Hidden Figures: How These Women Cracked an Impossible Soviet Code

In the 1940’s, the US government had a mission: find Soviet spies that had infiltrated their nuclear program. To do that, they needed to find a way to decode Soviet messages, notorious for being “unbreakable”. So they turned to the Venona Project. This group of talented mathematicians, consisting largely of women, went on to expose spies in nearly every agency in the federal government.

To solve the non-carrying addition equation, simply add each digit in the top row to the digit below it. If the value is greater than 10, subtract 10 from the result. Repeat for each column of digits.

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Rogue History
It’s been said that history is written by those in power. But what about the outlaws, outcasts, and rogues? What if they had their say? Rogue History, a digital series produced by PBS Digital Studios and PBS North Carolina, shakes the dust off the history books to unravel myths, unearth narratives, and discover fresh perspectives.

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Chapters
00:00 The Soviet A-Bomb
00:54 The Venona Project's Dedicated Mathematicians
03:12 The First Clue
05:03 Book Breaking
07:08 The Infamous Rosenbergs