Aerobatic Birthday

This post is a hub for videos and podcasts which relate to my recent surprise birthday present - an aerobatic flight at Sywell Aerodrome.

I discuss the flight in detail with Tim in the latest Unmade Podcast (episode 181) - which can be found in all the usual places, including on the web, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

The YouTube version (embedded below) includes some footage from the flight around 24’50”

But The Unmade Podcast Patreon page has the full flight from multiple camera angles and with all the cockpit audio - check it here.

It’s a fun watch and listen.

(BTW, joining our Patreon unlocks a huge treasure trove of extra stuff from the podcast)

UPDATE: You can also hear a more detailed discussion with Hoffers on our aviation podcast Runway 23 and see some extra footage on that podcast’s Patreon page.

OPlu I’ve been playing around with a few short (possibly jokey) edits to appear “on the socials” including my Instagram (@brady_haran) so keep an eye on there too.

Thanks to Cabaero Aviation at Sywell (with whom my family sneakily booked the flight).

And pilot Mark Hooton who got me up and down safely. It was a great experience. What’s next?

Runway 23 - A Podcast about Planes and Pilots (and Crashes)

Some people are probably aware I have a fascination with aviation (and plane crashes).

With that in mind, I’ve started a podcast with my long-time friend Hoffers - who just happens to be a commercial pilot with 15,000+ hours under his belt.

It’s called Runway 23 and the first episode has been published… here are some key links…

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/runway-23/id1896917264
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033x15ndR31wM6YujhTv4w
Website: https://www.runway23.fm/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Runway23
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Runway23/

More links and information will follow in due course.

Our plan at this stage is to cover a little bit of “latest news” (with our unique take), but also for me to ask Hoffers all my amateur questions about planes and flying.

And of course we’ll discuss some of the biggest and most notorious plane crashes.

We’ll also have some guests on in due course, and listeners can submit questions.

Please do let me know what you think over on the reddit (or here).

And maybe consider being an early adopter on Patreon - I’m imagining Patreon will be a key factor in whether we can keep it going over the long term.

Climbing Ben Nevis with a bag of treasure

Last weekend I hiked up Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak.

I was part of a team fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy UK, and if you’d like to make a donation to this worthy cause then here’s a link.

The Scottish mountain, topping out at 1345m, is probably a modest challenge for regular walkers.

But for me it was a cold, hard slog.

However I struggled on, motivated by a small green bag stowed at the bottom of my rucksack.

This was my PPK, or “Personal Preference Kit”, an idea borrowed from NASA astronauts.

Inside was a smattering of items which I thought might appeal to viewers and listeners.

And I hope some people might consider a generous purchase or bid to acquire some of them, and at the same time contribute to a cause which is close to my heart.

The items include a baseball which I signed at the summit - I know this seems random, but I’ve always loved how Americans collect signed baseballs (often signed by someone unrelated to the sport, like a President!) (ITEM SOLD)

I also fluttered a Nail and Gear flag in the Highland clouds and signed it with my numb fingers. (ITEM SOLD)

Other items included 10 hotstoppers, 10 Sofa Shop pins, plus a few Unmade Podcast keyrings and guitar plectrums. (ALL SOLD OUT)

All will come with small signed certificates attesting to their authenticity!

Muscular Dystrophy, particularly the Duchenne variant (DMD), is a devastating disease.

I first became aware of it via my friend Logan Smalley who made a fantastic film called Darius Goes West, about his own friend Darius Weems who lived with DMD.

But more recently a little three-year-old friend of mine named Kitto was diagnosed with it.

He doubtless faces a bumpy road ahead.

But with help from his loving parents and organisations like Muscular Dystrophy UK, I look forward to more laughs and playdates with him (and my own little boy Edward, who thinks Kitto is hilarious).

An Asteroid named Bradyharan

Incredibly honoured that the name “Bradyharan” has been chosen for an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Artist’s impression of 46925 Bradyharan (Pete McPartlan)

The name was approved by the International Astronomical Union and announced in this recent bulletin.

I’ve made a video all about it.

After a lonely billion years orbiting the sun, the asteroid was discovered in 1998 by the Catalina Sky Survey and initially given the designation (46925) 1998 SS27.

The name is now 46925 Bradyharan.

Subaru Telescope images over 15 minutes on 29 April 2006 (note background spiral galaxy at start of track)

The CSS submitted the name in recognition of my science videos.

