Babbage: The language of the universe

<p>How can mathematics help us understand our lives and predict the world around us? Host Alok Jha speaks to David Sumpter of Uppsala University about the equations that can help people make better decisions. Christl Donnelly, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London details the role mathematics plays in modelling covid-19. Moon Duchin of Tufts University explains how maths can stop gerrymandering. And physicist Graham Farmelo on why he thinks the universe speaks in numbers.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>For more on the pandemic, see The Economist's coronavirus <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/2020/03/11/the-economists-coverage-of-the-coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hub</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:</p><p><a href="http://www.economist.com/radiooffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/radiooffer</a></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>