A Problem Squared

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Comedy
**A Problem Squared**

Matt Parker and Bec Hill present: A Problem Squared.

A podcast dedicated to solving problems of all kinds, such as, “What should I listen to right now?”. A Podcast Squared. First one’s free. You’re welcome.

Episodes released twokly on Mondays.

Latest Episodes:

115 = Jolly Good Euphemising and Hollywood Sign Sizing Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

🍆 What’s the “female equivalent” of phallic?

What’s the font size of the Hollywood sign?

🦈 And we’re always open for AOBusiness

Thanks to our excellent experts appearing in voicenote form - Dr Ben Whittle, Chella Quint OBE, and Linus Boman.

Daan’s paper in the American Journal of Archaeology which cites this very podcast: doi.org/10.1086/735650

The world’s largest enlarged letter: https://www.pleasedonotbend.co.uk/categories/world-record

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

And you can get tickets see to Matt here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths

And here’s how to volunteer for Calculate Pi By Hand with Matt: https://forms.gle/w44THpNJ3jWUPqHy6

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky,Twitter,Instagram, and on Discord.

114 = Delectable Dips and Dealable Decks Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

🃏 What’s the deal with cards?

🫕 What is the perfect ratio of chips to dips?

🍔 And there’s some Any Other B-B-Q-B-ness

Head to our socials to see the card shuffle and patterns, Bec’s starstruck selfie, and our chips ‘n’ dips experiment!

For all your homemade snacking needs:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tortillas

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homemade-tortilla-chips-guacamole-charred-tomato-salsa

It’s 5 o’chop Somewhere! (Really excellent work from Eve)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DKZSlCGIdCZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

And some info about Aphantasia as mentioned by Keith…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia

And synaesthesia…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here:

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

And you can get tickets see to Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

113 = Marg Ana Names and Mid Career Change Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

🚂 If you want a career change, how do you decide what to retrain as?

👶 What would be a good set of names for twins or triplets?

🦷 And there’s some Any Other Busi

Here’s some baby naming code from Colin Beveridge: https://github.com/icecolbeveridge/zoe_names

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

And you can get tickets see to Matt here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

If you are in Edinburgh and fancy seeing Matt and Bec battle it out in Ikea Wars on Sunday 10th August, tickets are here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ikea-wars

Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths

If you are on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky,Twitter,Instagram, and on Discord.

112 = Staring Safely At The Sun and Celebrations Off By One Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

🌞 How far away from the Sun do we have to travel before we can look at it without damaging our eyes?

📆 Is there an off by one error with anniversaries?

🍝 And AOB has been slow cooked and packed up in tupperware for safe storage

The starting point for Matt’s theory:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-maximum-light-intensity-that-a-human-eye-can-withstand-without-being-damaged

Astroid Mattparker:

https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=mattparker

Distance to Voyager 1: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/

Here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/standupmaths

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here:

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

And you can get tickets to see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

111 = Mnemonic Serenading and Mechanism Naming Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

🎶 Why are songs easier to remember than sentences?

⚙️ Can we come up with new names (that meet strict criteria) for leader/follower motors?

🌟 And it’s a glitzy, toothy, clackety AOB

As discussed in the intro, here’s how to get involved with Matt’s Moon Pi Kickstarter:

https://youtu.be/nGtVej1Qx5Y

And here's the link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/standupmaths/moon-pi-were-going-to-calculate-on-the-moon

And head to our socials to see the Corris Railway Traverser!

For tickets to Bec Hill’s Pick ‘n’ Mix at the Museum of Comedy, London on 19/06/2025, go here: https://museumofcomedy.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873654374

For some glittery further reading, here’s that NYT article https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Bec here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

And you can get tickets to see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

110 = Inventive Dice and Paperwork Advice May 26, 2025

Show notes

🎲What’s the best design for non-traditional dice?

📄 What should you call paperwork that doesn’t involve paper?

🙋And it’s more a comment than a question in AOB

Head to our socials to see Matt’s excellent Angry Man In Local Newspaper photos.

If you’d like to peruse and purchase more dice variations, head here:

https://mathsgear.co.uk/collections/dice

If you have any paperlesspaperwork suggestions, join in here!

https://www.reddit.com/r/AProblemSquared/

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

And you can get tickets see Bec here:

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

109 = Fourth Dimensions and Love Conventions May 12, 2025

Show notes

4️⃣ What would it look like to be trapped in a 4D world?

🥰 What is the meaning of marriage?

✨Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get AOBusy

Head to our socials to see some fantastic representations of 2D meets 3D meets 4D in fiction, some magical magic, and an alphabetically perfect travel route (for 40 days in 1990).

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can get tickets to see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

And you can get tickets see Bec here:

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5884/

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

108 = Proofed Mates and Proved Dates Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

🍻What’s the best way to politely tell a friend that they’ve had too much to drink?

🗞️ Is there a way to prove that something existed before a certain date?

❌And AOB brings us some friendly corrections…

A useful menu of alcoholic choices…

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

A hash of a DING!

1f2b352be3c09872b3e38083ec6f0d2b22615a99c5a446a03abf24430187c484

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, share the podcast with a friend, or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared - including the pictures mentioned herein! - you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

107 = Megabytes and Satellites Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

🧱How many megabytes are actually in a gigabyte?

🌕There have been some Moon Developments…

😎And AOB will bring a little sunshine into your life

Here is NASA’s Press Release about navigation on the moon:

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/space-communications-navigation-program/nasa-successfully-acquires-gps-signals-on-moon/

And some further reading from Matt:

https://www.gpsworld.com/lugre-receiver-captures-gnss-signals-in-lunar-orbit/

https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/icg/2024/WG-B_Lunar_PNT_Jun24/LunarPNT_Jun24_01_03.pdf

The Biggest Bike!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG4Gbrys3NL/?igsh=dTBqeG0wZGVpcXhs

Prawn News!

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/cyclone-alfred-live-updates-brisbane-south-east-queensland-braces-for-first-direct-impact-from-storm-in-50-years-northern-nsw-prepares-for-flooding-20250305-p5lh6c.html?post=p58aa2

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!

Make sure you look after your teeth, kids...

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, show the podcast to a friend or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

106 = Travel ABC and Art of Karate Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

🗺️ Is there an alphabetically perfect travel route?

🪵 What can be done with karate chopped wood?

🤙 And we ride the crest of the Any Other Business wave

You can find the data-basis for the alphabetically perfect travel route here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_number_of_land_borders

Here are some of Bec’s aesthetically pleasing solutions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JubeLHRYl80

https://www.myveryeducatedmother.com/2015/12/turn-broken-karate-boards-into-coat-rack.html

https://www.ellemariehome.com/upcycle-karate-break-boards-into-wood-signs/#google_vignette

And you can find Brendan’s magical web app here:

https://bren.app/podcasteveryday/

If you’re heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, you can see Matt here:

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/getting-triggy-it-matt-parker-does-maths

And Bec’s show will be onsale soon!

If you’re on Patreon and have a creative Wizard offer to give Bec and Matt, please comment on our pinned post!

If you want to (we’re not forcing anyone) please do leave us a review, show the podcast to a friend or give us a rating! Please do that. It really helps.

Finally, if you want even more from A Problem Squared you can connect with us and other listeners on BlueSky, Twitter, Instagram, and on Discord.

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