In less than four years, mathematician Steve Strogatz watched AI go from flailing at basic arithmetic to solving problems that baffle the world’s best mathematicians. In September of 2026, Open AI announced it had solved a Millennium Prize Problem, one of math’s highest achievements. In short, mathematics is right now on the cusp of a reckoning that may be coming for all of us. In this episode, Steve grapples with the idea that the window might be closing on humanity’s effort to unpuzzle, or learn, or understand the world around us.Special thanks to Ravi Vakil, Alex Kontorovich, Bob Wright.EPISODE CREDITS:&nbsp;Reported by - Maria Paz Gutierrez and Soren WheelerProduced by - Soren Wheeler and Maria Paz GutierrezFact-checking by - Diane Kellyand Edited by&nbsp; - Pat WaltersEPISODE CITATIONS:Videos -&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLQt3be5lM&t=7s" rel="noopener noreferrer">On deep learning for cancer diagnosis and treatment</a> (<a href="https://zpr.io/TPnVfbPH8gTr" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://zpr.io/TPnVfbPH8gTr</a>), by Regina Barzilay (MIT Professor of AI & Health)</li></ul>Articles -&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/science/math-ai-history-understanding.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mathematics Isn’t Just a Game to Let A.I. Solve. History Shows Why</a> (<a href="https://zpr.io/n67amKFPuiYA" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://zpr.io/n67amKFPuiYA</a>), by Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/science/openai-math-problems.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">OpenAI Releases Findings on 377 Math Problems, Further Roiling Field</a> (<a href="https://zpr.io/YDjQXvYfqkvA" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://zpr.io/YDjQXvYfqkvA</a>), by Kenneth Chang and Siobhan Roberts&nbsp;</li></ul>Books -&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.stevenstrogatz.com/books/big-math-the-hidden-codes-that-run-our-world" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big Math: The Hidden Codes that rule our World</a> (<a href="https://zpr.io/BFuYZ29qt8av" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://zpr.io/BFuYZ29qt8av</a>), by Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend</li></ul>Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. <a href="https://radiolab.org/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer">Signup</a> (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of <a href="http://members.radiolab.org" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Lab</a> (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on <a href="http://instagram.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://facebook.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a> @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing <a href="mailto:radiolab@wnyc.org" rel="noopener noreferrer">radiolab@wnyc.org</a>.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.&nbsp; Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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