Ep. 18 - The Codebreaking Couple, The Friedman

Have you ever used Morse Code, written a hidden message in a note to a friend, or even spoken pig latin to keep a secret from some young kids? No matter the method, we all have information that we’d like to keep private. Today banking, tech security, and even text messaging all involve encryption. Oftentimes computers are needed to “hack” into or break through these extra measures. But how was this done before computers? Join us as we take a breath of dead air with William and Elizebeth Friedman, who broke codes in the service of their country long before the digital age. Sources Clark, Ronald. The Man Who Broke Purple. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. Fagone, Jason. The Woman Who Smashed Codes. Harper Collins, 2017. Greenfield, Amy Butler. The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life. Books on Tape- Listening Library, 2021. Mundy, Liza. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II. Hachette Audio, 2017. “William F. Friedman Collection of Official Papers.” National Security Agency/Central Security Service, www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/Friedman-Documents/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.