Media

More of Marcus’ tv programmes

• The secret rules of modern living: algorithms, BBC4, September 2015

  Without us noticing, modern life has been taken over. Algorithms run everything from search engines on the internet to satnavs and credit card data security – they even help us travel the world, find love and save lives. Marcus demystifies the hidden world of algorithms. By showing us some of the algorithms most essential to our lives, he reveals where these 2,000-year-old problem solvers came from, how they work, what they have achieved and how they are now so advanced they can even programme themselves.

  BBC | The Telegraph

• The Quizeum, BBC4, March - December 2015

  Marcus has been a regular participant in this game show hosted by Griff Rhys Jones that explores different museums across the country.

  BBC

• Precision: The Measure of All Things, BBC4, June 2013

  In this 3 part series Marcus explores why we are driven to measure and quantify the world around us and reveals how we have reduced the understanding of the universe to seven basic units of measurement.

  BBC

• Maestro at the Opera, BBC2, May 2012

  Together with Craig Revel Horwood, Josie Lawrence and Trevor Nelson, Marcus takes up the baton and learns how to conduct at the Royal Opera House. BBC

• The School of Hard Sums, Dave, April 2012 - April 2014

  Marcus co-presents this crazy blend of maths and comedy with comedian Dara O Briain. Each week they are joined by two comedians who battle it out with Dara to solve mathematical conundrums set by Marcus.

  Dave

• Horizon: The Hunt for AI, BBC2, April 2012

  In this one hour documentary on artificial intelligence, Marcus finds out how close we are to creating machines that can think like us.

  BBC

• Horizon: Faster Than the Speed of Light?, BBC2, October 2011

  In this one hour documentary Marcus responds to the news in 2011 that neutrinos might be travelling faster than the speed of light.

  BBC

• The Code, BBC2, July - August 2011

  In this 3-part landmark documentary series Marcus takes viewers on an odyssey to reveal that there is a hidden code at work in the world. That code is mathematics. Available on DVD and broadcast internationally. Marcus also helped to develop a major multi-platform component to engage viewers in the mathematical ideas.

  BBC | Six to Start | Open University

• The Beauty of Diagrams, BBC4, November - December 2010

  6 part series about the importance of 6 iconic scientific diagrams: (1) Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man; (2) Newton’s prism (3) Copernicus’s diagram of the solar system; (4) Florence Nightingale’s rose diagram; (5) the double helix; (6) the Pioneer Plaque.

  BBC

• Horizon: What Makes a Genius?, BBC2, February 2010

  Documentary on the science of intelligence. Marcus finds out if the brain of a genius is fundamentally different from that of a regular person.

  BBC

• Horizon: The Secret You, BBC2, October 2009

  Documentary about the science of consciousness. With the help of a hammer-wielding scientist, Jennifer Aniston and a general anaesthetic, Marcus goes in search of answers to one of science’s greatest mysteries: how do we know who we are?

  BBC

• Horizon: How long is a piece of string?, BBC2, September 2009

  Marcus helps comedian Alan Davies to answer the proverbial question: how long is a piece of string? But the task soon turns into a mind-bending voyage of discovery where nothing is as it seems.

  BBC

• Horizon: Alan and Marcus go forth and multiply, BBC2, March 2009

  Marcus takes Comedian Alan Davies on a maths odyssey including an explanation of the famous Monty Hall problem, a visit to the fourth dimension and an exploration of the shape of the universe.

  BBC

• The Story of Maths, BBC4, October 2008

  A four part landmark series about the history of maths. Available on DVD and broadcast internationally including BBC World where it was chosen as documentary of the year 2009. Resources also available on the Open University website.

  BBC

• THE NUM8ER MY5TERIES, The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2006, Channel Five, December 2006

  This series of 5 lectures explores some of the greatest unsolved problems of mathematics. Available on DVD and online. Also re-recorded in 2007 for broadcast on Japanese and Korean TV. Ri Channel | Website with lots of games and resources to support the lectures

• Painting with Numbers, Newton Channel, June 2006

  A series of 4 short films on the Newton Channel (first broadcast on Teachers TV) explaining how the fundamentals of mathematics are crucial for understanding the world around us.

  The Guardian | Teachers Media

• The Music of the Primes, BBC2 & BBC4, 2005

  Based on his best selling book, Marcus presents the story of those who have tried to capture one of the greatest unsolved problems of mathematics, the pattern of prime numbers. Filmed on location in America, India, Greece, Germany and England, the film includes interviews with some of the world’s leading mathematicians. Available on DVD and broadcast extensively across the world. Open University

• Mindgames, BBC4, 2005 - 2006

  Marcus presents 20 episodes of this fun-packed BBC TV panel game full of puzzles, anagrams and conundrums with regular team captains Kathy Sykes and Michael Rosen. Marcus was nominated by the BBC for a Royal Television award 2005 for the best new-comer to a network.

  BBC