Zero Knowledge

By Zero Knowledge Podcast

Zero Knowledge is a podcast which goes deep into the tech that will power the emerging decentralised web and the community building this. Covering the latest in zero knowledge research and application... more

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FAQs about Zero Knowledge:

How many episodes does Zero Knowledge have?

The podcast currently has 429 episodes available.

Zero Knowledge episodes:

June 10, 2026Building ZK-Powered AI Guardrails with Wyatt Benno
In this episode, Anna and Nico chat with Wyatt Benno, technical founder of ICME Labs. They trace Wyatt’s start into ZK in the ZKHack Discord and Justin Thaler’s study group before diving into ICME’s early work on folding schemes, local proving, and NovaNet.
The conversation then shifts to ICME’s work at the intersection of AI and ZK. Wyatt introduces ICMEPreflight, a ZK-based guardrail tool for AI. They then explore how succinct verification and privacy-preserving proofs can help secure agentic commerce and provide stronger guarantees than existing guardrail approaches.
They also discuss Jolt Atlas, ICME’s zero-knowledge machine learning framework, the connections between ZK and AI and the challenges of scaling ZKML. Finally, Wyatt encourages future advances in ZKML that could unlock privacy and verifiability in AI systems.

Related Links
ICME Labs
Nova: Recursive Zero-Knowledge Arguments from Folding Schemes (2022)
Jolt Atlas: Verifiable Inference via Lookup Arguments in Zero Knowledge (2026)
ZK Podcast:Is ZK dead? Or has it just begun? with the ZK Pod co-hosts
ZK Podcast:Isogenies with Luca De Feo
ZK Podcast:How ZK inspired AI Watermarking with Miranda Christ
Neo: Lattice-based folding scheme for CCS over small fields and pay-per-bit commitments (2025)
Awesome Folding Schemes Repo by Lurk Labs
Proofs, Arguments, and Zero-Knowledge by Justin Thaler
Smart contracts have lost users billions of dollars to bugs. Zero-knowledge protocols are next. zkSecurity audits the full stack and publishes open research on ZK vulnerabilities.
Head to zksecurity.xyz to learn more.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
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1h 8min
May 27, 2026The Quantum Question Panel – Live from zkSummit14
This episode was recorded live at zkSummit14 in Rome. In it, Anna and Nico Mohnblatt hosted the live ‘Quantum Question’ panel which began as an interview, but became something harder to categorize: part seminar, part group therapy, part improv theater, and — depending on the timeline you expect for viable quantum computers — part emergency briefing.
The logistics of the panel were really unusual. The guests were meant to be Justin Drake and Dan Boneh, but Dan’s flight was delayed. And so the panel began with just Justin Drake and the hosts — what someone in the room jokingly described as the highest moderator-to-panelist ratio in zkSummit history. To compensate, the format broke open: researchers from the audience, including Daira-Emma Hopwood from the Zcash team and Jens Groth (author of Groth16), joined the conversation. A park bench materialized in real time.
The conversation veered into the history of quantum computing research, why Shor’s algorithm threatens today’s public-key cryptography and pairing-based SNARKs, fault-tolerant ‘logical qubits’, physical qubit fidelities, and why neutral-atom machines—despite slower cycle times—may be the most practical path to ‘Q-Day.’ The group also debates the rush-to-post-quantum pitfalls, the benefits of lattice-based post-quantum schemes versus hash-based ones, and how hybrid transitions are unfolding in practice. This was a truly chaotic, spontaneous, informative and fun session at zk14 with some great contributors from attendees and community members, we hope you enjoy it!

Related Links
ZK14 - The Quantum Question Panel Video
Episode 391 -lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
Episode 400 - Quantum Advances, Hybrid Signatures and SNARKs to the Rescue with Dan Boneh
Quantum Algorithm Zoo
POSEIDON: A New Hash Function for Zero-Knowledge Proof Systems
Poseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function
Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies against Quantum Vulnerabilities: Resource Estimates and Mitigations
Oratomic (Neutral Atoms Startup)
Neo and SuperNeo: Post-quantum folding with pay-per-bit costs over small fields
lean Ethereum
Check out all the talks from zkSummit14 in Rome on our YouTube channel here.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address

Read transcript
...more
59min
May 20, 2026From Access Control to Encrypted Execution with Auryn Macmillan
In this episode, Anna chats with Auryn Macmillan, founder of Gnosis Guild. They check in on Zodiac, which started as a DAO toolset and has evolved into a modular access control suite for on-chain entities. They discuss the state of DAOs today—what's worked, what hasn't, and how tools like Zodiac might have mitigated large-scale multisig hacks like the recent Bybit exploit.
The conversation then shifts to The Interfold (formerly Enclave), Gnosis Guild's new project combining FHE, ZK, and MPC to create encrypted execution environments. These enable multiple parties to collectively compute over private data and produce a verifiable output without any single trusted coordinator. They explore use cases like secret ballot voting and sealed bid auctions, the broader potential for collaborative analytics and private AI training, and how this fits into the larger privacy ecosystem.

