apnorton

@John: How are we to trust you when your favorite editor is not vim? :p /s

Actual question 1: I'm about to graduate as a CS/math double major. What are some good textbooks/resources you'd recommend if someone wanted to learn up to the current (publicly known) frontier of crypto, already knowing basic abstract algebra and having taken a course in algebraic number theory?

Actual question 2: What is modern cryptanalysis like? Since the theory of RSA/etc remain to be "broken," is the job of a cryptanalyst focused on finding faults in implementations of these algorithms, or in actually attacking the theory itself?

Waitwaitwait. You're saying you do have the Ark of the Covenant?

You mention you started in 2009 --- how long would you say it was before you were able to monetize (in any way) your podcast? How long did it take to get to the point where you were making enough to live off?

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like I have a bit of reading ahead of me. :)

Not OP, but: Re: 1: I attended a presentation by someone who worked for a government contractor and saw a bunch of the fallout post-Snowden. Speaking to them afterward, they said they feel a lot of news coverage exaggerates the invasion of privacy.