February Fourier Talks 2009

"If it bleeds, it leads," is the well-known mantra of local TV news. "News you can use," say the daily papers and weekly magazines. Where does mathematics fit into all this? The speaker, a 20-year veteran of the math reporting biz, will survey some of the ingredients that draw readers into stories about a subject that many of them normally shy away from. Among the obvious secrets: Sex sells.