There's no other way to say this: we went to prison for Pi Day this year. Longtime listeners will remembers Vanessa's fascinating and inspiring interview with Christopher Havens, an inmate serving a 25-year sentence for murder who has rehabilitated himself with math and founded the Prison Mathematics Project (Season 3, Episode 10). Vanessa helped with the virtual Pi Day celebration last year, but this year was a first: PMP was able to host an in-person event at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Michigan, and Christopher asked Vanessa to MC!
She brought along the OG Math Therapy team, producers Sabina and David, and they recorded their thoughts from the road both en route and immediately after leaving the unforgettable event. Vanessa also unpacks some of the many complex reflections she's had since the trip, and shares the ways Pi Day in prison was ultimately no different from the math events she's facilitated at countless schools and conferences - further proof that the capacity to embrace math is truly universal.
Find more about the Prison Math Project at prisonmathproject.org, where you can:
- donate
- volunteer as a mentor for an inmate
- sign up an inmate interested in the program
- info and history of Christopher and the Prison Math Project
If you have any questions Vanessa didn't cover about our trip, or any thoughts on this episode at all, please get in touch:
