. India White 41:05

1y ago41:05

41:05

Dr. India White learned grit and resilience the hard way: facing down obstacles throughout her life and deciding she wouldn’t back down. Now she coaches teachers and students on developing their own gritty superpowers, and she joins Vanessa today for wide-ranging and inspiring conversation. They discuss her journey from a homeless shelter to a coll…

1
How to change someone's mind w/ Chris Luzniak 38:48

1y ago38:48

38:48

What if the secret to winning a debate was actually listening to your opponent? What if you could build confidence and overcome anxiety through the practice of public speaking? And HOW does someone go from dreams of Broadway fame to teaching debate in math class?! Find out today as Vanessa chats with math educator/coach Chris Luzniak, host of The D…

1
Math doesn't cause trauma, people do w/ Sean Nank 39:04

1y ago39:04

39:04

When Vanessa saw today’s guest deliver a deeply personal talk at a recent math conference, she was left with more questions than answers; all she knew for certain was she had to get him on the podcast. Sean Nank is a math educator who believes that the power of our students' stories is the most valuable tool we can harness in our math classrooms, a…

1
Turns out some folks hate math w/ Jon Orr & Kyle Pearce 40:37

1y ago40:37

40:37

Today’s another one for the teachers, featuring Jon Orr & Kyle Pearce of the Make Math Moments empire - they have a podcast, a framework, workshops & courses & virtual summits galore, and who knows probably even a cooking show at this point?! They join Vanessa today to discuss the SHOCKING realization early in their career that not all students wou…

1
Teachers have trauma too w/ Brittany Hege 36:38

1y ago36:38

36:38

We’re often talking about trauma from the student perspective: how it happens in the classroom, and how it follows them into adulthood. But one group is often overlooked in this discussion - teachers! Today Vanessa chats with educator Brittany Hege about the challenges teachers often face in keeping up with changing pedagogies, while already being …

1
More clickbait in the classroom! w/ Howie Hua 26:52

1y ago26:52

26:52

Of the truly infinite things Vanessa likes to rant about, few top the list like math’s marketing problem - which is why she was elated to chat with social media mathstar Howie Hua! Today Howie shares how his own experiences with math anxiety sucked the joy out of math when he was a student, and how he started to bring it back for both himself and h…

1
The spiritual side of math w/ Francis Su 37:49

1y ago37:49

37:49

When you picture a mathematician, what comes to mind? Now … what about a “mathematical explorer”? Well, that’s what Francis Su calls himself, and when Vanessa picked up his book Mathematics for Human Flourishing, she couldn’t put it down. On today's episode they explore how mathematical discovery can unleash the wonder and curiosity innate within u…

1
Tell your students you trust them w/ Zak Champagne 42:14

1y ago42:14

42:14

Longtime listeners (like today’s guest, as you’ll discover…) will recall one name popping up in almost every interview last season, so Vanessa needed to find out for herself: who is Zak Champagne & why do people like him so much?! Through today’s rollercoaster episode she discovered a teacher with boundless enthusiasm for the joys of teaching, grou…

1
The difference between equity & equality w/ Dr. Pamela Seda 43:18

1y ago43:18

43:18

On the Season 6 premiere of Math Therapy, Vanessa chats with Dr. Pamela Seda, an expert in all things education and inspiration! They dive deep into hot topics like how teachers can build trust in the classroom by modelling vulnerability, the benefits of cultivating community over competition, and a fascinating metaphor that illustrates what equity…

1
Season 6 Trailer 4:07

1y ago4:07

4:07

Season 6 drops March 28th - here’s a sample of who and what you’ll hear!By Vanessa Vakharia

1
Refresher: Pi Day in Prison 48:48

1y ago48:48

48:48

It's March 14th, aka 3.14 ... so Happy Pi Day! To help you get in the zone, we're re-airing an episode from last year recounting the Math Therapy team's Pi Day 2023 trip to Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Michigan. This stemmed from Vanessa's Season 3, Episode 10 interview with Christopher Havens, an inmate serving a 25-year sentence for mur…

1
The Awkward Return?! (S6 is coming) 2:47

1y ago2:47

2:47

The rumours are true! (The rumours that Vanessa has been spreading herself.) Season 6 of Math Therapy launches March 28th! To get you hyped while we get this batch of episodes ready for you, here are some brief thoughts she recorded immediately after we finished a marathon 10 interviews over 4 days. What themes did she cover? Will she or her guests…

