18 episodes
The World's Hardest Puzzle Stak
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- Society & Culture
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4.3 • 91 Ratings
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Archive is an investigative documentary series hosted by Tommie Trelawny and Nicky Anderson. Following the success of The Interruption, listeners can expect another captivating story from Season Two: The World's Hardest Puzzle.
In 2012, a mysterious organisation known as Cicada 3301 announced itself on the message board, 4chan. The cryptic post appeared online, seeking 'highly intelligent individuals.' What followed became known as the hardest puzzle on the internet. One that took players across the internet and into real-world locations. After two years of enigmatic posting, it disappeared - and was never seen again. The final puzzle was never solved.
Nearly a decade later, Tommie Trelawny and Nicky Anderson decide to take on Cicada 3301 for themselves. Who was behind these mysterious puzzles? And what did they want to achieve?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode One: Good Luck, 3301.
In January 2012, a cryptic post appeared online, seeking ‘highly intelligent individuals.’ What followed became known as Cicada 3301, the hardest puzzle on the internet. One that took players across the online space and then, to real-world locations. After two years of enigmatic posting, it disappeared - and was never seen again. The final puzzle was never solved. Nearly a decade later, Tommie Trelawny and Nicky Anderson decide to take on Cicada 3301 for themselves. Who was behind these mysterious puzzles? And what did they want to achieve?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Episode Two: We Want The Best.
The complexity of each set of Cicada 3301’s puzzles astounded everyone. Even the minute details seemed forensic... All we know is they wanted ‘highly intelligent individuals.’ But why did they want them?
To get closer to the answers, Nicky speaks to an entomologist, and Tommie a cryptographer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Episode Three: It’s Dark Outside.
Liberty. Privacy. Security. These are the values that Cicada 3301 fight for. Tommie decided to delve into the murky world of privacy activism and the Dark Web. While meeting those who call the internet home, he stumbles across a revelation…
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Episode Four: We Shall Await You There.
Years have passed since the internet last heard from Cicada 3301. Tommie joins the 'Cicada Solvers' Discord Community to see the progress being made on the final puzzle, the Liber Primus. Is it any closer to being unlocked? Meanwhile, Nicky discovers that solving puzzles requires thinking outside the box.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Episode Five: Patience is a Virtue.
On a late April evening Nicky is about to close her laptop when she stumbles across a YouTube video about Cicada 3301. Something about it doesn’t seem right. It leads her to a website, and even more questions…
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Episode Six: The Key is All Around You.
Despite ominous warnings from the ‘Cicada Solvers’ Discord Community, Nicky gets in contact with the alleged founder of Cicada 3301. They wait nervously as the call rings…
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating!!
Wow! Just finished both seasons!! Fascinating!! Love the pod! More please!
Badly edited and boring
I’m all for a good mystery - even an unsolved one. But there was so much redundant and duplicative content here, I actually checked multiple times to see whether I’d inadvertently skipped backwards. This was disorienting at first, but as I caught on to how often the show was repeating itself, it became straight up irritating. Especially given that the show wasn’t going to give us any answers, they at least could have offered us good storytelling.
The World’s Hardest Puzzling Podcast
I am confused that Nicky receives a long email with attachments and contacts in episode seven, but doesn’t investigate them? Is it surprising that cyberpunks would not want to give out information? I am sure that is part of their manifesto! Secret groups are secret for a reason…that took a year of research? Plus, acting tense at anticlimactic things each episode is very tiring.