Numberphile | |
|---|---|
 The logo of the channel | |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Genre | Educational entertainment |
| Subscribers | 4.70 million |
| Views | 710.75 million |
| Last updated: 2 December 2025 | |
| Website | www |
Numberphile is aneducationalYouTube channel featuring videos that explore topics from a variety offields of mathematics.[1][2] In the early days of the channel, each video focused on a specific number, but the channel has since expanded its scope,[3] featuring videos on more advanced mathematical concepts such asFermat's Last Theorem, theRiemann hypothesis[4] andKruskal's tree theorem.[5] The videos are produced byBrady Haran, a formerBBC video journalist and creator ofPeriodic Videos, Sixty Symbols, and several other YouTube channels.[6] Videos on the channel feature several university professors, maths communicators and famous mathematicians.[7][8]
In 2018, Haran released aspin-off audiopodcast titledThe Numberphile Podcast.[9]
TheNumberphile YouTube channel was started on 15 September 2011. Most videos consist of Haran interviewing an expert on a number,mathematical theorem or other mathematical concept.[10] The expert usually draws out their explanation on a large piece ofbrown paper and attempts to make the concepts understandable to the average, non-mathematician viewer.[11] It is supported by theMathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) andMath for America.[12][13] Haran also runs the "Numberphile2" channel, which includes extra footage and further detail than the main channel.[14]
Numberphile consistently rates among the top YouTube channels in math and education.[15][16][17][18] The channel was nominated for aShorty Award in Education in 2016.[19]The New York Times said that, "at Numberphile, mathematicians discourse, enthusiastically and winningly, on numbers", andThe Independent described the channel as "insanely popular".[20][21]The Sunday Times said, "The mathematical stars of social media, such as James Grime and Matt Parker, entertain legions of fans with striking videos demonstrating how powerful and playful maths can be."[22]
New Scientist listed Numberphile as one of the top ten science channels on YouTube in 2019.[23]
In 2024, Brady Haran was awarded theChristopher Zeeman Medal recognising excellence in the communication of mathematics for his work, includingNumberphile.[24]
The Numberphile channel has hosted a wide array of mathematicians, computer scientists, scientists andscience writers, including:[25]
| The Numberphile Podcast | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Interview |
| Language | English |
| Cast and voices | |
| Hosted by | Brady Haran |
| Production | |
| Length | 25–75 minutes |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 4 November 2018 (2018-11-04) |
| Related | |
| Related shows | |
| Website | www |
Haran started a podcast titledThe Numberphile Podcast in 2018 as a sister project. The podcast focuses more heavily on the lives and personalities of the subjects of the videos.[60]
| No. | Title | Run Time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Hope Diamond – with3Blue1Brown" | 1:03:20 | 4 November 2018 (2018-11-04) |
| 2 | "Fermat’s Last Theorem – withKen Ribet" | 48:22 | 21 November 2018 (2018-11-21) |
| 3 | "Delicious Problems – withHannah Fry" | 52:00 | 16 December 2018 (2018-12-16) |
| 4 | "The Klein Bottle Guy – withCliff Stoll" | 59:08 | 8 January 2019 (2019-01-08) |
| 5 | "The Math Storyteller – withSimon Singh" | 1:11:36 | 11 February 2019 (2019-02-11) |
| 6 | "Parker Square – withMatt Parker" | 52:04 | 24 February 2019 (2019-02-24) |
| 7 | "A Proof in the Drawer – withDavid Eisenbud" | 1:15:20 | 7 April 2019 (2019-04-07) |
| 8 | "The Offensive Lineman – withJohn Urschel" | 36:43 | 14 May 2019 (2019-05-14) |
| 9 | "The Singing Banana – with James Grime" | 1:13:21 | 20 May 2019 (2019-05-20) |
| 10 | "The C-Word – talking Calculus withSteven Strogatz" | 51:17 | 17 June 2019 (2019-06-17) |
| 11 | "The Number Collector – withNeil Sloane" | 55:36 | 14 August 2019 (2019-08-14) |
| 12 | "Fame and Admiration – withTimothy Gowers" | 54:25 | 22 October 2019 (2019-10-22) |
| 13 | "The Badly Behaved Prime – withJames Maynard" | 41:38 | 10 November 2019 (2019-11-10) |
| 14 | "Coffin Problems – withEdward Frenkel" | 1:21:39 | 3 December 2019 (2019-12-03) |