1
The Awkward Goodbye 9:56

1+ y ago9:56

9:56

Don't worry, Math Therapy isn't going anywhere ... but here's a fun bonus episode as we look back on an incredible 5th season! It was a total success in every possible way, except one: for whatever reason, Vanessa lost the ability to simply say "goodbye" at the end of the interviews. This hadn't been an issue in previous seasons but she somehow got…

1
Embracing your limitless mind w/ Jo Boaler 41:53

2y ago41:53

41:53

In Vanessa's masters thesis titled "Imagining a World Where Paris Hilton Loves Math", there was nobody quoted more frequently than today's guest, Stanford professor Dr. Jo Boaler. On the season 5 finale of Math Therapy, Vanessa sits down with her math ed hero to discuss how limiting beliefs vs a growth mindset impact the brain, how struggle and mis…

1
Teaching students to ... think?! w/ Peter Liljedahl 43:32

2y ago43:32

43:32

Peter Liljedahl is literally changing the math classroom. His book "Building Thinking Classrooms" has taken the educational world by storm with a simple message: instead of teaching students to memorize, we have to teach them to think. Sounds trite, but if you ... think about it, traditional classrooms are not designed that way! Today, Peter explai…

1
Mistakes: Villains or Heroes? 32:42

2y ago32:42

32:42

Should mistake-making be encouraged in math class? Or should mistakes be shamed because “in the real world” you can get fired from your job from making a mistake? You can probably guess how Vanessa feels, but a fellow educator recently disagreed … so of course she took to Twitter and a spirited convo ensued! On today’s episode she further outer-pro…

1
Centering student voice in math class w/ Crystal Watson 43:42

2y ago43:42

43:42

Today's guest literally entered the chat wearing a t-shirt that read "TRUTH MATTERS”, and that sure set the tone for this wide-ranging episode! Crystal M. Watson is an educator who firmly believes in centering student voices in the classroom, and she also advocates for empowering students by making math practical and meaningful to their life experi…

1
Redefining "Success" 28:09

2y ago28:09

28:09

In today's episode, Vanessa explores the dangers of narrowly defining success and argues that contrary to popular belief, failure and success are actually BFF, not opposites (looking at you, Merriam-Webster!). She also shares a practical classroom tool for teachers and students to collaborate on shared definitions of success to support everyone's l…

1
Refresher: Drag queens & math class w/ Kyne Santos 33:26

2y ago33:26

33:26

In honour of Pride Month, we're taking a mid-season 5 break to re-air one of our all-time fave episodes featuring mathematician / drag queen Kyne Santos. Drag has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, so we wanted to share Kyne's inspiring story of breaking stereotypes and defying the haters. If you're new to the podcast we also highly…

1
How struggle leads to growth w/ Robert Kaplinsky 38:21

2y ago38:21

38:21

Think of this week's episode as a kind of reverse palate cleanser ... Vanessa and today's guest Robert Kaplinsky more than make up for the lack of swearing last week! What got them fired up? Oh, just the systemic barriers to educational reform and the lack of support for both teachers and students when it comes to working through math anxiety ... B…

1
How trauma affects the brain w/ Liesl McConchie 44:44

2y ago44:44

44:44

Last week's episode featured a deep dive with Vanessa into math trauma: what it is and how to avoid it. Today, brain expert Liesl McConchie joins her to explain the neurological science of trauma, debunk the myth of the "math gene", and discuss the hopeful promise of neuroplasticity. And not to be all clickbaity, but Vanessa ends up sharing some pr…

1
What even is math trauma? 23:28

2y ago23:28

23:28

Each episode, Vanessa discusses the impacts that math trauma can have on our collective relationship with math. But she realized she's never explained what it is! In this episode she defines what math trauma actually is, unpacks why traumatic educational experiences happen more often in math than in other subjects, and lists 8 common causes of math…

1
Mathers gonna math w/ Deborah Peart 46:39

2y ago46:39

46:39

You know how readers read and writers write? Well one day Deborah Peart decided that math should also be a verb, so she created the Mather movement. She and Vanessa discuss the difference between a "mather" and a "mathematician", how numeracy and literacy are basically the same thing, and how bringing a mindfulness approach to her classrooms led to…

