Are you worried that I'm going to give you too easy time?

That's the question.

I doubt you're worried about that the way I always embarrass you in my public talks.

I am not worried.

I don't mind the embarrassment either.

Today's guest is a true number file VIP.

And let me explain why.

David Eisenbad is a well-res he's got an impressive array of papers and books under his belt

these days he's at the helm of a place called MSRI that's the mathematical

sciences research institute it's in Berkeley, California.

That name might sound familiar because MSRI has been a major supporter of number file for many years.

I spend several weeks each year at the Institute meeting and interviewing top mathematicians who visit there. It's become a bit of a home away from home for me. And over that time,

David's become a person I'd consider most responsible for like my mathematical education. I don't

mean teaching me calculus or how matrices work, although he has tried that from time to time too.

What I mean is that David's taught me how the world of professional

mathematics works, about universities, about how like research gets done, how papers get published.

Like any field of endeavour, mathematics is full of gossip and politics, personalities.

It's a very human world, and there are few people who know it better and seem to be better connected within it than David Eisenbad.

Today's interview with him is very typical of the sorts of conversations we have,

and I hope it gives you some insights into not just David's life, but how mathematics

works, how it really works.

If I had met you as a boy, would I have thought, oh yeah, this guy, he's going to be a mathematician

...