The Ciphered Past

Who was the man in the sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963? And how certain can we be about what witnesses actually saw? In Episode 96 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner welcomes Skip Gienapp, creator of the popular TikTok account @JFK60years , for an extensive conversation examining the evidence, eyewitness accounts, and enduring controversies surrounding the a...

Was Tupac Shakur simply a groundbreaking artist caught in the violence surrounding the hip-hop industry, or was there a deeper story involving political activism, government surveillance, and intelligence operations? In Episode 95 of Ciphered Past , hosts Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome author, researcher, and documentary filmmaker John L. Potash for an extensive examination of the life, legacy,...

Was Watergate simply a botched burglary, or was there more to the story than the public was ever told? In Episode 93 of Ciphered Past , hosts Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome award-winning filmmaker, author, and researcher Shane O'Sullivan , writer and director of The Watergate Caper: Richard Nixon and the Death of the American Dream . Drawing on newly examined CIA records, previously overloo...

What if some of the most important evidence in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy raises more questions than it answers? In Episode 92 of Ciphered Past, hosts Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome back JFK researcher Gil Jesus for an extensive examination of the evidence surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged weapons purchases, the security arrangements in Dealey Plaza, and the events...

An American Blind Spot | MC Armstrong MC Armstrong returns to Ciphered Past for his fourth appearance and one of our most wide-ranging conversations yet. Armstrong gives us an early look at his upcoming book, Murder Most Foul, an investigative memoir that combines his personal connection to the Kennedy assassination with his ongoing research, interviews with living witnesses, and examination of ne...

LOOK TWICE — VOLUME 3: BEFORE IT GOES WRONG | TIM BEARD The best time to think about danger isn't after something happens. It's before it goes wrong. Tim Beard returns for Volume 3 of our LOOK TWICE series for another conversation about personal safety, awareness, prevention, and the small decisions we make every day that can have enormous consequences. This time, the focus shifts toward r...

THE LOOSE THREAD | Jeffrey Kaye | Ciphered Past Episode 90 Jeffrey Kaye returns to Ciphered Past for a wide-ranging second conversation that follows some of the lesser-explored threads surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Beginning with a broader discussion about government secrecy, censorship, war, and the limits of transparency, Jeffrey takes us into his continuing researc...

What happens when an ordinary day suddenly stops being ordinary? In Volume 2 of our Look Twice series , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome back author and former CIA officer Tim Beard for a practical conversation about recognizing risk, preparing for emergencies, protecting your digital life, and making better decisions when something goes wrong. This time, the discussion moves into situations many...

THE SAFETY BRIEFING with Tim Beard | Look Twice — Part One Welcome to a new kind of conversation. In this first installment of The Safety Briefing , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame sit down with author, former United States Marine Corps infantry officer, and retired CIA officer Tim Beard to discuss his book series, Look Twice: Your Guide to Staying Safe in an Unsafe World . This isn't a conversation...

Episode 89 — The Same Monster | Jackson Brooks In Episode 89 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome researcher and writer Jackson R. Brooks for a wide-ranging roundtable discussion examining the JFK assassination and the larger world of covert operations surrounding it. Jackson explains how his research began outside the Kennedy assassination itself. While studying covert operations,...

Episode 88 — The Talking Bone | Rene Denfeld In Episode 88 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome internationally acclaimed author, journalist, and licensed investigator Rene Denfeld , author of The Talking Bone , The Enchanted , The Child Finder , The Butterfly Girl , and Sleeping Giants . For nearly two decades, Rene has worked in the world of criminal investigation, including case...

EPISODE 87 — HARVEY AND LEE | DAVID JOSEPHS What if the history we know of Lee Harvey Oswald is actually the history of two different men? In Episode 87 of Ciphered Past, researcher David Josephs returns for his fifth appearance on the show to begin Part One of our examination of one of the most controversial and complicated areas of JFK assassination research: Harvey and Lee . Based on the extens...

In Episode 86 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome author and researcher Peter C. Grace , author of The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA , for a fascinating examination of the intellectual foundations of American intelligence during the early Cold War. Grace takes us back to a period when the newly created CIA was struggling to understand exac...