| 15 | "Champaign Mathematician – withHolly Krieger" | 40:00 | 13 December 2019 (2019-12-13) |
| 16 | "Gondor Calls for Aid – with Kit Yates" | 28:18 | 31 March 2020 (2020-03-31) |
| 17 | "Crystal Balls and Coronavirus – with Hannah Fry" | 44:55 | 10 April 2020 (2020-04-10) |
| 18 | "The LegendaryJohn Conway (1937–2020)" | 38:01 | 13 April 2020 (2020-04-13) |
| 19 | "The Accidental Streamer – with 3Blue1Brown" | 33:05 | 19 April 2020 (2020-04-19) |
| 20 | "The Parker Quiz – with Matt Parker" | 55:34 | 21 May 2020 (2020-05-21) |
| 21 | "The Happy Twin – with Ben Sparks" | 1:02:21 | 27 May 2020 (2020-05-27) |
| 22 | "The Numeracy Ambassador – with Simon Pampena" | 1:00:15 | 1 July 2020 (2020-07-01) |
| 23 | "The Mathematical Showman –Ron Graham (1935–2020)" | 39:02 | 13 July 2020 (2020-07-13) |
| 24 | "The Third Cornet – with Katie Steckles" | 59:49 | 24 July 2020 (2020-07-24) |
| 25 | "Why Did the Mathematician Cross the Road? – withRoger Penrose" | 1:05:16 | 8 August 2020 (2020-08-08) |
| 26 | "The Importance of Numbers – withTim Harford" | 47:29 | 12 September 2020 (2020-09-12) |
| 27 | "Nursery Rhymes and Numbers – with Alan Stewart" | 54:06 | 5 October 2020 (2020-10-05) |
| 28 | "Quiz Shows and Math Anxiety – withBobby Seagull" | 1:24:26 | 23 October 2020 (2020-10-23) |
| 29 | "Club Automatic – withAlex Bellos" | 54:17 | 25 November 2020 (2020-11-25) |
| 30 | "Why Study Mathematics – withVicky Neale" | 45:11 | 8 December 2020 (2020-12-08) |
| 31 | "Statistics and Saving Lives – withJennifer Rogers" | 55:50 | 11 December 2020 (2020-12-11) |
| 32 | "Rockstar Epidemiologists – with Adam Kucharski" | 45:10 | 2 February 2021 (2021-02-02) |
| 33 | "The High Jumping Cosmologist – withKatie Mack" | 54:53 | 25 February 2021 (2021-02-25) |
| 34 | "Beauty in the Messiness – withPhilip Moriarty" | 39:05 | 3 April 2021 (2021-04-03) |
| 35 | "The Naked Mathematician – with Tom Crawford" | 58:12 | 31 May 2021 (2021-05-31) |
| 36 | "A Chance at Immortality – withMarcus du Sautoy" | 51:29 | 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) |
| 37 | "Making Sense of Infinity – with Asaf Karagila" | 53:27 | 28 August 2021 (2021-08-28) |
| 38 | "Google's 'DeepMind' does Mathematics" | 37:02 | 2 December 2021 (2021-12-02) |
| 39 | "The Little Star – withZvezdelina Stankova" | 58:20 | 14 January 2022 (2022-01-14) |
| 40 | "An Infinite Debt – with Christopher Havens (Prisoner #349034)" | 49:50 | 13 February 2022 (2022-02-13) |
| 41 | "The First and Last Digits of Pi" | 42:26 | 14 March 2022 (2022-03-14) |
| 42 | "A Passion for Big Numbers (and Liverpool FC) – with Tony Padilla" | 50:41 | 18 April 2022 (2022-04-18) |
| 43 | "The Orchid Room and Cancer – with Hannah Fry" | 36:51 | 29 May 2022 (2022-05-29) |
| 44 | "An Educated Adult – withTadashi Tokieda" | 1:13:45 | 11 July 2022 (2022-07-11) |
| 45 | "Finding a Path – withTatiana Toro" | 43:39 | 13 December 2022 (2022-12-13) |
| 46 | "A Chain of Chance – with Michael Merrifield" | 1:06:17 | 18 January 2023 (2023-01-18) |
| 47 | "An A-Class Reject – withEd Copeland" | 1:04:18 | 22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) |
| 48 | "Yes, I accept the Fields Medal – withJames Maynard" | 27:59 | 3 August 2023 (2023-08-03) |
| 49 | "Finding Your Place – withFederico Ardila" | 54:57 | 23 August 2023 (2023-08-23) |
| 50 | "The Math of Movies – with Walt Hickey" | 51:24 | 12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) |
| 51 | "A Very Bad Estimator – withDonald Knuth" | 54:26 | 16 January 2024 (2024-01-16) |
| 52 | "The Hyper-Curious Billionaire –Jim Simons (1938-2024)" | 37:50 | 6 June 2024 (2024-06-06) |
| 53 | "Winnie the Math Whiz – withDanica McKellar" | 45:19 | 2 July 2024 (2024-07-02) |
| 54 | "The Secret Math Journal – withEllen Eischen" | 53:45 | 30 July 2024 (2024-07-30) |
| 55 | "The Largest Known Prime Number" | 39:40 | 24 October 2024 (2024-10-24) |
| 56 | "Counting Crayons – withPo-Ling Loh" | 39:25 | 14 December 2024 (2024-12-14) |
| 57 | "The Indecisive Statistics Professor – with Chris Oates" | 47:56 | 15 July 2025 (2025-07-15) |
| 58 | "Everything You Wanted to Know About Numberphile – withBrady Haran" | 59:49 | 29 August 2025 (2025-08-29) |
| 59 | "Making Math Videos in Ukraine – with Sashko Olenchenko" | 50:50 | 9 November 2025 (2025-11-09) |