Ep 2. Secret Presidential Codes

Brad Meltzer's Decoded is a thrilling investigative show that explores some of the world's most intriguing myths, conspiracies, and unexplained events. In season 1 episode 2, titled Secret Presidential Codes, Meltzer and his team delve into the mystery of hidden messages in letters and documents sent by American Presidents, from George Washington to Barack Obama.

The episode begins with a recap of the fascinating theory that the United States Constitution is encoded with secret messages that can reveal hidden truths about the country's history and politics. Meltzer and his team investigate this theory further, focusing on the idea that American Presidents have used coded messages in their letters and speeches as a way to communicate with each other and with intelligence agencies.

The team first examines a letter written by George Washington to his spies during the Revolutionary War. The letter contains a mysterious sequence of letters and numbers that could be a secret code. Meltzer and his experts analyze the code and try to decipher its meaning. They also investigate the story of Washington's alleged use of invisible ink to send secret messages, and visit a museum to see a replica of the ink used in the 18th century.

Next, the team looks at the letters of Thomas Jefferson, who was known to be a master of code and cipher. They examine a letter he wrote to his friend and fellow Founding Father, James Madison, in which he encodes his thoughts on the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts. The team tries to crack the code and reveal what Jefferson was really saying about the laws that limited freedom of speech and the press.

The episode then moves on to the Civil War era and the story of Abraham Lincoln's use of telegraph code. Meltzer and his experts explain how telegraph operators would use a complex system of dots and dashes to send messages across long distances. They investigate a letter Lincoln wrote to General Ulysses S. Grant during the siege of Vicksburg, which contains a cryptic message that some believe hints at a secret plan to win the war.

Meltzer and his team also explore the story of the Zimmermann Telegram, a secret message sent by the German Foreign Office in 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States. They explain how the message was intercepted by British intelligence and decoded, and how it played a crucial role in bringing the US into World War I.

The final part of the show focuses on modern presidents and their use of code words and phrases in classified documents. Meltzer and his team investigate the story of Project Socrates, a Cold War-era program that aimed to predict foreign policy decisions using a complex algorithm. They also look at the famous "Jelly Beans" memo from Ronald Reagan's administration, which used candy names as code words for classified operations.

Overall, Brad Meltzer's Decoded season 1 episode 2 offers an intriguing and insightful look into the world of secret codes and hidden messages in American presidential history. It combines expert analysis, historical reenactments, and engaging storytelling to reveal the fascinating stories and conspiracy theories behind some of the most important documents and letters in American history.