Related Links
Charting Zodiac & DAOs with Nathan Ginnever and Auryn Macmillan
theinterfold.com
gnosisguild.org
How Aztec Raised $59M With 17,000 Bidders Using Uniswap’s CCA
Check out the talks from zkSummit14 in Rome on our YouTube channel here.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address

Read transcript
...more
54min
May 06, 2026Quantum Advances, Hybrid Signatures and SNARKs to the Rescue with Dan Boneh
In this 400th episode, Anna Rose welcomes back Dan Boneh, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University, for a wide-ranging conversation on quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, and the evolving role of ZK.
They discuss Google's recent quantum algorithm announcement—what the paper actually showed, why it was proven in zero knowledge, and the cryptographic ideas embedded in the work. Dan shares his perspective on quantum timelines, the risks of rushing the post-quantum transition, and why algebraic signatures deserve more attention than hash-based ones in the blockchain world.
The conversation covers hybrid signature schemes, the web's quiet transition to post-quantum cryptography, and the intersection of AI and ZK. Dan also highlights witness encryption, explains why encrypted mempools are generating new research questions, and closes with an update on the Ethereum Foundation's Proximity Prize.
Related Links
Episode 100 with Dan Boneh
Episode 256 with Dan Boneh
Episode 345 with Dan Boneh
Episode 390 lean Ethereum Miniseries Kick-off with Anna & Nico
Episode 359 Lattice-based ZK Systems with Vadim Lyubashevsky
Episode 364 AI and ZK Auditing with David Wong
Episode 382 Kevin Lacker on AI-Assisted Theorem Proving and Acorn
Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies against Quantum Vulnerabilities: Resource Estimates and Mitigations
Optimal Proximity Gaps for Subspace-Design Codes and (Random) Reed-Solomon Codes
Oratomic (Neutral Atoms Startup)
Proximity Prize
The Trail of Bits Blog:We beat Google’s zero-knowledge proof of quantum cryptanalysis
**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
1h 25min
April 22, 2026Is ZK dead? Or has it just begun? with the ZK Pod co-hosts
In this episode, Anna is joined by co-hosts Guillermo Angeris, Nico Mohnblatt, and Tarun Chitra for a reunion on this 399th episode. They reflect on how they each joined the show and how both the podcast and the ZK space have evolved over time, before diving into discussion on whether ZK is ‘dead’ or simply maturing. They explore its shift from niche research to hype-driven narrative to becoming a widely used but increasingly invisible piece of infrastructure. They go on to discuss the changing landscape of ZK companies, the explosion of new applications, and the trend of teams using ZK as an implicit primitive rather than a headline feature. The episode closes with a broader reflection on decentralisation, usability, and what the next phase of ZK adoption might look like.

Related Links
Between Two ZK Events with Nico and Guillermo
Building Private AMMs with Guillermo Angeris
2021 < 2022 with Co-hosts & Friends
Statistical modeling with PoS systems with Tarun Chitra
Indistinguishability Obfuscation (iO) with Huijia (Rachel) Lin
Error Correcting Codes & Information Theory with Ron Rothblum
How ZK inspired AI Watermarking with Miranda Christ
Ethproofs, zkVM Benchmarks & the Unstoppable Rise of ZK with Justin Drake
Decentralized Storage Part 1: Looking back
Decentralized Storage Part 2: Solutions
Verifiable Databases with Shyam & Emanuele from Provably
zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address

Read transcript
...more
1h 3min
April 08, 2026Verifiable Databases with Shyam & Emanuele from Provably
In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt speak with Shyam Duraishwami and Emanuele Ragnoli, co-founders of Provably. They trace the origins of Provably, from early work on data ecosystems and blockchain infrastructure to the launch of their verifiable database approach, exploring how advances in cryptography and database theory enabled this shift.
The conversation dives into what a verifiable database actually is and how this contrasts with Merkle-based systems and zkVMs, explaining how Provably’s use of polynomial and vector commitments enables performance that scales with query complexity rather than dataset size, opening the door to large-scale, real-world applications.
They close with a discussion on emerging applications from proving insights over private blockchain data to enabling verifiable analytics in Web2 and multi-agent systems—and the broader implications for data integrity in an increasingly data-rich world.

Related Links
Tavloid: towards Simple Verifiable Spreadsheets and Databases by Campanelli
Linear-map Vector Commitments and their Practical Applications by Campanelli, Nitulescu, Ràfols, Zacharakis and Zapico
qedb: Expressive and Modular Verifiable Databases (without SNARKs) by Botta, Bottoni, Campanelli, Ragnoli and Trombetta
Applications to attend zkSummit14 are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
57min
April 01, 2026Dev Ojha on the Osmosis Story and his Return to Privacy
In this episode, Anna Rose and Guillermo Angeris catch up with Dev Ojha, co-founder of Osmosis and longtime ZK researcher. They revisit the story of Osmosis since its 2021 launch as a key Cosmos DEX, its role in early IBC adoption, the DeFi summer surge, the Terra collapse fallout, and the later pivot by the team toward privacy-focused cross-chain tools.
The conversation then turns to Dev’s return to privacy tech, focusing on Zcash. They explore ongoing challenges like shielded sync, nullifier bloat, and scaling shielded transactions, along with proposed solutions involving private information retrieval (PIR), oblivious synchronization, evolving nullifiers, recursive SNARKs, faster block times with pre-confirmation ideas, and paths toward post-quantum recoverability.
They wrap-up with a discussion about the need for further zkVM optimization and his vision for a more private future.

Related Links
Osmosis
Zcash
Namada
Fractal: Post-Quantum and Transparent Recursive Proofs from Holography
Tachyon: Scaling Zcash with Oblivious Synchronization
IBC Protocol
Private Information Retrieval (PIR)
Arkworks
Related Previous ZK Episodes
Sean Bowe on Tachyon and the Evolution of Zcash
Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome are open! This edition has limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
1h 13min
March 25, 2026lean Ethereum Part 6: Formal Verification with Alex Hicks
https://youtu.be/9u4fu7TiZCA
In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Alex Hicks from the Ethereum Foundation about formal verification and its role in the lean Ethereum vision. This is the 6th and final episode of the lean Ethereum mini-series. Nico and Alex explore what it means to produce machine-checked proofs across the ZK stack, from RISC-V and zkVMs to circuits, compilers, and cryptographic primitives, and how these pieces connect in practice.
The conversation also covers Alex’s path from physics and math into the ZK space, how the EF effort took shape, and the community push to formally verify the entire stack using proof assistants like Lean. They discuss efforts to formalize zkVM components, the tradeoffs between proof assistants and automated solvers, and what real progress looks like after a year and a half of focused work.

Related Links
lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl
lean Ethereum
Lean Consensus R&D Progress
Lean Proof Assistant
Isabelle Proof Assistant
Ethereum Foundation
Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
58min
March 18, 2026lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl
https://youtu.be/Ul2bs8INF0k
In this episode Nico Mohnblatt chats with Will Corcoran and Raúl Kripalani from the Ethereum Foundation. This is part 5 in the 6-part leanEthereum miniseries, shifting focus from the cryptographic primitives and LeanVM stack to the real-world integration happening through devnets, specs, and cross-team coordination.
They dive into the human coordination layer, how independent teams align on post-quantum signatures, SNARK aggregation, and protocol changes, plus the networking upgrades needed for larger payloads.
Raúl explains the shift from today's libp2p stack to a purpose-built Eth P2P next-gen version optimised for Ethereum's workloads, including better broadcast layers, erasure coding, and control planes to handle bandwidth competition between execution and consensus layers.
Related Links
lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
lean Ethereum
Lean Consensus R&D Progress
Ethereum Foundation
Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
40min
March 11, 2026lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
https://youtu.be/YWkyvTrwtQU

In this episode of the lean Ethereum miniseries, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Thomas Coratger and Emile from the Ethereum Foundation about the design and implementation of LeanVM, a minimal zkVM created to support post-quantum signature aggregation on Ethereum’s consensus layer. They explain why the team chose a VM architecture over fixed circuits and how LeanVM takes inspiration from Cairo with just 4 opcodes and 2 precompiles to keep the instruction set extremely small and make formal verification easier.
The conversation also covers LeanVM implementation choices like using Plonky3 and WHIR for efficient proving on CPUs, benchmarks for aggregation speed, and the role of Python specs in testing client interop. They share ongoing efforts to optimize low-level primitives and invite community input on the project.

Related Links
lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
lean Ethereum
Lean Consensus R&D Progress
Cairo zkVM
WHIR: Reed–Solomon Proximity Testing with Super-Fast Verification
Minimal zkVM for Lean Ethereum by Emile
Repos
leanEthereum github organization
leanSig repo (optimized Rust implementation of XMSS for Ethereum usage)
leanSpec repo (the Python spec of the lean consensus)
WHIR repo
Plonky3 repo
leanVM
Applications to speak at zkSummit14 close this Sunday March 15! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

**If you like what we do:**
* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree
* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter
* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm
* Join us on Telegram
* Catch us on YouTube

**Support the show:**
* Patreon
* ETH - Donation address
* BTC - Donation address
* SOL - Donation address
* ZEC - Donation address
Read transcript
...more
33min

FAQs about Zero Knowledge:

How many episodes does Zero Knowledge have?

The podcast currently has 429 episodes available.

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