News
On Pi Day, Mar 14, 2026, I will be appearing at the Brooklyn Public Library for their free “Night in the Library: The Philosophy of Mathematics” extravaganza, to deliver two talks. “A mathematician’s dilemma: Beauty or Usefulness?” at 8 pm and “Planet Wars: The Battle for Infinity” at 10 pm.
Here is my piece in Scientific American on airline safety and mathematics. A chance to know what “finite elements” are — which I’ve spent years researching — all explained in accessible language.
An article for Pi Day on CBS news that contains quotes by me.
My episode entitled “Math Rules the World” on the PBS TV show “The Open Mind” broadcast on November 18, 2023 and again on March 10, 2024.
My First Opinion podcast with Dr. Dan Morgan, based on our STAT News article on the statistics of false positives.
My article for New Scientist magazine on how to visualize space-time. Also published in their newsletter.
My STAT News article with Dr. Daniel Morgan on the mathematics behind testing for rare diseases (where false positives can play havoc).
MSRI/SLMath in Berkeley, CA invited me to give a dinner talk to their Math Lover’s Forum on Oct 3, 2023. Here is the video of my presentation.
My interview with Dr. Tev Naidu on his video podcast, Mind Body Solution.
My talk on how fiction can be used to teach mathematics at Youcubed, a math education center that is part of Stanford University.
My student, Sarah Chen presented a paper I wrote with her at the Bridges conference on math and art. The topic? A cool new version of tic-tac-toe she invented. Try it out — instructions here, but don’t look at the solution.
The Conversation chooses “The Big Bang of Numbers” as the inaugural book for their new book club. My talk with them on Sep 14, 2023.
A video of my conversation with mathematician Patrick Honner at the Jaipur Literary Festival in New York City on Sep 13, 2023.
A nicely crafted and very positive review in Notices, the membership journal of the American Mathematical Society.
My essay published by Templeton Ideas, the website magazine of the John Templeton Foundation, on how one should think of nature.
A book review in the June, 2023 issue of SIAM News, the periodical of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
My event with Marcus du Sautoy at the Hay on Wye Festival, May 2023 (audio).
My piece on why we need to promote Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, and how we should do it.
For Pi Day, an article on mathematical constants that also deserve their own holidays, in The Conversation.
A video of my event for the Royal Institution, London.
My friend Sandip Roy interviews me on his popular show for the Indian Express.
The Big Bang of Numbers is on the shortlist for the 2023 Pen/Wilson Literary Science Writing Award!
My Jan 2023 talk at Mumbai’s iconic Asiatic Library, in their historic Durbar Hall.
The video of Marcus du Sautoy interviewing me for the Jaipur Literary Festival, Jaipur, in Jan, 2023.
My interview in the arts/literary magazine The Wise Owl.
Interview in Mumbai’s Mid-Day.
Very nice interview in Mint Lounge, by a journalist who’s read my entire oeuvre and interviewed me for my novels before!
An article based on The Big Bang of Numbers in the essay journal, The Common Reader.
The Big Bang of Numbers is on the longlist for the 2023 Pen/Wilson Literary Science Writing Award!
An excerpt from my book, published in Scroll.in
A nice piece about my book on the UMBC website.
An interview in Convergence, the magazine put out by Carnegie Mellon University’s department of mathematics.
A favorable review in Business Standard that is behind a paywall: “a nice ride through some basic mathematical concepts.…a visual pleasure to read…the author is a smooth, stylish writer”
A second essay to celebrate National Mathematics Day, Dec 22, this one in appreciation of what Ramanujan stands for. Published as an opinion piece in the Hindustan Times. Full article available here.
My essay about how mathematics shows the way to build the universe in the Deccan Herald, on the occasion of National Mathematics Day (Ramanujan’s birthday).
A detailed and stimulating review of “Big Bang” in Shaastra, the magazine of IIT Madras.
The video of my mock “dissertation defense” in front of an interdisciplinary faculty panel at UMBC. Thesis topic: Can you build the universe using only math? Watch out for the surprise broccoli appearance at the end!
My interview with Frontline, one of India’s leading national magazines.
Issue 5 of Curious magazine contains my explanation of how crocheting can help us understand “curved” geometries (page 15) right after an excerpt from “The Big Bang of Numbers.”
Nice interview in Hindustan Times with some fun graphics as well!
Rave review for The Big Bang of Numbers in the Sunday Times, London. You can click on the link to read the first part, but the rest is behind a paywall. My favorite quotes: “Manil Suri’s march through maths is brimming with entertaining and yet discombobulating thoughts.…he succeeds in making slippery ideas easy to grasp — including the way the vast complexity that springs from simple mathematical rules can explain intelligence and life itself. The proudly innumerate might still choose to ignore all this, but the odds are they wouldn’t be here without it.”
My Nov 3 public lecture (with video) at the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota.
Why you didn’t win the PowerBall, explained by me in Washingtonian magazine.
My appearance on the Delving In podcast.
A well-reasoned review by the Math Association of America.
A short but nice review in Physics Today.
My interview with comedian Adam Conover on his Factually! podcast.
A recommended read in Singapore’s Straits Times!
My nice, long interview in the Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper.
My interview in the Times of India.
My piece in moneycontrol.com on why mathematics is more about patterns than calculation, and how these patterns show up in the stock market.
A nice account of my Johns Hopkins event, where I spoke not only about math, but also life and love.
Read my profile in the Oct, 2022 issue of the Washingtonian magazine.
The Deccan Herald, South India’s largest newspaper, picks “The Big Bang of Numbers” as its “Read of the Week.” Would a math book ever get such an honor in the US? The Hindustan Times follows suit a few days later! As does the Financial Times!
