
Emily Riehl Makes Infinity Categories Elementary
From Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal by Theories of Everything
April 6, 2026 · 2h 50m
About this episode
Emily Riehl discusses making infinity category theory accessible to undergraduates and its implications for mathematics education.
Emily Riehl, one of the world’s leading category theorists, shares her vision for making infinity category theory something undergrads can actually learn. In this talk, she breaks down how rethinking the foundations of math could change the way it’s taught and understood—and why it might redefine what math even is. I subscribe to The Economist for their science and tech coverage. As a TOE listener, get 35% off! No other podcast has this: https://economist.com/TOE Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Links: • Emily’s profile: https://emilyriehl.github.io/ • Emily’s presentation: https://emilyriehl.github.io/files/undergraduates-TOE.pdf • A Type Theory For Synthetic ∞-Categories (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.07442 • Could ∞-Category Theory Be Taught To Undergraduates? (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2302.07855 • RZK proof assistant: https://rzk-lang.github.io/rzk/en/latest/ • Lean Zulip chat: https://leanprover.zulipchat.com/#recentnews Timestamps: 00:00 A Dream for the…
People in this episode
Host: Curt Jaimungal
Guest: Emily Riehl
Topics covered
- infinity category theory
- mathematics education
- category theory
- foundations of math
- abstraction in math
Keywords
- infinity categories
- category theory
- mathematics
- education
- abstraction
Sponsors
The Economist
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: TOE
Books & works: A Type Theory For Synthetic ∞-Categories, Could ∞-Category Theory Be Taught To Undergraduates?
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