American Variety Shows: “In science, as in most professions, women in the past usually had to keep a low profile. Sometimes they made major discoveries that men took credit for. That’s changed a lot in recent decades, but it was certainly true for Elizebeth Smith Friedman, whose breakthroughs in codebreaking in the early 20th century helped us win two world wars and led to the modern field of cryptology--yet she remained almost unknown. She’s the subject of an upcoming documentary on PBS' "American Experience." We’ll talk with one of the film’s producers.”

The Visible Voices: “Hilary Klotz Steinman is an Emmy award winning independent documentary filmmaker. In 2020, Hilary established Napatree Films to produce independent projects that explore forgotten or overlooked histories and illuminate the experiences of women and girls in America and globally. She produced, The Codebreaker, a PBS documentary and part of the series American Experience . It tells the story of Elizebeth Friedman, a pioneering codebreaker who thwarted organized crime gangs during Prohibition, hunted Nazi spies during World War II and helped develop the science of cryptography in America. Her story was buried for more than half a century. For more about Elizabeth, read Jason Fagone's The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies.  Review by the Wall Street Journal.

During the Spanish Inquisition, Jewish people were forced to convert to Catholicism, and if they were found to be secretly practicing their faith they would be arrested and tortured or even burned at the stake. Many fled the country to keep their faith and save their lives. Others stayed and “assimilated” completely. In the documentary film “Children of the Inquisition,” modern descendants of these people discover and explore their Jewish roots and family history from centuries ago. We’ll talk with the film’s producer.