Brady John Haran (born 18 June 1976) is an Australian-British

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

maker and video journalist who produces educational videos and documentary films for his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channels, the most notable being ''Computerphile'' and ''

Numberphile ''Numberphile'' is an Educational entertainment, educational YouTube channel featuring videos that explore topics from a variety of fields of mathematics. In the early days of the channel, each video focused on a specific number, but the channe ...

''. Haran is also the co-host of the''

Hello Internet ''Hello Internet'' is an audio podcast hosted by educational YouTube content creators Brady Haran and CGP Grey. The podcast debuted in 2014 and released 136 numbered episodes and 18 unnumbered episodes until February 2020, when the last episode ...

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

along with fellow educational

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

CGP Grey CGP Grey is an American educational entertainment, educational YouTuber, podcaster, and Online streamer, live streamer based in the United Kingdom who creates explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, sociology, h ...

. On 22 August 2017, Haran launched his second podcast, called ''The Unmade Podcast'', and on 11 November 2018, he launched his third podcast, '' The Numberphile Podcast'', based on his mathematics-centered channel of the same name.

Reporter and filmmaker

Brady Haran studied journalism for a year before being hired by ''

The Adelaide Advertiser ''The Advertiser'' is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format newspaper based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. First published as a broadsheet named ''The South Australian Advertiser'' on 12 July 1858,

''. In 2002, he moved from Australia to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, United Kingdom. In Nottingham, he worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, began to work with film, and reported for ''

East Midlands Today ''BBC East Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news programme for the East Midlands. The programme is broadcast on BBC One from studios at the BBC's East Midlands broadcasting centre in Nottingham with district newsrooms based in ...

'',

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

and BBC radio stations. In 2007, Haran worked as a filmmaker-in-residence for Nottingham Science City, as part of an agreement between the BBC and the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. His "Test Tube" project started with the idea of producing a documentary about scientists and their research, but he decided to upload his raw footage to YouTube; from that point "Periodic Videos" and "Sixty Symbols" were developed. Haran then left the BBC to work full-time making YouTube videos.

YouTube channels

Following ''Test Tube'', Haran decided to create new YouTube channels. In his first five years as an independent filmmaker he made over 1500 videos and in 2012, he was the producer, editor, and interviewer behind 12 YouTube channels. Haran frequently collaborates with well-known academics and professionals. Haran's videos are often in the format of a casual interview in which Haran and an expert discuss subjects relevant to their work.

''The Periodic Table of Videos''

Started in June 2008, ''Periodic Videos'' is a series of videos about

chemical elements A chemical element is a chemical substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in i ...

and the

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...

. Working with Professor

Martyn Poliakoff Sir Martyn Poliakoff (born 16 December 1947) is a British chemist known for his work on green chemistry and for being the main presenter on the popular YouTube channel '' Periodic Videos''. The core subjects of his academic work are supercritica ...

, Haran's videos explaining chemistry and science for non-technical persons have received positive recognition. Together, they have made over 500 short videos that cover the elements and other chemistry-related topics. Their YouTube channel has had more than 159 million views. Also, Haran and Poliakoff authored an article in the ''

Nature Chemistry ''Nature Chemistry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in April 2009. The editor-in-chief is Stuart Cantrill. The journal covers all aspects of chemistry. Publishing formats include prim ...

'' journal and an essay on ''Science'' journal discussing the impact of ''The Periodic Table of Videos''. Martyn Poliakoff received the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Nyholm Prize for Education in 2011 for work taking chemistry education to a wider audience; this included his work with Haran on ''The Periodic Table of Videos''.

''Sixty Symbols''

''Sixty Symbols'' is Haran's YouTube channel for

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. The first video was released in April 2009, with the original run of videos focusing on commonly used physics notations. Since then, videos on topics such as the

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

, the

age of the universe In physical cosmology, the age of the universe is the cosmological time, time elapsed since the Big Bang: 13.79 billion years. Astronomers have two different approaches to determine the age of the universe. One is based on a particle physics ...

, and several on

black holes A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

have been released.

''Numberphile''

Started in October 2011, ''Numberphile'' features videos that explore educational topics from a variety of

fields of mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include numbe ...

. It is currently Haran's most subscribed channel. In the early days of the channel, each video focused on a specific number, but the channel has since expanded its scope, featuring videos on more advanced mathematical concepts such as

Fermat's Last Theorem In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) states that no three positive number, positive integers , , and satisfy the equation for any integer value of greater than . The cases ...

and the

Riemann hypothesis In mathematics, the Riemann hypothesis is the conjecture that the Riemann zeta function has its zeros only at the negative even integers and complex numbers with real part . Many consider it to be the most important unsolved problem in pure ...

. Haran maintains the ''Numberphile2'' channel as well, which features extra footage from the main channel, as well as ''The Numberphile Podcast''.

''Objectivity''

Haran launched the YouTube channel ''Objectivity'' in late 2014. The videos feature the discussion and handling of historic objects and manuscripts, often from the archives of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, though other historic museums and organizations have also been featured. Haran is the on-camera presenter for the channel, in contrast to his other channels where he is a behind-the-camera presence. Keith Moore, the Head Librarian of the Royal Society, is prominently featured.

''Deep Sky Videos''

''Deep Sky Videos'', started in October 2011, is Haran's astronomy-focused channel. It is similarly formatted and has some of the same contributors as ''Numberphile'' and ''Sixty Symbols''. In September 2022, the channel finished a series of videos on each of the 110

Messier object The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters''). Because Messier was interested only in finding comets, he created a list of th ...

s, which had been a goal of the channel since January 2012.

