Zero Knowledge Podcast
239 episodes listed below
Cryptography conversations with the hard parts left in.
Zero Knowledge follows working researchers and builders through the details behind modern cryptography. Episodes move from definitions and origin stories into tradeoffs, UX constraints, proof systems, payments, identity, AI, and infrastructure.
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Zero Knowledge is a technical interview show about zero knowledge research, applied cryptography, privacy systems, and the infrastructure around decentralized networks. Anna Rose anchors conversations that often include another technically fluent voice and a guest building something specific. The format is direct. A project gets named, the premise gets tested, and the discussion moves toward definitions, architecture, tradeoffs, and the awkward edge cases that decide whether an idea can work outside a paper. Recent episodes show the range clearly. Kevin Lacker explains Acorn, an AI-assisted theorem prover, through the history and practice of formal reasoning. Sid and Cal from Pay walk through private payments, ZK proofs, card flows, refunds, and the messy connection point between a privacy network and Visa settlement. Vikas Rushi and Ying Tong talk through ZK-PDF and ZK-ID, including PDFs as real-world data containers, email attachments, invoices, bank statements, and digital identity requirements. Miranda Christ connects AI watermarking to cryptographic tools, including pseudorandom codes and verifier design. Daniel Kang maps the changing ZKML tool landscape, from narrow high-performance systems to more flexible proving approaches. Kostas Kryptos discusses ZK Login, ZK Authenticator, Groth16, programmable access control, quantum readiness, and work with the Greek stock market. Alex and Nicola widen the frame into quantum cryptography and the aims of a quantum punk movement. Norbert from ZK Cloud brings the conversation back to prover networks, supply chains, marketplace economics, and large-scale proving. Across these episodes, the show keeps asking what is provable, who verifies it, what breaks, and what a real user would actually experience. It can be dense. It is also conversational enough to stay legible when the math gets serious. The best fit is a listener who wants to hear researchers and builders think through the details in public.
Made for: For engineers, researchers, crypto builders, and technically curious listeners who want ZK and applied cryptography explained through real projects rather than headlines.
What sets it apart: Zero Knowledge stands out by pairing deep cryptographic vocabulary with practical product questions. It connects theory to payment flows, identity systems, AI tooling, proving infrastructure, and usability constraints.
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 applications, the open web as well as future technologies and paradigms that promise to change the way we interact — and transact — with one another online. Zero Knowledge is hosted by Anna Rose Follow the show at @ZeroKnowledgefm (https://twitter.com/zeroknowledgefm) or @AnnaRRose (https://twitter.com/AnnaRRose) If you like the Zero Knowledge Podcast: Join us on Telegram (https://t.me/joinchat/TORo7aknkYNLHmCM) Support our Gitcoin Grant (https://gitc...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Zero Knowledge follows cryptographic proofs from research into working systems, with unusually persistent questions about verification, usability, and implementation constraints.
Zero Knowledge turns technical interviews into working sessions, with Anna Rose and her co-hosts repeatedly asking how cryptographic ideas behave inside real products and research tools.
Anna Rose makes cryptographic machinery earn its keep before you mistake abstraction for progress.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at AI helping prove things without pretending the hard parts went away.
Kevin Lacker's Acorn story treats theorem proving as a practical workflow, not a magic trick. The useful part is the tension between what software can check, what AI can automate, and where a person still has to draw the line.
A concrete look at private payments where UX, proofs, and Visa rails have to coexist.
Pay's pitch is straightforward to describe and difficult to execute: a private payment product that still has to work inside Visa's remittance system.
Two concrete ZK problems, handled as one steady conversation about proofs, PDFs, and digital identity.
ZK-PDF and ZK-ID give the episode a concrete edge by tying zero-knowledge ideas to things people already handle: PDFs, invoices, bank statements, and digital identities.
A clear link between ZK thinking and the hard problem of watermarking AI output.
Zero Knowledge treats AI watermarking as a practical systems problem, with Anna Rose and Tarun speaking with Miranda Christ about how to prove content came from an AI model without making that proof visible to the person consuming it.
A practical tour of ZKML tradeoffs, tooling, and ZK-Torch's aims.
Daniel Kang gives a clear update on where ZKML has gone since early 2023. The episode works best when it stays with the concrete tradeoffs. It moves through ZK-CNN, ZK-LLM, Ezekiel, ZKML, and ZK-Torch, and it does a good job of showing both what these systems are supposed to…
Host Jack Rhysider narrates true hacking, breach, and privacy stories from the people involved.
David Pierce and Verge staffers cover AI industry news, gadgets, and tech policy weekly.
Long-form interviews on AI coding agents, infrastructure, and security, plus a recurring SED News roundup.
Founders and engineers on AI coding agents like Claude Code, and supply chain security.
David Sparks and Stephen Robles dig into Keyboard Maestro, Shortcuts, and Mac automation weekly.
Zero Knowledge hosts Anna Rose and Guillermo interview Kevin Lacker, creator of the Acorn Theorem Prover, about integrating AI into formal mathematical proof systems.
Zero Knowledge podcast hosts Anna Rose and Tarun interview Sid and Cal, co-founders of Payy (P-A-Y-Y), about their private stablecoin payment platform and the newly launched PayCard — the first non-custodial credit card that disconnects KYC identity from on-chain transaction history.
Zero Knowledge podcast hosts Anna Rose and Kobi interview Vikas Rushi from PSE (Privacy and Scaling Explorations) and Ying Tong about two related projects: ZK-PDF, a proof-of-concept system for proving selective facts about digitally signed PDFs without revealing their full content, and ZK-ID, focused on building a ZK-based alternative to the EU digital identity wallet.
AI watermarking gets the ZK treatment.
ZKML tooling has split into a few practical paths.
Host Anna Rose interviews Kostas Kryptos about bringing zero knowledge proofs to SWE, including ZK Login and ZK Authenticator, and making SWE quantum-ready.
Host Anna Rose discusses quantum cryptography and the crypto punk movement with guests Alex and Nicola.
Host Anna Rose interviews Norbert from ZK Cloud about prover networks and the economics of zero knowledge proving supply chains.
Interview with Austin Hill, co-founder of Zero Knowledge Systems, discussing the company's history, the dot-com era, and its legacy in privacy tech and Bitcoin.