So, Ken, do I have to call you Mr. President?

Well, you can if you want.

Do people call you Mr. President?

Sometimes jokingly. What honorific is used when you're like at meetings and that? I kind of live in Berkeley, which is known for its informality. So I'm very happy if people call me Ken. And I've been called, you know, Dr. Rivet and Mr. Rivet and Professor Rivet and Professor Ken and everything else. But like at AMS board meetings when you're wearing your president hat,

is there something that they have to call you when they're like addressing the chair and

that? Is there a proper honorific? Oh no. I have a gavel and basically we're all friends.

Do you ever bang the gavel then? Have you ever had to like bang it or call something to order?

Basically not.

I'm Brady Harron, and this is the Numberphile podcast.

Today, our guest is Ken Ribbert.

He's a math professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

In the world of mathematics, Ken's probably best known for his work on Fermat's Last

Theorem. But hang on, I hear you ask, didn't Andrew his work on Fermar's Last Theorem. But hang on,

I hear you ask, didn't Andrew Wiles prove for Mar's last theorem? Well, yes, but this proof was a huge

jigsaw puzzle with earlier contributions and one of the penultimate puzzle pieces was put in place

by Ken. Today he's going to tell us about it and what it was like to be in the

actual room when Weil's proof was finally revealed. But first, in case you can't tell, I am a little

bit fascinated by Ken's current role leading the American Mathematical Society, the AMS.

How did you become president? Is it just like an informal thing among mathematicians?

Is it a competition? Is it like a campaign?

Well, 30 years ago or 40 years ago, I think each president would choose his successor.

They're all males. And at a certain point, somebody decided that it might be good

...