The World

The 81st competition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee concludes Friday night. More than 280 competitors from America to South Korea are competing to spell words they ve never heard of. The youngest contestant was eight-year-old
Srriram Hathwar (SHREER-ahm HATH-wahr. His mother, Roopa tells us how he prepared for the competition and about the word that defeated him. Then John turns to Maria Mariani, who helped develop spell check for IBM, to ask how important the skill of spelling in a spell check age.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!