Most of the Western world is organized by alphabetical order, which is so much more than the 26 letters that make up the alphabet.

Alphabetical order is an organizing principle that allows us to save, order, and access thousands of years of humankind’s most precious documents and ideas. Without it, we’d never know what came before us or how to pass on what’s with us. It’s ubiquitous, yet invisible in daily life.

This hour, a conversation about how we order our world and why we do it.

GUESTS:

Nicholson Baker: A novelist and essayist; his most recent book is Finding a Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better at Art
Judith Flanders: Author of A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
Peter Sokolowski: Editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2021.

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It’s time to talk about the alphabet in the room