Nicky Anderson: From Producer to behind the microphone

Stak’s Head of Narrative, Nicky Anderson talks about how she’s gone from producing her first narrative documentary to becoming one of the sequel’s on-show investigators in Archive: The World’s Hardest Puzzle.

In January 2012, a message appeared on 4Chan, the anarchic online messaging board which had become a playground for hackers and conspiracy theorists alike:

“Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. Good Luck, 3301.”

Accompanying the text was a cryptic image – a black-and-white cicada. What users didn’t know at the time was that this post marked the first step in one of the most complex puzzles to rock the internet age – later known as Cicada 3301.

The murky origins of the story led Nicky Anderson and Tommie Trelawny down a digital rabbit hole, which led to a year-long investigation into where these puzzles came from and who was behind them. Following on from their first investigative series The Interruption, The World’s Hardest Puzzle is the second investigation in Stak’s Archive saga.

From riddles to impenetrable codes and US military conspiracies, one thing became clear: Cicada 3301 was no ordinary puzzle. It was an intellectual minefield shrouded in mystery. Speaking to those who found themselves at the heart of the mystery, Nicky & Tommie trek through the winding, often murky history of the internet, uncovering the admirable integrity some corners of the internet still hold, as well as the sometimes sinister consequences of revealing too much of our lives online.

At the helm, delivering her on-mic debut as well as producing the series was Stak’s Nicky Anderson. We caught up with Nicky to see how she felt about being a primary voice of the podcast and the process in telling such an intricate story.

Hi Nicky! So, how was it going from the producer role, to stepping onto the mic for the first time?

At the beginning, it was seriously nerve-wrecking but I knew it was something I wanted to do so I really just had to throw myself into it. Of course there were times where I doubted myself but I’m so glad I’ve added another string to my bow, it was a fantastic experience. I already can’t wait for the next!

And how did you find the Cicada story? What made you think it was worth making a podcast about?

Tommie told me about it one day and I just couldn’t get it out of my head after that! It had everything a brilliant mystery needs: puzzles, clues, dedicated followers, real world locations and more. It was something refreshing, interesting and a bit bizarre that I wanted more people to know about!

When delving into something as complex as Cicada 3301, what was your process in trying to make it sound clear for the listener whilst trying to understand it yourself?

It was a very humbling experience! The amount of behind the scenes research that went into the pre-production felt like it never really ended. But no one says research can’t be content itself – if you’re making a documentary about a topic and you’re having a meeting about it with your production team, stick on your mic and start recording. All this tape will not only help you when it comes to scripting later on as you’ll be able to re-listen to your conversation, but it can also be used as ‘real life’ investigation tape.

Lastly, what do you think are the main differences between working with Tommie as a producer and now also a co-narrator?

Naturally there were challenges, there were times where each of us would end up slipping back into the producer / host dynamic. It took some time to get used to and I did have to keep reminding myself that this time round we were co-creators. I was very fortunate to go through this experience and change with Tommie. I think we make a good team no matter what the dynamic.

Listen and subscribe to Archive: The World’s Hardest Puzzle by searching for the show wherever you get your podcast, or by clicking this link.

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This article was created in partnership with Stak.