SpyCast

“Alan Turing: Codebreaker, Visionary, Enigma” – with Andrew Hodges

Listen Later
Summary

Andrew Hodges (Website, Wikipedia) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the life and work of Alan Turing. Andrew is an emeritus senior research fellow of mathematics at the University of Oxford. 


What You’ll LearnIntelligence
  • Turing’s early foundations for artificial intelligence 
  • Interwar cryptanalysis
  • Bletchley Park, Hut 8, and British Naval Intelligence
  • The mechanics of the Bombe machine
    • Reflections
    • Legacy changing alongside social history
    • The weight and pressure of genius 
      • And much, much more …
      Quotes of the Week

      “Everything that you do with the digital, everything that we're doing now through these computers, flows from his perceptions. And that in turn came through his practical experience during the Second World War on breaking the enemy codes.” – Andrew Hodges .


      Resources SURFACE SKIM*SpyCasts*
      • The Real Ian Fleming with Nicholas Shakespeare (2024) 
      • ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: “The D-Day Deception” – with National WWII Museum Curator Corey Graff (2023) 
      • Hitler’s Trojan Horse – Nazi Intelligence with Nigel West (2023)
      • How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Spy Game with Mike Susong (2023)
        *Beginner Resources*
        • Alan Turing, B.J. Copeland, Britannica (2024) [Short biography]
        • How Did the Enigma Machine Work? Science Museum Group, YouTube (2019) [2 min. video]
        • How Alan Turing Cracked the Enigma Code, Imperial War Museum (n.d.) [Short article]
          DEEPER DIVEBooks
          • The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park, J. D. Turing (Arcturus, 2020)
          • Turing’s Vision: The Birth of Computer Science, C. Bernhardt (MIT Press, 2017)
          • Alan Turing: The Enigma, A. Hodges (Burnett Books/Hutchinson, 1983)
            Primary Sources 
            • Alan Turing Obituary and Tributes (1954) 
            • Can digital computers think? (1951)
            • Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950)
            • Proposed electronic calculator (1946)
            • Turing’s Treatise on the Enigma (1939-1942)
            • On Computable Numbers (1936)
              *Wildcard Resource*
              • Alan Turing’s School Report Card
              • Didn’t do very well in high school? Neither did Alan Turing. Amongst hopeful comments about his promising skills in mathematics, teachers noted Turing’s carelessness and severe lack of neatness in his work. 
                • ...more
                View all episodesView all episodes
                Download on the App Store
                SpyCastBy SpyCast
                • 5
                • 5
                • 5
                • 5
                • 5

                5

                4 ratings

                More shows like SpyCast

                View all
                SpyCast by SpyCast

                SpyCast

                1,531 Listeners

                Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

                Dan Snow's History Hit

                4,791 Listeners

                Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs by Secrets & Spies

                Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

                281 Listeners

                Darknet Diaries by Jack Rhysider

                Darknet Diaries

                8,077 Listeners

                TRIGGERnometry by TRIGGERnometry

                TRIGGERnometry

                2,275 Listeners

                WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk by Goalhanger

                WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

                1,415 Listeners

                The Team House by dee takos

                The Team House

                1,666 Listeners

                True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics by SPYSCAPE

                True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics

                1,960 Listeners

                In Moscow's Shadows by Mark Galeotti

                In Moscow's Shadows

                371 Listeners

                SPYCRAFT 101 by Justin Black

                SPYCRAFT 101

                347 Listeners

                Short History Of... by NOISER

                Short History Of...

                2,854 Listeners

                NatSec Matters by Beacon Global Strategies LLC

                NatSec Matters

                266 Listeners

                The Spy Who by Audible

                The Spy Who

                628 Listeners

                The Poppy Day Bomb | Times Investigates by The Times

                The Poppy Day Bomb | Times Investigates

                41 Listeners

                The Rest Is Classified by Goalhanger

                The Rest Is Classified

                1,153 Listeners