Episode notes
In this episode Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt chat with Binyi Chen , researcher at Stanford University . They discuss his work on lattice-based folding schemes, revisit LatticeFold and LatticeFold+, and cover how lattices enable low-cost, post-quantum-secure folding by replacing Pedersen hashes with Ajtai commitments. They discuss the early folding work from 2023 and how it has evolved and explore the advantages of lattices over other approaches in the folding context while also highlighting their tradeoffs. Binyi goes on to introduce Symphony , his new work that eliminates the need to…
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Zero Knowledge
Zero Knowledge Podcast · Tech & Science · English
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 inter
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29 Jan 2026 · 1 min
Bonus: Join zkMesh+ for some bonus podcast content!
No full length episode this week, but we have released an additional podcast clip with Sean Bowe to our a zkMesh+ paid subscribers. Sean Bowe is a Zcash core developer and lead on Tachyon. In this clip, Sean shares his thoughts on the question of quantum computers and their real impact on blockchains and ZK systems. Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe
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21 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
Sean Bowe on Tachyon and the Evolution of Zcash
In this episode, Anna Rose catches up with Sean Bowe , a Zcash core developer now leading work on Tachyon , the upcoming Zcash shielded pool upgrade. They discuss the evolution of Zcash’s technical roadmap over the past five years and how it has influenced the design of Tachyon. Sean then walks through the cryptographic ideas behind Tachyon, including its proving systems, new techniques for pruning nullifiers without disrupting other parts of the protocol, and how the upgrade aims to address Zcash’s remaining scalability bottlenecks. They also explore plans for Zcash governance, wallet UX,…
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19 Jan 2026 · 3 min
Bonus: Welcome to 2026 from ZK Podcast & zkMesh+
We share some updates about the upcoming episodes and the ZK Podcast & ZK Hack ecosystem - specifically zkMesh+ launching this Wednesday. zkMesh+ will bring together work from the Zero Knowledge Podcast, ZK Hack, and ZK Mesh. Subscribers will have access to a set of additional resources, including: the quarterly State of ZK Report monthly addendums on adjacent technologies such as FHE, iO, and MPC early access and discounts for events like zkSummit and ZK Hack hackathons select subscriber-only Zero Knowledge Podcast segments and other experimental content If that sounds interesting, you can…
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3 Dec 2025 · 15 min
Year in Review: ZK Podcast in 2025 & Beyond
In this end-of-year episode, Anna recaps the major ZK themes of 2025 and gives a preview of what’s coming in 2026 — new episodes, a mini-series, zkSummit14, and the rollout of ZK Mesh Plus, a unified space for newsletters, educational content, and events. She highlights this year’s core research threads, from lattices and Ligero to quantum security, ZK-ID systems, emerging applications, and the ongoing push toward better proving benchmarks. Anna wraps with reflections on why privacy tech is becoming more urgent in the age of AI and what the community will be exploring next year. Related…
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26 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Pratyush Mishra on Tiny Proofs, Folding, Low-Memory SNARKs and More
In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt catch up with Pratyush Mishra , Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania . They discuss the various themes in his ZK research and some of the works he has been a part of in the last few years. They explore how Garuda and Pari achieve extremely small SNARK proofs, how Arc facilitates hash-based folding, proximity proofs with FICS and FACS, his work on low-memory SNARKs, and ZK applications outside the blockchain space. Pratyush shares how these ideas intersect with one another, from faster proving…
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12 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
The Quest for Practical iO with Machina iO
In this episode, Anna Rose and Tarun Chitra chat with Sora Suegami and Enrico Bottazzi from Machina iO . They explain indistinguishability obfuscation (iO) technology and how they are working to bring this powerful cryptographic primitive from theoretical territory into the practical world. They discuss how the pair got into iO and how new assumptions like all-product LWE and evasive LWE will help bridge theory to practice. They explore the benchmarks, the challenges and opportunities of this cutting-edge privacy cryptography and cover potential optimizations and real-world uses. While iO is…
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5 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Countdown to Q-Day with Project 11
In this episode, Anna Rose chats with Alex Pruden and Conor Deegan from Project 11 . They revisit the topic of quantum computing and explore the threat it poses to cryptographic systems like blockchains. As blockchain technology becomes increasingly integrated into global financial infrastructure — especially through stablecoins and banking rails — the stakes for quantum security continue to rise. Alex and Conor break down which algorithms are most at risk, why simple network upgrades won’t be enough, and what users will need to do to protect their own funds. They also outline potential…
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22 Oct 2025 · 56 min
Kevin Lacker on AI-Assisted Theorem Proving and Acorn
In this episode, Anna Rose and Guillermo Angeris talk with Kevin Lacker , creator of Acorn , a theorem prover utilising AI. They explore what theorem provers are, their history, and how they're used today. Kevin shares how Acorn brings in AI to simplify the proving process, letting users naturally write mathematical statements while the system checks the correctness of those statements. It's built to feel more like natural math, unlike tools like Lean that demand every step. They also explore the benefits of including AI in math, and also the challenges that come with it such as…
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15 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
Payy and Payy Card, the Undoxable Credit Card
In this episode, Anna Rose and Tarun Chitra catch up with Sid Gandhi and Calum Moore from Payy to discuss the Payy private payment system and the newly released Payy credit card. They explore their focus on building a user-friendly privacy focused product, how ZK tooling advancement makes this possible, and a walkthrough into how it works with the Visa remittance system. Sid and Cal explain Payy's design as a ZK Validium rollup on Polygon, using client-side proofs and a Merkle tree to ensure privacy and compliance. The discussion also delves into the history and past challenges of…
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8 Oct 2025 · 53 min
ZKPassport, Obsidion & the Emerging Noir Ecosystem
In this episode, Anna Rose chats with Théo Madzou and Michael Elliot from ZKPassport and Obsidion about their ZK-based identity solution. Théo shares his start in ZK through ZK Hack hackathons using Noir, while Mike shares his path from Bitcoin and MakerDAO to working on zkID systems. They explain how they teamed up to build ZKPassport, a non-profit public-good ZK identity solution project,and how they plan to bring it into Obsidion, a for-profit, privacy-focused fintech-style application that they’re working on. They discuss Noir's evolution and their contribution to this accending zkDSL,…
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