Scripps National Spelling Bee Podcast The Scripps Washington Bureau

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 had as much fun listening to this series as we did making it.
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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 is your home for features and fun on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We’ll be live-tweeting all week using the hashtag #BeeWeek. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as “SpellingBeePod” or on our Tumblr page at http://SpellingBeePodcast.com.

To catch up on the entire series, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice. You can also listen directly from the Scripps National Spelling Bee app “Buzzworthy” http://buzzworthy.spellingbee.com

We love to hear from our listeners; email us anytime at spellingbeepodcast@scripps.com.

Theme by Paavo Ilves [ http://soundcloud.com/paavoilves ]
Additional music by DJ M TAKTAK [ http://soundcloud.com/djmtaktak ] & John Tesh [ http://teshmedia.com ]

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 hopefuls at this year’s Bee.

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@scripps.com.

To catch up on the entire series, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice. You can also listen anytime to past episodes at http://SpellingBeePodcast.com

Theme by Paavo Ilves [ http://soundcloud.com/paavoilves ]
Additional music by Podington Bear [ http://podingtonbear.com ]

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 benefited him is the critical similarity he shares with the subsequent eight South Asian winners of the Spelling Bee.

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@scripps.com.

To catch up on the entire series, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice. You can also listen anytime to past episodes at http://SpellingBeePodcast.com

Theme by Paavo Ilves [ http://soundcloud.com/paavoilves ]
Additional music by Lovira [ https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lovira/
] & Scu [ http://scutheotaku.com/ | @ChampagneRecs ]

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@scripps.com.

To catch up on the entire series, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice. You can also listen anytime to past episodes at http://SpellingBeePodcast.com

Theme by Paavo Ilves: @PaavoIlves (http://soundcloud.com/paavoilves)
Additional music by: Scu @scutheotaku/@champagnerecs (http://scutheotaku.com,) Nic Bommarito/@blocsonic (http://nicbommarito.com,)

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 anytime at spellingbeepodcast@scripps.com and check out our Tumblr page at http://SpellingBeePodcast.com,

To catch up on the entire series, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id994407323?mt=2

Theme by: @PaavoIlves
Additional music by: @lenonsense, @wet-paint, & @stevenobrien