Other YouTube channels

''Computerphile'' is the sister channel to ''Numberphile'', featuring videos about

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. Haran is minimally involved in the channel's video creation, with most being directed and produced by Sean Riley. Haran continues to maintain the ''Test Tube'' channel, now titled ''nottinghamscience'', as a place to post extra footage and outtakes from ''Periodic Videos'' and ''Sixty Symbols''. He also runs channels for his podcasts ''Hello Internet'' and ''The Unmade Podcast''. Haran has several channels that have been inactive for several years, which are ''Words of the World'', ''Backstage Science'', ''Psyfile'', ''PhilosophyFile'', ''Bibledex'', ''FavScientist'', and ''foodskey''. ''Brady Stuff'' is Haran's channel for personal videos and is a self-described "dumping ground for clips that don't quite fit anywhere".

Podcasts

''Hello Internet''

In January 2014, Haran launched the podcast ''Hello Internet'' along with co-host

, another YouTube educational content creator. The podcast peaked as the #1

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

podcast in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, and Australia. It was selected as one of

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

's best new podcasts of 2014. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' included the podcast among its 50 best of 2016, naming episode 66 ("A Classic Episode") its episode of the year. The paper described the podcast as having "in-depth debates and banter that is actually amusing". The podcast features discussions pertaining to their lives as professional content creators for YouTube, as well as their interests and annoyances. Typical topics include technology etiquette; movie and TV show reviews; plane accidents;

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. A person who studi ...

;

futurology Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...

; and the differences between Grey's and Haran's personalities and lifestyles. Grey's and Haran's opinions and comments on feedback usually starts the next episode of the podcast. As a result of their conversations, Haran has been noted for reappropriating the term "", among other words, to refer to the unauthorised rehosting of online media. The podcast has an "official" flag called the Nail & Gear which was chosen from five candidates with a

postal vote Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. In an el ...

by the podcast's audience using an

alternative vote Instant-runoff voting (IRV; ranked-choice voting (RCV), preferential voting, alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where one or more eliminations are used to simulate runoff elections. When no candidate has a ...

system. The podcast is currently on indefinite hiatus.

''The Unmade Podcast''

In August 2017, Haran launched ''The Unmade Podcast'' along with co-host Tim Hein, a close friend of Haran. The podcast features a discussion between the two about "ideas for podcasts that they will never make". Most episodes last for approximately 40–75 minutes and each host is given the opportunity to pitch two podcast ideas in total. Hein and Haran then proceed to discuss these ideas in a light-hearted and often comedic manner. Along with the regular episodes, the podcast also has occasional 'special episodes'. These are usually, but not always, an opportunity for the hosts to attempt to actually create a podcast from an idea previously put forward on the show. A notable exception to this was the Antarctica special episode which departed from the usual format for Haran to discuss his recent visit to Antarctica with Hein. As of December 2020, there have been twenty special episodes including the Antarctica special.

''The Numberphile Podcast''

In November 2018, Haran launched ''The Numberphile Podcast'', in which he speaks with various mathematicians in a longer-form version than the YouTube channel. Unlike with his others, Haran is the sole host of this podcast.

''Younglings''

In January 2023, Haran launched the podcast ''Younglings'' with his wife

Kylie Pentelow Kylie Ann Pentelow (born 29 June 1979) is an English journalist and television news presenter, presenting for BBC News. She was a presenter of '' ITV News West Country'' and the '' ITV Weekend News'' until September 2023, before joining the BB ...

, journalist

Amanda Knox Amanda Marie Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an American author, activist, and journalist. She spent almost four years incarcerated in Italy after her wrongful conviction in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a fellow exchange student, with w ...

, and her husband Christopher Robinson. The podcast focuses on the two couples' experience with parenthood, as well as advice for new parents.

Personal life

Haran lives near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in the UK. He is married to journalist and TV news presenter

, with whom he has a son.

Awards

* 2004 – BBC Ruby Television Awards Silver * 2005 – BBC Ruby Television Awards Gold for 'Best Audience Generated Content' * 2007 – BBC Ruby Television Awards Silver for work on the

real life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the Character (arts), characters they portray. It has become a ...

soap opera ''Alexandra Road'' * 2008 – The Stevie Award (International Business Award) for 'Best Public Information/Interactive and Multimedia' for The University of Nottingham website test-tube.uk * 2008 – IChemE Petronas Award for 'Excellence in Education and Training' for ''The Periodic Table of Videos'' * 2008 – European Excellence Award for 'Podcast' for ''An Element for Christmas'' * 2011 – ''Science Magazine'''s Prize for 'Online Resources in Education' for ''The Periodic Table of Videos'' * 2011 – Creativity International Platinum Award for 'New Media' for ''The Periodic Table of Videos'' * 2012 –

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for 'Reality Online Film & Video' for ''The Periodic Table of Videos'' * 2016 – Kelvin Medal for ''Sixty Symbols'' (with Michael Merrifield and Philip Moriarty) * 2016 –

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

) – University of Nottingham * 2017 – ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' Radio and Podcast Champion * 2021 –

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for service to the broadcast and on-line media. * 2024 – Christopher Zeeman Medal recognising excellence in the communication of mathematics. * 2025 –

main-belt asteroid The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...

46925 Bradyharan named by

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

Publications

* (with Martyn Poliakoff) * * (with Martyn Poliakoff) * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haran, Brady John Australian film directors Australian documentary filmmakers Australian journalists Australian emigrants to England Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian podcasters Australian YouTubers British podcasters British journalists YouTubers from Adelaide 1976 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Online edutainment BBC people Mathematics popularizers Australian science communicators Educational and science YouTubers British science communicators