Math Therapy

Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru

Math Therapy explores the root causes of math trauma, and the empowering ways we can heal from it.  Each week host Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, dives into what we get right and wrong about math education, and chats with some of today’s most inspiring and visionary minds working to make math more accessible, diverse, and fun for students of all ages. Whether you think you’re a "math person" or not, you’re about to find out that math people don’t actually exist – but the scars that math class left on many of us, definitely do. And don’t worry, no calculators or actual math were involved in the making of this podcast ;)

  1. DEC 4

    Math Therapy's 100th (& most manic) episode!

    Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Since our humble (and as you'll find out, quite disorganized) start in 2019, Math Therapy has come a long way ... and today we celebrate our 100th episode! Join host Vanessa Vakharia and producer David Kochberg (with a cameo from OG MT producer Sabina Wex) as they reminisce and argue about: The (mostly) true origin story of Math TherapyWhere the “final 2 questions” came fromFave past episodesDream future guestsIf ChatGPT listens to our showWhether you've been listening from the start or just finding this show now, thank you for listening and being part of the change we all want to see in math education. And please please please SHARE this podcast with someone that needs to hear it, and let US know what you want to hear in the next 100 episodes! Past episodes mentioned: What the Blue Jays taught us about math education (Nov 2025)Pi Day in Prison (Seriously) (Mar 2023)“Dude Walls” & the lost women of science w/ Katie Hafner (May 2022)Dancing on the moon w/ Dr. Merritt Moore (Apr 2022)Can math predict the Oscars? w/ Ben Zauzmer (Mar 2022)How math rehabilitated a murderer w/ Christopher Havens (Jun 2021)I’m not a math person, don’t @ me w/ Bex (Jun 2021)Recalculating your destiny w/ Miguel Escobar (Jun 2020)A mathemagical crisis w/ Jonah Babins (Oct 2019)Contact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, Amazon Audiobook: Audible, Spotify Merch store: Shop here

    49 min
  2. NOV 27

    How to believe in yourself when nobody else will w/ Taylor Telfer-Thompson

    Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today we follow-up last week's episode with unfiltered celeb moms Cat and Nat (listen here) by interviewing Nat's daughter Taylor!  Currently in Grade 11, she's a wealth of hard-earned wisdom, having taken her education into her own hands to overcome a system that literally told her not to bother even trying. This ep is overflowing with real lessons right from a student who's been through it all.  Taylor describes: how being "bad" at math really felt & how she decided to rewrite her narrativesmall supports that made a huge difference, like teachers/tutors talking to her like a real person or literally getting down to her level instead of standing over her in classhow she wished it hadn't taken so long in her educational journey for adults to simply tell her they believed in herTeachers, parents, and students can all learn so much from Taylor's story, so share this ep with someone who needs to hear it and get in touch below to let us know how it resonated with you! About Taylor: (Instagram, TikTok) Taylor Telfer-Thompson is a high school student who has faced significant struggles with math throughout her education, but has never given up.  Her story shows what it looks like to persevere in the face of difficulty, to wrestle with identity, and to keep trying even when math feels impossible. Contact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, Amazon Audiobook: Audible, Spotify Merch store: Shop here

    35 min
  3. NOV 13

    Why we can’t binge-learn math like Netflix w/ Rob Baier

    Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) *call-out before we get into today's ep* - If you or a colleague/parent/student has a story about incorporating the absurd 6-7 phenomenon into actual learning, we need you!  Seriously, send us a brief text or a voicenote via Instagram DM or email.  We've heard some stories and want to do an episode about enhancing learning by reaching kids through their interests (no matter how ridiculous we think they are...) On today's episode w/ Rob Baier: Vanessa often goes into our interviews with a thorough plan, and then as soon as we hit record she instead asks the first random thing that pops into her mind and never looks at the outline again.  Well, today's episode with trailblazer Rob Baier is one of those rollercoasters!  Some of the rabbit holes they end up in include: how our assessment systems contribute to math anxiety/traumawhy we actually became so obsessed with getting every student into calculuswhat student learning has in common with binging an entire season of Ginny and Georgia (spoiler alert: we have it all backwards)About Rob: (LinkedIn) Rob is passionate about inspiring the next generation of math enthusiasts! As a Growth Lead at Innovamat, Rob is dedicated to bringing innovative math education solutions to schools across three states. With a diverse background in education, including roles as a math teacher, curriculum director, and professional development leader, he is committed to empowering educators and students. He is also a co-host of the #DebateMath podcast and a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences. Contact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, Amazon Audiobook: Audible, Spotify Merch store: Shop here

    49 min
  4. NOV 6

    What the Blue Jays taught us about math education

    Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) This past weekend, hearts across North America shattered as the plucky underdog Toronto Blue Jays lost to the LA Dodgers in extra innings of the deciding Game 7 of the Major League Baseball World Series.  And if none of those words matter to you at all - then you and Vanessa have much in common! However, as a self-admitted bandwagon jumper, even though she was down in the US on a math ed conference tour, she was all in on this series and sucked a bunch of colleagues into her orbit along the way.  While this is obviously not a sports podcast, she and her teacher friends couldn't help observe parallels between what they saw on the field & went through together as new fans, compared with what they see day to day in their students' journeys through the education system. So Vanessa and David jumped on to discuss some of these parallels, share some voice memos from her teachers-turned-superfans group chat, and even call in a pinch hitter (a term she learned last week) to share the inside scoop on what might actually be going through these pro athletes' minds in the most high pressure situations imaginable and how a student can approach a math test the same way. The dream team: (aka teachers Vanessa literally forced to watch the games) Jenna Laib (Website, Bluesky)Alison Mello (Website, Instagram)Kim Montague (Instagram, Bluesky)Shelby Strong (Website, Bluesky)Guest "analyst": (aka ex-Olympic athlete / current math ed rock star) Peter Liljedahl (Website, Instagram)Past ep: Teaching students to ... think?! w/ Peter LiljedahlContact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, Amazon Audiobook: Audible, Spotify Merch store: Shop here

    1h 9m

Trailers

4.8
out of 5
33 Ratings

About

Math Therapy explores the root causes of math trauma, and the empowering ways we can heal from it.  Each week host Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, dives into what we get right and wrong about math education, and chats with some of today’s most inspiring and visionary minds working to make math more accessible, diverse, and fun for students of all ages. Whether you think you’re a "math person" or not, you’re about to find out that math people don’t actually exist – but the scars that math class left on many of us, definitely do. And don’t worry, no calculators or actual math were involved in the making of this podcast ;)

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