The Great American Spelling Bee with Gabe Henry

About this episode

Gabe Henry discusses the history and evolution of the Spelling Bee in America.

Can you use the word in a sentence? For this episode, Spelling Correspondent Gabe Henry takes Sarah through the surprisingly rampageous (r-a-m-p-a-g-e-o-u-s) history of the Spelling Bee, a uniquely American phenomenon. From the earliest examples of late night “spelling matches,” to the rough-and-tumble contests of the early frontier, to the controversy of the first National spelling bee, it turns out that these mild-mannered academic flexes were once both raucous and revolutionary. Gabe also ...

People in this episode

Guest: Gabe Henry

Topics covered

• Spelling Bee
• American history
• contests
• education

Keywords

• spelling
• competition
• history
• culture

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