Fireside Chat | The Codebreakers, Part 2: The Cryptanalyst’s Revenge

In-person or Online

Join us in-person in the library or online for part two of the Codbreakers presentation by Fireside Chat host Paul Sparrow and Science & Society's Fred Dylla. Part one is on Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET.

Paul and Fred will examine the American cryptologists working at "Station Hypo" in Hawaii who managed to break the Japanese codes and give the U.S. Navy the vital intelligence it needed to spring a trap and inflict devastating losses on the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Battle of Midway.

The Fireside Chat series is organized and moderated by Paul Sparrow, a writer, historical consultant, and the former Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Before moving to the FDR Library, he was the Deputy Director and Senior Vice President at the Newseum in Washington, DC. He is the author of the book, Awakening the Spirit of America: FDR's War of Words With Charles Lindbergh—and the Battle to Save Democracy.

Fred Dylla has three degrees in physics from MIT and spent 15 years as a research scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, followed by 16 years as the Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab in Newport News, VA. He finished his formal (paid) career as the Executive Director of the American Institute of Physics in College Park, MD, from 2007-2015. Fred is the host of the library's “Science and Society – Making Sense of the World Around Us” lecture series.

President Franklin Roosevelt broadcast his first Fireside Chat on March 12th, 1933, just eight days after his inauguration. During his 12 years in office he delivered dozens of Fireside Chats, guiding America through the Great Depression, and guiding a global audience through the horrors of World War Two. FDR’s Fireside Chats were a new form of political communication, using radio to connect with Americans in an intimate setting – right in their living rooms. His compelling and persuasive broadcasts encouraged Americans to believe in democracy and its future. Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, hosts this series of programs that build on the foundation laid by FDR’s Fireside Chats, and find their relevance to our world today.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer. Each individual attending must register.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email us.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.