The Great American Spelling Bee with Gabe Henry

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 brings his own spelling bee to test the gifted child that still buzzes within Sarah Marshall. Digressions include Ben Franklin’s morning routine, why we need more statues of kids, and the Wolf Blitzer Hologram. More Gabe Henry: gabehenry.com Gabe's book Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler More You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Buy cute merch YWA on Instagram Support the show

You can listen to The Great American Spelling Bee with Gabe Henry online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Great American Spelling Bee with Gabe Henry is an episode from You're Wrong About by Sarah Marshall.

This episode is 86:22 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

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