Elizebeth Friedman documentary, "The Codebreaker," premieres tonight on PBS

Dear “Knowledge is Power” readers and Elizebeth Smith Friedman fans:

This is just a quick note to let you know about two new events:

First, a documentary about Elizebeth and her adventures in codebreaking, titled THE CODEBREAKER, premieres tonight on PBS, at 9 EST / 8 Central, as part of PBS’s American Experience documentary series. You can watch on TV or stream it at PBS’s site. The show is based on my book, “The Woman Who Smashed Codes,” and I’m interviewed in it, along with other Elizebeth obsessives.

I’m excited for you to see this show. I think the filmmakers who put it together, a team led by Chana Gazit and Hilary Steinman, did an amazing job, and the vision is theirs. I saw how hard they worked and how much heart they put into it. There’s something about seeing the arc of Elizebeth’s story on the screen that’s impressive and powerful. Thank you to all of you who bought, shared, and talked about “The Woman Who Smashed Codes,” because the positive reaction to the book helped get this made. Please let your friends and family know about this if you think they’d like it, and if you watch, you can share thoughts on social media under the hashtag #CodebreakerPBS.

The second thing I wanted to tell you about: You can go online and cast a vote that will help preserve Elizebeth’s legacy. Her oil portrait (below), held at the George Marshall Foundation Library, has been named one of Virginia’s 10 most endangered artifacts. If you go to this page and vote for her portrait to get preservation funding, and if she gets the most votes, the library will get $1,000 for restoration. You can vote once a day per email address. Thanks to Melissa Davis, director of library and archives at the Marshall Foundation, for letting me know about this and getting the word out.

Thank you, and I hope you’re all doing ok.

Jason