1
Teaching math as an act of protest w/ Dan Meyer 37:04

2y ago37:04

37:04

When Vanessa crossed paths with Dan Meyer at a math conference, she sensed some pushback on her concept of math therapy. So naturally, she invited him on the podcast to get into it! The ensuing rollercoaster interview blurred lines between clearing the air and settling the score, as they hilariously debated hot topics ranging from the need for stud…

1
Season 5 trailer 2:24

2y ago2:24

2:24

We have some serious A-list math celebs coming at your podcast feeds over the next 10 weeks - here's a little sample until season 5 launches this Thursday!By The Math Guru

1
Exciting update w/ Jill from Season 2! 13:47

2y ago13:47

13:47

Longtime listeners will remember Season 2's Jill Waddell who shared her inspiring decision to switch careers at age 40 and go back to school for power engineering - facing down her lifelong math anxiety along the way! Vanessa caught up with her after graduation to find out how things turned out (spoiler alert - she was class valedictorian!) and hea…

1
Pi Day in Prison (Seriously) 47:27

2y ago47:27

47:27

There's no other way to say this: we went to prison for Pi Day this year. Longtime listeners will remembers Vanessa's fascinating and inspiring interview with Christopher Havens, an inmate serving a 25-year sentence for murder who has rehabilitated himself with math and founded the Prison Mathematics Project (Season 3, Episode 10). Vanessa helped w…

1
Math reform under attack w/ Jo Boaler 18:27

2y ago18:27

18:27

Math Therapy is (briefly) back! We've been hard at work on a new season which I can't wait for you to hear soon, but I had to share an excerpt of one of the interviews I just did - you'll see why. Stanford professor Jo Boaler is one of my math heroes, I referenced her all through my master's thesis, and her work in trying to make math education mor…

1
S4E10: Queering math w/ Dr. Anthony Bonato 26:56

3y ago26:56

26:56

In our final episode of the season, Vanessa chats with math professor Dr. Anthony Bonato about what it means to be queer in - let’s face it - the historically snobby and closed-minded field that is math. But as soon as you hear Anthony in today’s episode, you’ll understand there will be no silencing his advocacy for diversity & inclusion in math … …

1
S4E09: Giving students the voice they deserve w/ Rosalind Wiseman 31:41

3y ago31:41

31:41

Did you know that the infamous math movie Mean Girls was actually inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s non-fiction book called Queen Bees and Wannabes? Today Vanessa talks to Rosalind about why we need to change the media and messaging that girls get about how it’s not “cool” to be good at math. How can we teach students that they can be good at more tha…

1
S4E08: “Dude Walls” & the lost women of science w/ Katie Hafner 36:58

3y ago36:58

36:58

You’re probably thinking “what the F*CK is a dude wall?!”, and today Vanessa talks to the incredible Katie Hafner to find out. Katie is an author, journalist, and host of the podcast “Lost Women of Science,” whose mission is to tell the stories of female scientists who history has inconveniently forgotten. But how do we prevent this from happening …

1
S4E07: Defying Asian math stereotypes w/ Steven Tran 28:42

3y ago28:42

28:42

One of the missions of this podcast is challenging stereotypes, and on today’s episode we tackle a big one: Asians and math. Steven Tran grew up with Asian parents, and the pressures and expectations from his family, community, and society as a whole affected his perception of his own math ability. Getting caught cheating in high school could have …

1
S4E06: From mathochistic to mathcurious w/ A.K. Whitney 25:35

3y ago25:35

25:35

This one’s for all the adults out there who are like “hmmm maybe it’s not too late to learn a little math…”! On today’s episode Vanessa talks to journalist A.K. Whitney, who went back to school at 38 to learn math and chronicled it in Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, and her own podcast/website delightfully titled “The Mathochism Project”. She is…

1
S4E05: Compassion & confidence in the classroom w/ Sophie Soberano 32:42

3y ago32:42

32:42

Nothing shows how important teacher-student relationships can be than actually being friends with some of your students over a DECADE later, as is the case with Vanessa and Sophie Soberano. Sophie was one of Vanessa’s first tutoring students, long before The Math Guru even existed! Sophie went from daily math meltdowns in high school to becoming a …

1
S4E04: Dancing on the moon w/ Dr. Merritt Moore 26:35

3y ago26:35

26:35

Today’s guest has a dream: to dance on the moon. With a robot. The craziest part? This is actually an attainable goal for Dr. Merritt Moore, better known as the “Quantum Ballerina”! Merritt has a PhD in Atomic & Laser Physics and is also a professional ballerina, and if that’s not enough for one resumé, she was recently selected for astronaut train…

