An amateur’s outlook on computation and mathematics

Marketplace of Ideas interview

by Brian Hayes

Published 5 September 2008

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Colin Marshall, whose radio show “The Marketplace of Ideas” is broadcast and webcast from KCSB in Santa Barbara. The main subject of our talk was Group Theory in the Bedroom, but the conversation also wandered into topics like the nature of publishing in the Internet age. The interview is available in streaming audio or as an MP3 file or as a podcast distributed via the iTunes store.

And if you grow weary of my voice, you might browse some of the other interviews—maybe Denis Dutton of “Arts and Letters Daily,” Michael Shermer of The Skeptic, or Steve Wozniak.

Tags for this article: books.

Publication history

First publication: 5 September 2008

Converted to Eleventy framework: 22 April 2025

More to read...

Questions About Trees

Today’s Question: In a mixed-species forest, what keeps the species mixed?

We Gather Together…

At the Thanksgiving table I thought I heard someone ask, “Please pass the Covid.”

Foldable Words

In the spring of 1967 I had a girlfriend. After school we would meet at the Maple Diner. One afternoon I noticed she was fiddling intently with the wrapper from her straw, folding and refolding.

Kenken-Friendly Numbers

Kenken is the funny-page puzzle that allows the number nerds among us to strut their stuff. And it’s not limited to the integers 1 through 6 or the operations +, –, ×, ÷.