Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share “I Helped Solve the Final Zodiac Killer Cipher” – with David Oranchak
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
“I Helped Solve the Final Zodiac Killer Cipher” – with David Oranchak
Summary
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
David Oranchak (X, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his work helping to solve the 340 Zodiac cipher. Dave is a software developer and avid puzzle solver.
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
Reflections
And much, much more …
Quotes of the Week
Quotes of the Week
“It felt like we had gotten a brand new letter from the Zodiac Killer. You know, the case had been dormant for so long … We started to see the message coming through, it was like he was back to life so to speak, he was talking to us again after so many years of not saying anything. So that was kind of eerie to kind of hear the voice of a serial killer.” – David Oranchak.
My Father the Navajo Code-Talker with Laura Tohe (2023)
Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
El Chapo, the Sinaloa Cartel & Intelligence with Trial Reporter Noah Hurowitz (2022)
CYBER AUGUST: “So, You Want to Be a Codebreaker?” with Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh (2021)
*Beginner Resources*
A brief history of cryptography: Sending secret messages throughout time, J. Schneider, IBM (2024) [Short article]
What is the Difference Between a Code and a Cipher? Mysterious Writings (2018) [Short Article]
Infamous Killers: The Zodiac Killer, A&E, YouTube (2017) [5 min. video]
DEEPER DIVEBooks
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer, R. Graysmith (Berkley, 2007)
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, S. Singh (Anchor, 2000)
The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet, D. Kahn (Scribner, 1996)
Primary Sources
The Zodiac Killer FBI Case File (1969)
San Francisco Zodiac Letter (1969)
San Francisco Suspect Sketches (1969)
Zodiac’s 408 Cipher (1969)
Zodiac’s 340 Cipher (1969)
The Beale Papers (1885)
The Dorabella Cipher (1897)
Voynich Manuscript (ca. 1401-1599)
*Wildcard Resource*
- If you’re an amateur codebreaker and you feel inspired by this episode, try your hand at cryptanalysis with this FBI-created dot code. Erin tried, but could not begin to crack it – She’ll stick to podcasting.
View all episodes
By SpyCast
4.4
15001,500 ratings
Summary
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
David Oranchak (X, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his work helping to solve the 340 Zodiac cipher. Dave is a software developer and avid puzzle solver.
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
Reflections
And much, much more …
Quotes of the Week
Quotes of the Week
“It felt like we had gotten a brand new letter from the Zodiac Killer. You know, the case had been dormant for so long … We started to see the message coming through, it was like he was back to life so to speak, he was talking to us again after so many years of not saying anything. So that was kind of eerie to kind of hear the voice of a serial killer.” – David Oranchak.
My Father the Navajo Code-Talker with Laura Tohe (2023)
Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
El Chapo, the Sinaloa Cartel & Intelligence with Trial Reporter Noah Hurowitz (2022)
CYBER AUGUST: “So, You Want to Be a Codebreaker?” with Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh (2021)
*Beginner Resources*
A brief history of cryptography: Sending secret messages throughout time, J. Schneider, IBM (2024) [Short article]
What is the Difference Between a Code and a Cipher? Mysterious Writings (2018) [Short Article]
Infamous Killers: The Zodiac Killer, A&E, YouTube (2017) [5 min. video]
DEEPER DIVEBooks
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer, R. Graysmith (Berkley, 2007)
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, S. Singh (Anchor, 2000)
The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet, D. Kahn (Scribner, 1996)
Primary Sources
The Zodiac Killer FBI Case File (1969)
San Francisco Zodiac Letter (1969)
San Francisco Suspect Sketches (1969)
Zodiac’s 408 Cipher (1969)
Zodiac’s 340 Cipher (1969)
The Beale Papers (1885)
The Dorabella Cipher (1897)
Voynich Manuscript (ca. 1401-1599)
*Wildcard Resource*
- If you’re an amateur codebreaker and you feel inspired by this episode, try your hand at cryptanalysis with this FBI-created dot code. Erin tried, but could not begin to crack it – She’ll stick to podcasting.
More shows like SpyCast
View all
Hacked
188 Listeners
War on the Rocks
1,064 Listeners
Modern War Institute
776 Listeners
Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs
278 Listeners
Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times
468 Listeners
True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics
1,955 Listeners
Irregular Warfare Podcast
406 Listeners
The Underworld Podcast
814 Listeners
Global Security Briefing
22 Listeners
SPYCRAFT 101
351 Listeners
Ukraine: The Latest
1,887 Listeners
Battleground
339 Listeners
NatSec Matters
267 Listeners
The Spy Who
626 Listeners
The Rest Is Classified
1,092 Listeners