Chalkboard Ultra... A New Hope
At the end of the 24/25 academic year, Louie and I said goodbye to Chalkboard Ultra as we embarked on our journey as Durham University graduates. As the listeners will know, I am starting my PhD in maths at Durham, but Louie has found himself a graduate job outside of Durham.
We thought it would be best if, since only one of us would be here to run the podcast, we let it go and accept the fate of time. With that, we recorded our final episode with Sara L. Uckelman (listen here!), created our second yearly highlights, and went on our merry ways.
That is, until our good friend Cassia Pearce came along and said she would be honoured to revive the podcast and continue the legacy of student-run maths content and interviews with our staff. I am beyond delighted to officially announce that Cassia will be the new host of Chalkboard Ultra!
About the host
I (Cassia Pearce) have hijacked Sam’s blog to tell you a bit about myself! I’m a masters student at Durham, completing my MMath with courses from within pure mathematics, and working on my dissertation, which focuses on the finite Weil representation.
When I’m not busy thinking about maths, I’m also president of my college boat club and train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I made my debut on Chalkboard Ultra in Episode 31 to talk about Durham Mathematical Society, which I was co-president of at the time. It was great fun, so when I was offered the opportunity to host Chalkboard I (of course) accepted!
I’m looking forward to a great year ahead with Chalkboard Ultra, full of interesting conversations with lecturers about maths, and the tangents it can lead to. (Tangents? Maths? Comedy may not be in my future…)
Contact
Cassia will continue to run the social media and will periodically check the email inbox if you would like to get in contact:
chalkboardultra[at]gmail.com
Cassia began recording in November 2025. The episodes will be released on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Purple Radio. The schedule at the bottom of my projects page will also be updated periodically.
I am really looking forward to seeing what Cassia does with the podcast and I wish her the best of luck!