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American Experience· Season 33 · Episode 1

The Codebreaker

S33E01·9.0·January 11, 2021·1h·PBS

Based on the book The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, The Codebreaker reveals the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose painstaking work to decode thousands of messages for the U.S. government would send infamous gangsters to prison in the 1930s and bring down a massive, near-invisible Nazi spy ring in WWII. Her remarkable contributions would come to light decades after her death, when secret government files were unsealed. But together with her husband, the legendary cryptologist William Friedman, Elizebeth helped develop the methods that led to the creation of the powerful new science of cryptology and laid the foundation for modern codebreaking today.

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#2In Season 33of 5 rated episodes
#29All-timeof 105 rated episodes
+0.6vs season avgSeason 33 averages 8.4
2021First airedJanuary 11, 2021

Guest stars

Kate BurtonKate Burtonas Narrator (voice)

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