Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast

Another Scripps National Spelling Bee is in the books, and remarkably, our ‘Pair of Aces’ featured in Episode 9 each walked away with their own trophy. Vanya Shivashankar took her prize on the word “scherenschnitte” and under pressure, Gokul Venkatachalam spelled “nunatak” like a true all-star. On today’s show, we revisit this year’s exciting final and dissect this year’s drama with 2000 champion and sage-to-the-spellers George Thampy. We'll also get host Paul Loeffler’s reaction while recording in producer Dan Bloom’s car on the way to the airport. This team uses every minute for the love of the Bee. If you enjoyed The Scripps National Spelling Bee and want to hear it next year, let us know! Email us at spellingbeepodcast@scripps.com and find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter "SpellingBeePod." Catch up on our entire series on iTunes or your podcast app of choice, they'll be there long after the Bee is over. We want to extend out sincere gratitude to all our guests and all our listeners. We hope you h

For spelling fans, #BeeWeek is the most wonderful time of the year. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the yearly pinnacle of linguistic competition, and this podcast is your home for all the excitement. On today’s program, we’ll cut right to the chase and feature two of the top spellers in this year’s competition. First up, Vanya Shivashankar, younger sister of 2009 Champion Kavya and winner of the Lifetime game show “Child Genius.” This year, Vanya is relishing her fifth and final trip to the Bee, posing for pictures and interviews, and competing in the semifinals as Speller #90. Also on today’s show, we’ll hear from a young man who finished agonizingly close to the summit in 2014. Gokul Venkatachalam opened a lot of eyes last year by finishing as first runner-up behind co-champions Ansun Sujoe and Sriram Hathwar. In his final year of Bee competition, Gokul slam-dunked the written vocabulary test, earning a perfect score on his way to the semis as Speller #140. The Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast

Spelling fans, rejoice, for our long winter is over and #BeeWeek is finally here! On this episode of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast, we have a truly exemplary guest from the highest chamber of our country’s legislature. US Senator from New Jersey Cory Booker takes time out of his busy schedule to offer encouragement to our young competitors and to discuss the power of words in his own life. Before holding elected office, Senator Booker enjoyed a successful football career at Stanford followed by a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford. It’s no surprise then, that a person with such competitive fire and intellectual prowess in their background would appreciate the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In addition to the academic sphere, Senator Booker knows intimately that words carry great power. From a young age, Senator Booker was inspired by his parents to embody his best self and to elevate others with his words. We are honored to have Senator Cory Booker pass that wisdom on to our audience and all the young

Almost ninety spellers have etched themselves into history by winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and still more are remembered for inadvertently starring in ‘viral’ moments that spread to the wider culture. And then, there is the young man who did both: Sameer Mishra. In 2008, a thirteen-year-old Mishra stepped to the microphone in anticipation of Dr. Jacques Bailly pronouncing his next word. “Numnah” is a pad of sheepskin or foam, placed under a saddle. Nothing too remarkable about that. But when Sameer Mishra replied in quizzical voice: “Numbnut?”...a star was born. Sweetening the moment, Mishra ended up winning the entire competition, thus fulfilling a promise he had made to his mother four years earlier after his elder sister Shruti was eliminated during the preliminary round. Sameer Mishra’s 2008 victory seems like a supreme individual performance, but to hear him tell it, his family was absolutely crucial to the effort. Mishra suggests the possibility that the family cooperation which benefite

Here on the Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast, we’re gearing up for Bee Week with current competitors, past champions and other masters of the English language. Today, we visit with Amber Born, a young speller who has competed four times at the National Bee in Washington, earning a top-4 finish in 2013. Once she aged out of spelling competition, she answered the call of another mic on stage, trying her hand at standup comedy. On this episode of the Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast, Amber speaks about her time at the Bee, offers advice to today’s spellers, and contrasts the dreaded Spelling Bee ‘ding’ with the sweet sound of a crowd’s laughter. Hear a bunch of that in Amber's first standup routine, found on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/FZtvryw1Mdo The Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast is your home for features and fun on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We’re on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @SpellingBeePod. We love to hear from our listeners; email us anytime at spellingbeepodcast@scr