46925 Bradyharan is the small streak at centre of this image (Deep Random Survey)

The asteroid is quite big at 16km in diameter. It would certainly cause a global mass extinction if it hit Earth.

But fear not, it does not get anywhere near us on its 4.2 year journey around the Sun.

A day on the asteroid takes just over 9 hours and it spins on its own axis in a retrograde motion (opposite to the way Earth spins).

Its orbital path slips below and above the ecliptic plane, meaning it’s visible from both the southern and northern hemispheres at different times.

Location at time of blog post (Feb 2025) about to drop from north to south

This north/south nature of its orbit was a major reason it was chosen “for” me - as I was born in Australia and live in England.

The namers wanted to choose an asteroid that could be seen by amateur viewers of my videos - and Bradyharan is easily found by anyone who knows how to use even a small telescope.

There’s plenty more information to be found in my video, including size comparisons with major cities (and some minor cities!).

There are also extended interviews to be found with Daniel Bamberger, David Rankin, Mike Merrifield and Adam Block - see the playlist here.

Some stats about the asteroid are here. And some information about its shape can be found here.

I will doubtless be following any more information that comes to hand - so watch this “space”.

And I will possibly reward anyone who captures images of the asteroid and shares them with me! :)

Peter Haran - 1948-2025

Just a short post to mark the passing of my dad, Peter Haran.

Peter died on February 10, 2025, the day before his 77th birthday.

I won’t write his biography here - plenty about his extraordinary life can be found from other sources (see below).

But I was very proud of him and grateful for the time we had together.

We travelled to Vietnam in 2014 and made some videos about Peter’s experiences in the Vietnam War - you can watch them at this playlist link.

He also gave a very extensive interview about his life in 2004 which can be found here, both in video form and written transcript.

And among the books Peter wrote about the war is Trackers, an autobiographical account of his journey with a war dog named Caesar.

Peter was a soldier, journalist, artist, husband, dad, and poppy.

We will miss him.

The Zeeman Medal

I’m very proud to have been awarded the 2024 Zeeman Medal for the communication of mathematics (press release here).

The medal is awarded by two esteemed organisations - the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and the London Mathematical Society.

The prize is named after a famed British mathematician and populariser of maths, Sir Christopher Zeeman.

It has a distinguished list of previous winners and I feel a healthy amount of imposter syndrome.

I’m also well aware the award recognises the Numberphile project, which is a very large collaboration of talented people.

I’d like to make a special mention of artist/animator/editor Pete McPartlan who has been a very important part of the channel for many years.

I also used the award as an excuse to assemble THIS LIST which I hope includes all the “stars’ of Numberphile since 2011. It’s a rich source of links and rabbit holes!

The project has received financial and practical support from numerous organisations over many years, starting with YouTube itself, and also crucial backing from SL Math (formerly MSRI) and Jane Street. Brilliant has also been a long-time supporter.

And of course our Patreon supporters too!

It really is impossible to list everyone who has contributed to Numberphile.

The physical medal will be handed over next year and I will be giving a public talk in London to mark the occasion. Details of the event will be posted in due course and hope to meet some of you there.

These Numberphile stars are also past Zeeman medallists - can you name them?

The last-minute scramble for university places

At the time of writing, many UK high school students will shortly receive their A-Level results - exam grades that can decide their path into higher education.

For some the results may be surprising - better or worse than expected!

This can result in a last-minute scramble to change pre-selected university courses via a process called “clearing”.

Some might desperately consult university league tables to decide what institution is best?

With this is mind, I recorded a trilogy of videos with experts at the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

Meghan Gray, Philip Moriarty and Mike Merrifield - all three are scientists, and all three have held the post of undergraduate admissions tutor.

The first video with Phil Moriarty deals with the issue of failure, and Phil recounts his own experience at university when a passion for music resulted in failing his third year of university.

Next we take a look at university league tables - and how the whole system might be flawed.

And finally we discuss the clearing system - that mad scramble for last-minute places at university.

For those who can’t get enough, there’s also some extra footage that did not get used above but I thought was worth publishing.

And here’s a video from 11 years ago, with Mike discussing university applications.

We endeavoured to make these videos as wide-ranging and useful as possible - NOT a promotional thing for the University of Nottingham.

However, here’s the University of Nottingham’s clearing webpage if you fancy a last-minute application. ;)

And here’s the webpage for the university’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

Oh, and here’s our Sixty Symbols YouTube channel and the Deep Sky Videos YouTube channel.