Some of the most intriguing pieces of the JFK assassination story aren't necessarily the famous ones. They're the strange witness accounts, overlooked interviews, unexplained observations, and photographic details that remain buried in the historical record. In Episode 85 of Ciphered Past, Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome researcher, author, former law-enforcement officer, and returning g...

Ciphered Past — Episode 84: In Real Time | Steve Cameron Steve Cameron returns to Ciphered Past for an investigation that is unfolding in real time. Joining Tim Gardner and Eli Frame, Cameron presents his continuing research into the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the criminal case against Tyler Robinson, who has pleaded not guilty. One year after the assassination, Steve takes Tim, Eli, and th...

Ciphered Past — Episode 83: The Inevitable Trap | Charles Goyette New York Times bestselling author, commentator, and longtime broadcaster Charles Goyette returns to Ciphered Past for a wide-ranging conversation with Tim Gardner and Eli Frame about what he sees as a nation approaching an economic, political, and institutional reckoning. Drawing from themes explored in his book Empire of Lies: Frag...

Ciphered Past — Episode 83: The Inevitable Trap | Charles Goyette New York Times bestselling author, commentator, and longtime broadcaster Charles Goyette returns to Ciphered Past for a wide-ranging conversation with Tim Gardner and Eli Frame about what he sees as a nation approaching an economic, political, and institutional reckoning. Drawing from themes explored in his book Empire of Lies: Frag...

Episode 82 — The Power of the People | John O’Loughlin John O’Loughlin returns to Ciphered Past for a wide-ranging conversation about the JFK assassination, government secrecy, intelligence operations, the erosion of public trust, and the enduring power of ordinary citizens to question the narratives presented to them. Tim and John begin with the reported discovery of FBI “burn bags” containing JF...

What if the strange trail of Lee Harvey Oswald imposters began years before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? In Episode 81 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome researcher and writer Scott Reid back to the show for a fascinating investigation into one of the lesser-known mysteries surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald: the account of Louise Steenbarger . In 1978, Steenbarger...

Episode 80 — The Helsinki Corridor | Bart Kamp In Episode 80 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome back researcher and author Bart Kamp for a deep examination of one of the lesser-discussed chapters in Lee Harvey Oswald's life: his mysterious journey through Helsinki, Finland, in October 1959 . Drawing from his newly released illustrated paper, The Helsinki Corridor , and the mu...

Episode 79 — The Calm Illusion | Paul Abbott What if one of the most familiar moments in American history isn't as straightforward as it appears? In Episode 79 of Ciphered Past , Tim Gardner and Eli Frame welcome back author and researcher Paul Abbott for his fourth appearance on the show. Paul joins us to discuss his six-part Substack series, Questioning Jack Ruby , a continuation of the rese...

In Episode 78 of Ciphered Past*, Tim Gardner sits down with bestselling author, researcher, and host **Donald Jeffries* for a wide-ranging conversation about the hidden chapters of American history—and the questions that remain long after the official story has been written. Jeffries, author of *Hidden History*, *American Memory Hole*, *Survival of the Richest*, *Masking the Truth*, *Bullyingocrac...

In Episode 76 of Ciphered Past, Tim Gardner is joined by returning guest Hadyn Wood and researcher Muppet Masher for Part Two of our examination of the Charlie Kirk assassination and the evidence surrounding the case against Tyler Robinson. The Missing Minutes is not an attempt to determine guilt or innocence. It is an examination of the evidence and claims currently being debated—and of the unans...

In Episode 77 of Ciphered Past, Tim Gardner is joined by historian, researcher, and longtime friend of the show Robert Birch for a wide-ranging examination of the JFK assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, the Dallas Police Department, intelligence connections, conflicting evidence, and the continuing struggle to separate legitimate research from speculation. Robert begins by discussing the state of th...

Welcome to Ciphered Past Episode 75: Silent Witnesses with special guest Katanna Zachry , co-author of The Lone Star Speaks: Untold Texas Stories About the JFK Assassination . In this compelling conversation, Tim Gardner and Eli Frame sit down with Katanna Zachry to explore the overlooked voices surrounding one of the most studied events in American history. Drawing from years of research and inte...