When you’re watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee, pay close attention to the competitors, because if today’s podcast guest is any indication, you’re observing some of the brightest young minds in the country. Since winning the Bee in 2007, Evan O’Dorney has been on quite a roll. As a 9th grader, he began taking college math classes at UC Berkley. Four years ago, he enrolled at Harvard, where he studied mathematics and music. Today, he’s on the cusp of graduation, then it's off for a year to Cambridge University, with plans to complete his PhD at Princeton. On this episode of the Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast, we catch up with past champ Evan O’Dorney and learn about life after the Bee. O'Dorney talks about the importance and support of his family and his philosophy for continued success. The Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast is your home for features and fun on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We’re on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at twitter.com/SpellingBeePod. You can email us any

Each May, the Scripps National Spelling Bee lines up shoulder-to-shoulder with the NBA and Major League Baseball on ESPN. For this special week, the world of sports throws a burly arm around the spelling bee and marvels at our young spellers’ performance under pressure. Today on the Scripps National Spelling Bee podcast, we’re returning the favor by speaking with one of the most loquacious lovers of language in the world of sports: soccer commentator Ray Hudson. A former professional player and coach, Hudson knows the beautiful game inside and out. But what really sets him apart is his seemingly unending supply of quick quips and colorful metaphors. Through his passion for the spoken word, Ray Hudson still gets to live in the game of soccer. The Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast is your home for features and fun on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We’re on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at SpellingBeePod. You can email us anytime at spellingbeepodcast@scripps.com and check out our Tumblr page at h

Sophia Hoffman was just 11 years old when she competed in last year’s Jackson-Clay County spelling bee. She had spelled her way past all her competitors but one, seventh grader Kush Sharma. The showdown between the two would be a fateful one, and not for the faint of heart. These two mental gladiators both spelled without error for sixty-six rounds, exhausting the approved word list. Two weeks (and 29 additional rounds!) later they locked horns again and when the dust settled, Sophia had finally found her match. But that didn’t dissuade the young competitor, who is already known as one of the country’s top spellers. This year Sophia Hoffman is back at it and competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the first time. Today on the Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast, producer Dan Bloom speaks with Sophia about her amazing experience, incredible poise, and the redemption she found this year. After listening to the show, we’ll sure you’ll be asking yourself the same thing we did: How could you not r

What’s a four-letter word for “anticipatory excitement?” Buzz! That is certainly the word on our minds as #BeeWeek and the Scripps National Spelling Bee draws ever closer. On this special series of podcasts, our host Paul Loeffler offers his unique perspective from both sides of the bright lights of the finals. A contestant himself at age 13, Loeffler is all grown up and now hosts the live television broadcast of the Bee. People love the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the incredible intelligence on display, an endless appreciation for letters, and competitive drama you could cut with a knife. Our guest today is the grand champion of another event with these exact same qualities. Dan Feyer is the most dominant competitive crossword puzzler of all time. He’s also a musician and a former Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant, and if that weren't enough to draw an invite, he and Paul have been friends since childhood. You’ll hear genuine moments of friendship in this episode, the most heartwarming yet o

#BeeWeek and The Scripps National Spelling Bee is just around the corner, and this special series of shows, the Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast, is your home for insider info and conversations about the Bee, language and life. When considering whom to invite as our inaugural guest, we had three criteria: The guest had to be a former successful competitor in the Bee, someone who had made an impact, and, most importantly, someone with a passion and zest for life. “I know it! I totally know it!” That was the exclamation from 8th-grader Jacob Williamson in last year’s Bee finals. His exuberance sent a jolt of energy through the normally tense ballroom as legions of new fans in person and watching on television hoped for the young man. Jacob was not able to advance, finishing 7th overall after misspelling the name of an obscure Southeast Asian water monitor (the now-infamous “kabaragoya”) but his boundless enthusiasm made him into a spelling legend in an instant. In this podcast, hosted by none other th

The Scripps Washington Bureau proudly presents a special series, The Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast. Our host is none other than Paul Loeffler, ESPN Spelling commentator and a finalist himself in 1990. This year, Scripps has created this show as a way for the entire spelling community - or the orthograsphere if you will - to feel like insiders. We’ll have conversations with this year’s competitors, notable spellers from the past, and people in culture who use language in interesting ways. Sophia Hoffman missed out on a trip to Washington last year after a grueling 66 round dead-heat final in her qualifying district. She’ll be our guest. We'll also caught up with Jacob Williamson who captivated the internet during an irrepressibly enthusiastic run to last year’s finals. Ray Hudson is beloved by soccer fans the world over for his magisterial command of the English language and the spelling family is sure to fall for him too. Our first full episode comes out Wednesday, May 13th, and we’ll have new show