Chip Shortage, UW Math Professor On ‘Hidden Geometry’

Air Date:
Heard On Central Time
Cars parked
In this Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, photograph, a small collection of unsold 2021 sedans and sports-utility vehicles sits in an otherwise empty storage lot outside a Volkswagen dealership in Lakewood, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

A technology economist joins the show to talk about why semiconductors have become such an integral part of consumer goods, and why a global shortage of them may be getting worse. Then, we revisit a conversation about the beauty of geometry in the natural world.

Featured in this Show

  • The Chip Shortage Impacting Your Shopping Cart (And Not The Potato Kind)

    Consumers may soon see higher prices in all sorts of electronics, from cars to laptops, because of a continual global chip, or semiconductor, shortage. We talk with an expert about what makes these chips so important, why there’s a shortage and the bigger picture of the global supply chain that gets us our stuff.

  • The Geometry Of The World Around Us

    Math may seem as though it only exists in an abstract part of our lives, but a new book shines a light on the geometry of everything around us. University of Wisconsin-Madison math professor Jordan Ellenberg joins us to talk about his latest book Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Tyler Ditter Technical Director
  • Natalie Guyette Producer
  • Dean Knetter Producer
  • J. Carlisle Larsen Producer
  • Willy Shih Guest
  • Jordan Ellenberg Guest

Related Stories