Mysteries About True Histories (M.A.T.H.)

Episode Description: After soccer practice, Max and Molly stumble onto a new mystery when Max’s soccer Coach hands out bizarre “Zen” playbooks filled with riddles and impossible strategies. As they calculate the odds of success on the field, the pair begins to suspect Coach might be a secret Mole.  Math Concepts: • Probability and the Multiplication Rule;Regression to the Mean; Division and averaging (calculating goals per game and postseason stats):History/Geography Concepts:  Concepts of Zen and Koans (paradoxical riddles meant to teach mindfulness or enlightenment); Sports strategy and probability in real-world applications

Episode Description:  Max and Molly suspect their teachers, Mr. Avogadro and Mr. Zimmer, of plotting to change history—only to discover the two are secretly obsessed with role-playing games! Their investigation takes them back to 13th-century France, where they explore Carcassonne’s ancient walled city, stomp grapes, and calculate area, circumference, and distance using math. Math Concepts: Unit conversion (kilometers to miles); Circumference and radius of a circle; Area of a circle; Ratios and averages; Time and rate calculations History/Geography Concepts:  The medieval walled city of Carcassonne, France (origins around 3500 BCE); French unification under the crown (mid-13th century)Pre-printing press communication (town criers, hand-copied letters)

Episode Description: Max and Molly suspect that Mr. Avogadro’s student book club may be a front for Mole recruitment. Using Math to calculate reading goals, averages, and even a new “Suspicion Number” system inspired by mathematician Paul Erdős, they try to narrow down suspects. But when they overhear Mr. A and Mr. Z talking about “burrows” and “alternate history,” the mystery deepens. Math Concepts: Division with remainders; Multiplication to find daily/weekly totals;; Application of averages;Fractions/percentages; Graph theory-inspired reasoningHistory/Geography Concepts:  Misconceptions about animals (bats and moles’ eyesight/echolocation); Introduction to mathematician Paul Erdős and the Erdős Number System; Literature reference: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Episode Description: Max and Molly follow a tip that the POGs’ delivery recruits are meeting up at a Beatles’ concert in Liverpool, 1960. There, they not only enjoy seeing the Fab Four rise to fame but also discover their old teammate Katrina has been unwittingly working for the enemy through a mysterious “Spoon” app. Can they convince her to become a ‘Mole inside the Moles’ before history takes another disastrous turn? Math Concepts: Subtraction; Division/Averages; Basic proportional reasoning History/Geography Concepts:  The Beatles’ early career in Liverpool and rise to international fame; Historical events tied to Katrina’s deliveries (Watergate, Julius Caesar’s assassination, the Great Depression)

Episode Description: Max and Molly attempt to infiltrate the POGs by applying for a mysterious “Mole job” that sends them 2 million years back to Olduvai Gorge. There, they discover Homo habilis, early human tools, and the dangers of altering history—better known as “The Butterfly Effect.” Using Math to calculate volume, they dig a hole to bury a strange box. But could this simple action end up changing the future forever? Math Concepts: Volume formula: length × width × height (to determine hole depth);Large number comparisons (quadrillions vs trillions); Fractions, decimals, and multiplication; Time conversion (millions of years → human timeline).History/Geography Concepts:  Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania as a key anthropological site; Discovery of early human fossils (Mary Leakey, Homo habilis). The Butterfly Effect in relation to history and consequences. Fossilization and preservation conditions (lava and ash deposits).