1
S4E03: 4 million subscribers watch this guy do math w/ Grant Sanderson 30:31

3y ago30:31

30:31

Today’s guest is an actual celeb in the math-world. We’re talking A-list, we’re talking literally MILLIONS OF FANS. Grant Sanderson explains very high level math on his YouTube channel, 3Blue1Brown, in a way that is accessible for anyone to tune in and learn from! Vanessa and Grant discuss how he makes math so appealing and unintimidating, how a fe…

1
S4E02: Is math the ultimate catfish? w/ Terilisha 23:55

3y ago23:55

23:55

We’re not the only ones who binge-watched Netflix’s The Circle over the pandemic, and one reason we were OBSESSED was the breakout star of the show: Terilisha, a math teacher AND musician, who stole our hearts with her IDGAF attitude! Today Vanessa chats with Terilisha about her experience on the show, how the media (and society) struggle to accept…

1
S4E01: Can math predict the Oscars? w/ Ben Zauzmer 30:50

3y ago30:50

30:50

Will you be watching the Oscars this Sunday, comparing the winners with your predictions? Well one person who definitely will be is our first guest of season 4 - Ben Zauzmer, author of Oscarmetrics! Ben, who is also the director of baseball analytics for the New York Mets, uses stats from past and present awards to try to predict this year's winner…

1
Season 4 trailer 3:03

3y ago3:03

3:03

We are BACK! We've got 10 incredible and inspiring guests lined up for the new season of Math Therapy, each with a totally different history and relationship with math. Season 4 launches March 24th and because that’s a few days before the Oscars, we’re starting with a fascinating chat with Ben Zauzmer, author of Oscarmetrics - he uses statistics to…

1
40 - Avatar 2 Polka 1:29:55

3+ y ago1:29:55

1:29:55

A sleepy guestless episode finds Darin and Kyle pondering the age of the podcast and discussing movie soundtracks, Chris Pratt playing Mario, and celebrity signatures. Then, a raucous edition of the Rec Room with some music recommendations.By Kyle Dykema & Darin Lammers

1
39 - LAND Party (featuring Michael Gearhart) 1:29:39

3+ y ago1:29:39

1:29:39

Another west coast friend, Michael Gearhart, joins Scratch Track to talk about screen names, Bill Gates, and his unique pet. Then Kyle regales the group with a retelling of his jury duty experience. And lastly, a new game is introduced into the game corner canon: Scratch One. It's an eventful episode!…

1
38 - Snootin' Around (featuring Micah Taylor) 1:29:45

4y ago1:29:45

1:29:45

Los Angeles friend Micah Taylor comes by Scratch Track to talk about ancestry, the new Fast and the Furious, and birthday parties. Then a truly Debbie Downer edition of Thankful or Unthankful. It's special and we should all be grateful.By Kyle Dykema & Darin Lammers

1
37 - Flat Stanley (featuring Kyra Katte) 1:29:50

4y ago1:29:50

1:29:50

Kyra Katte stops by Scratch Track to talk about posters, magazines, and high school theater. Then, it's another round of the Scratch Track advice column where Kyra flexes here therapy bonafides. Check it out, you might learn something.By Kyle Dykema & Darin Lammers

1
36 - Alien Kisses 1:30:00

4y ago1:30:00

1:30:00

Another guestless episode finds Darin and Kyle tackling life's biggest questions. Is Shrek good? What are the best prank toys? And are aliens using Reddit? Listen to find the answers and a whole lot more.By Kyle Dykema & Darin Lammers

1
S3E10: How math rehabilitated a murderer w/ Christopher Havens 37:01

4y ago37:01

37:01

When this podcast started, interviewing a convicted murderer - while he was still in prison, no less - was admittedly not on Vanessa’s “Math Therapy guest” bingo card. But then we heard how Christopher Havens discovered math in solitary confinement halfway through a 25-year sentence, and committed the rest of his life to rehabilitating himself and …

1
S3E09: I’m not a math person, don’t @ me w/ Bex 34:20

4y ago34:20

34:20

The year was 2020. A tweet went viral on the interwebs and Vanessa damn near lost her mind. Somewhere in the UK, Bex had tweeted that the best part of being an adult was “opting out” of math; online mag Bustle picked it up and next thing we know Bex was on our podcast - turns out she’s even more hilarious over Zoom than she is on Twitter! On today’…

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Kyle Dykema Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen