SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Codes and Ciphers from the Renaissance to Today

Synopsis

Podcast from the Folger Shakespeare Library. A comment occuring late in this podcast : "Without Bacon and Shakespeare, we might not have won the war in the Pacific," states Bill Sherman, head of research at the Victoria and Albert Museum and professor of Renaissance studies at the University of York. Rebecca Sheir talks with Sherman about the flowering of codes, ciphers, and secret message systems during the Renaissance—including a brilliant cipher devised by Francis Bacon—and their surprising influence on modern cryptography. As Sherman explains, William Friedman, the top US cryptographer whose team broke the Japanese diplomatic code before World War II, had once been a junior staffer on a team that sought to find Bacon’s real-life cipher embedded in the plays of Shakespeare (a once-popular notion that he and his wife and fellow cryptographer Elizebeth later debunked). That early exposure to Renaissance cryptography shaped Friedman’s career, as he soon became the founder of modern American cryptography.

Series

Shakespeare Unlimited

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Audio

Recording date

2014

Duration

14 mins

Credits

Producer

Richard Paul

Contributor

Bill Sherman; Rebecca Sheir

Additional Details

Production type

Documentary/Educational/News

Keywords

cryptography; history of the 16th century; Renaissance; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Bacon, Francis

Notes

Notes

Podcast: http://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited-episode-14 (accessed 3/2015).

Production Company

Name

R.L. Paul Productions