Book review in the Wall Street Journal. You can click on the link to see the beginning, but the rest is behind a paywall. My favorite quote: “.…imaginative and organized; [Suri] presents his material clearly with nice graphics.”
Listen to my Sep 29, 2022 interview on NPR Marketplace.
Watch my podcast interview with Robert Lawrence Kuhn on the show, “Closer to Truth.” Great questions, and a true workout session for the mind!
Read an adapted version of “Introduction: The pope made me write this book,” excerpted from “The Big Bang of Numbers” on LitHub.
My interview with Eric Weiner at Politics and Prose Bookstore.
Watch me being interviewed by Maya Kanwal at the Jaipur Literary Festival in Houston (Sep 10, 2022). The first event for “The Big Bang of Numbers!”
Read the Publisher’s Weekly review.
The first review, very positive, for “The Big Bang of Numbers” (Jun 30, 2022) Kirkus Reviews.
“Want to fix gerrymandering? Then the Supreme Court needs to listen to mathematicians” in The Conversation about mathematical standards to identify extreme gerrymandering (Mar 29, 2019). Also republished by PBS News Hour and Salon.com
“Stop Saying ‘Exponential.’ Sincerely, a Math Nerd.” New York Times opinion piece about how “exponential” and other math terms have been appropriated in unfortunate ways (Mar 4, 2019).
“India’s Riotous Triumph of Equality” New York Times opinion piece celebrating the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a colonial-era ban on gay sex (Sep 7, 2018).
“Does Math Make You Smarter?” New York Times opinion piece about a cool logic test from psychology called the Wason Selection Task, and how it pertains to math education (Apr 13, 2018).
“Who Invented ‘Zero’?” New York Times opinion piece about where zero came from (Oct 7, 2017).
I appeared on the Sheilah Kast show on NPR on Mar 1, 2017 in an interview entitled “How to Love Math.”
Video of my talk at the Museum of Mathematics. From Fairy Tales to Finite Elements: How Mathematics Connects with Fiction (Jun, 2016)
“The Mathematician’s 90th-Birthday Party” in the New York Times — Young brains may be brasher, but some ideas emerge only with the deep insight of a long career. (April 25, 2016)
“The Segregation of India” in the New York Times — In the building where I grew up, Hindus and Muslims lived side by side. (March 15, 2016)
“Don’t Feel Bad About ‘Bad Sex’” in the New York Times — You’ll wonder if you should have toned things down. (Nov. 28, 2015)
“The Importance of Recreational Math” in the New York Times — ‘Fun’ problems can lead to striking, unexpected discoveries. (Oct. 12, 2015)
“Why Is Science So Straight?” in the New York Times — Gays and lesbians are underrepresented in many STEM fields. (Sept. 4, 2015)
“India’s Inverted Abortion Politics” in the New York Times — The government wants broader access. Doctors don’t. The poor suffer. (Aug. 3, 2015)
“India and the Politics of Yoga” in the New York Times — Prime Minister Modi’s goal for International Yoga Day is to promote India’s brand, not the Hindu religion. (June 19, 2015)
“Mathematicians and Blue Crabs” in the New York Times — Can a formula really predict a changing population? (May 2, 2015)
“A Ban on Beef in India Is Not the Answer” in the New York Times — Imposing ideals from a mythic past will only alienate minorities. (April 17, 2015)
“Don’t Expect Math to Make Sense” in the New York Times — Pi’s combination of utility and enigma is the perfect metaphor for the subject. (March 13, 2015)
My New York Times book review for “Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy (Sep 23, 2016).
My OP-ED piece, “Exposing the Bangalore Techie” in the New York Times on the difference between being gay in the US vs India. (Nov 4, 2014)
On the cover of India Currents, with writer A.X. Ahmad, who interviewed me about Bollywood. (August, 2014)
“The Death of Vishnu” named one of the ten greatest Indian novels by India’s leading book journalist, Sunil Sethi. (Jun 21, 2014)
My review of Jordan Ellenberg’s book, “How not to be wrong: The power of mathematical thinking” in The Washington Post. (Jun 13, 2014)
“The City of Devi” wins the Bisexual Fiction Award and is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. (May 31, 2014)
My OP-ED piece, “The Nuclear Nightmare” in the Times of India on the threat of nuclear terrorism in India. (Jan 12, 2014)
My OP-ED piece, “Court Ruling Ignores India’s Rich Heritage of Diversity” in the Washington Post about the reversal of gay rights in India. (Dec 20, 2013)
A book recommendation I made on NPR to understand gay life in India in the context of the shameful ruling by the Indian Supreme Court to recriminalize gay sex. (Dec 14, 2013)
On winning the Bad Sex in Fiction Award: a Washington Post article and interview. (Dec 4, 2013)
My New York Times OP-ED piece on math appreciation, “How to Fall in Love with Math” (Sep 16, 2013)
My New York Times OP-ED piece on how the US gay marriage ruling may help gay rights all over the world, “The Court’s Global Message on DOMA.” (Jun 30, 2013)
My autobiographical article in Granta magazine, “How to be Gay and Indian” (Jun 25, 2013)
BBC’s “The Forum” features me talking about “Obsessions, new and old, in literature and technology” (Apr 7, 2013).
Fantastic review for “The City of Devi” in the UK Guardian (Mar 21, 2013).
How mathematics almost killed “The City of Devi”: article in The Daily Beast (Mar 15, 2013).
Manil Suri’s top ten books on Mumbai in the Guardian (Mar 13, 2013).
Read a New York Times interview with me (February 25, 2013).
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