6 Easily Digestible Math Podcasts
A math specialist breaks down her favorite podcasts, all of which are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and elsewhere.
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Staying up-to-date with best practices and current trends in education isn’t always easy for teachers. There’s no doubt that traditional mediums—conferences, professional learning communities, books, and articles—are full of valuable resources and lesson ideas. But some are costly and require travel, while others necessitate more time than teachers might have to give.
If you’re a teacher craving a quicker learning opportunity, I’d recommend a math education podcast. With a short time commitment and no cost attached, you can listen to a podcast while you’re commuting, exercising, or getting chores done.
Podcasts are also a great way to invite your colleagues to learn together. By sharing a podcast that got you thinking about your practice or listening to an episode over coffee, you’re helping colleagues reflect on their own teaching in a palatable, approachable way.
As a K–5 math specialist, I’m often searching for ways to engage students in the math classroom, while also passing along resources and suggestions that are doable for teachers. The podcasts below are some of my favorite math-related recommendations.
1. Making Number Sense Make Sense
The Making Number Sense Make Sense podcast is designed for elementary educators—specifically, early elementary teachers. Episodes are brief, about 10 minutes on average, and include ready-to-use tips and routines to increase student engagement among our youngest learners. One episode, for instance, includes five low-prep ways to immediately bring math into your morning meeting. There’s also a featured series on incorporating takeaways from the book Building Thinking Classrooms into early childhood classrooms, which I found especially interesting and useful.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, official website
2. Build Math Minds
Christina Tondevold calls herself a “recovering traditionalist,” which she defines as “math educators who used to teach math the traditional way” but have since shifted to a “style of teaching math that is fun and meets our students where they are at, not just teaching what comes next in the textbook.” Tondevold’s podcast, Build Math Minds, is for elementary teachers who want to improve their math instruction.
With over 200 episodes, this show is a quick and easy listen (episodes are roughly 10–15 minutes). Topics covered include math routines that every classroom should be doing, making math games more meaningful, how to enhance word problems to build flexible thinking strategies, and ideas for alternative math assessments.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, official website
3. Math Chat
Mona Iehl is a former K–8 math teacher who now hosts the Math Chat podcast. Iehl has plenty of suggestions for how to choose a new math curriculum, and she’s always looking for ways to make problem-solving a more joyful experience. Guests (some of whom host the other recommended podcasts in this article) also share their insights and expertise on math intervention, using manipulatives, and how to build community in the math classroom.
As a math specialist, I appreciate that Iehl’s episodes feature advice for coaches, especially around inviting more collaboration between teachers and teacher leaders. Episodes range from 10 minutes to an hour, with most roughly 20 minutes. I’d recommend this podcast for elementary and middle school teachers.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, official website
4. Mix and Math
Brittany Hege hosts the Mix and Math podcast (also available on YouTube in video format), where she encourages leading math educators like Dr. Pamela Seda, Graham Fletcher, and Pam Harris to relay best practices. Episodes are on the longer side—about an hour each—and are jam-packed with intriguing ideas worthy of consideration. During a recent episode, podcast guest Mike Flynn addresses resistance to change in math education—observable in parents and teachers alike—and how we can all be more flexible. He offers insights and theories about why people may push back on new ideas in math education and how we can move forward with compassion and curiosity. I’ve incorporated these insights into my faculty meetings and parent conversations.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
5. DebateMath Podcast
DebateMath Podcast has opened my eyes to other perspectives about hot topics in math education. Podcast hosts Chris Luzniak and Rob Baier ask guests to take opposing sides of an issue, and fascinating conversations often result. In one episode, educators Pam Harris and Vanessa Vakharia debate whether the standard algorithm is worth teaching; they thoughtfully break down the language that teachers use around the standard algorithm and how we can ensure that students see their own mathematical strategies as valuable contributions to the classroom. Another episode features a rich discussion about the effectiveness of pacing guides in math curricula.
Luzniak and Baier’s website also has free downloadable debating activities for students.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, official website
6. Math Teacher Lounge
I was first introduced to Math Teacher Lounge at the annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, where I attended a live taping of the show. The format was fun and engaging, so I kept tuning in. Now six seasons deep, Bethany Lockhart Johnson and Dan Meyer’s podcast is a thorough, exhaustive resource. It encapsulates all grade bands, offering something for everyone.
Each season smartly addresses a specific teaching topic—for example, season four is about discovering the joy in math, highlighting teachers’ honest reflections and attitudes about a subject that isn’t always easy to convey to students. I also really enjoyed season six, focused on math fluency: how we define it, how teachers assess it, and how students develop it. Episodes are a digestible length—under an hour each.
Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amplify