Episodes

  • Introduction to Lean Ethereum with Justin Drake

    Introduction to Lean Ethereum with Justin Drake
    Feb 18 2026
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dad2UonQ9Ag&feature=youtu.be In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt sits down with Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation to kick off a miniseries on lean Ethereum, a bold vision to rethink Ethereum’s consensus, data, and execution layers. Justin outlines how post-quantum cryptography, faster finality, and enshrined zkEVMs fit together into a cohesive redesign. At the heart of it is leanVM, an ultra-minimal zkVM built to aggregate hash-based signatures and recursively verify proofs, potentially turning post-quantum migration into a scalability win. They also explore formal verification efforts, the shift from conjectured to provable proximity gaps, Poseidon2 as a hash candidate, and how this work could set a post-quantum standard not just for Ethereum, but for other blockchains as well. This episode sets the stage for deeper dives in coming episodes. Related Links
    • Ethproofs
    • lean Ethereum
    • Lean Consensus R&D Progress
    • Poseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function
    • github.com/leanEthereum/leanSpec
    • github.com/leanEthereum/leanMultisig

    Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address
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    36 mins
  • Lean Ethereum Miniseries Kick-off with Anna & Nico

    Lean Ethereum Miniseries Kick-off with Anna & Nico
    Feb 18 2026
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbskOlf7oA0 In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt kick-off a new six-part video miniseries exploring lean Ethereum. Lean Ethereum is a proposal initiated by the EF that weaves zero-knowledge cryptography and post-quantum upgrades throughout Ethereum’s stack. They discuss why the topic deserves a deeper series, what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes, and how this new video-first format will differ from the podcast’s usual style. The conversation previews key themes like hash-based signatures, formal verification, proximity gaps, and the broader goal of future-proofing blockchain protocols with minimal cryptographic assumptions. They also share details about the upcoming zkSummit14 and how the community can get involved. Related Links
    • Ethproofs
    • lean Ethereum
    • Lean Consensus R&D Progress
    • Poseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function

    Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation...
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    9 mins
  • Bonus: zkMesh+ & Upcoming Miniseries

    Bonus: zkMesh+ & Upcoming Miniseries
    Feb 11 2026
    There’s no full-length episode this week, but we wanted to highlighting a new bonus segment available exclusively to zkMesh+ subscribers. In this, we revisit last week’s conversation with Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. Ian dives deeper into:
    • The renewed cultural focus on privacy
    • The evolving narrative around Zcash
    • His recent research on reducing nullifier state growth without relying on traditional pruning

    Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe We return next week with a 6-part series on Lean Ethereum… stay tuned!
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    2 mins
  • Stateful ZK Identity with Ian Miers

    Stateful ZK Identity with Ian Miers
    Feb 4 2026
    In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt welcome back Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, to continue the conversation from a previous episode and dig deeper into his latest work like zk-Promises, zk-Cookies, and Cryptographic Personas. These ZK tools aim to build social networks that protect user privacy while maintaining integrity, like anonymous moderation and reputation systems without central databases. Ian explains how they differ from traditional creds but share ideas around proving attributes securely. The conversation explores real-world applications, such as banning bad actors without de-anonymizing them, setting rules in private group chats, and creating self-sovereign identities that persist over time. Ian also touches on challenges like stolen accounts, trolling, age checks, and how these primitives could shape future online interactions. Related Links
    • Ian Miers: Academic profile and publications
    • zk-creds: Flexible Anonymous Credentials from zkSNARKs and Existing Identity Infrastructure
    • zk-promises: Anonymous Moderation, Reputation, and Blocking from Anonymous Credentials with Callbacks
    • zk-Cookies: Continuous Anonymous Authentication for the Web
    • Cryptographic Personas: Responsible Pseudonyms Without De-Anonymization
    • Zexe: Enabling Decentralized Private Computation
    • Zerocoin to zk-creds: Modern ZK History with Ian Miers

    zkMesh+ is live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Bonus: Join zkMesh+ for some bonus podcast content!

    Bonus: Join zkMesh+ for some bonus podcast content!
    Jan 29 2026
    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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    1 min
  • Sean Bowe on Tachyon and the Evolution of Zcash

    Sean Bowe on Tachyon and the Evolution of Zcash
    Jan 21 2026
    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, and the long-term outlook for privacy-focused zero-knowledge systems. Related Links
    • Tachyon Website
    • Zcash
    • Electric Coin Company (ECC)
    • Halo (ZK Proof System)
    • Orchard Shielded Pool
    • Tachyon (Zcash Upgrade)
    • ZK Podcast: Halo with Sean Bowe and Daira Hopwood from ECC
    • ZK Podcast: Sean Bowe on SNARKs, Trusted Setups and Elliptic Curve Cryptography
    • zkSummit4: Sean Bowe on Halo: Recursive Proofs without Trusted Setups
    • A Note on Notes: Towards Scalable Anonymous Payments via Evolving Nullifiers and Oblivious Synchronization by Bowe and Miers

    zkMesh+ launches today! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Bonus: Welcome to 2026 from ZK Podcast & zkMesh+

    Bonus: Welcome to 2026 from ZK Podcast & zkMesh+
    Jan 19 2026
    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 subscribe ahead of launch directly on the ZK Mesh Substack https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
  • Year in Review: ZK Podcast in 2025 & Beyond

    Year in Review: ZK Podcast in 2025 & Beyond
    Dec 3 2025
    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 Links Ecosystem
    • ZK Whiteboard Sessions
    • ZK Mesh
    • Subscribe to ZK Mesh
    • ZK Podcast substack
    • State of ZK Report

    ZK Systems Story
    • Back to the Future with Zero Knowledge
    • Zero Knowledge Systems, Privacy and Security with Jonathan Wilkins
    • The Founding of Zero Knowledge Systems with Austin Hill

    Lattices
    • Implementing LatticeFold with Matthew and Albert from Nethermind
    • Lattices, Folding, & Symphony with Binyi Chen
    • ZK Whiteboard:Lattice-based SNARKs, w/ Vadim Lyubashevsky
    • ZK Whiteboard:LatticeFold, w/ Binyi Chen

    Ligero
    • Ligero for Memory-Efficient ZK with Muthu
    • ZK Whiteboard:The Ligero Proof System, w/ Muthu Venkitasubramaniam

    Quantum
    • Quantum Engineering with Jelena Vučković
    • Quantum Punks with Alex and Nicola
    • Countdown to Q-Day with Project 11
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    15 mins