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; he's the author of 17 books, including, most recently, Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act
Judith Flanders - Author of A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
Peter Sokolowski - A lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster and co-host of the podcast Word Matters

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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

Most of the Western world is organized by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/judith-flanders/a-place-for-everything/9781541675063/">alphabetical order</a>, 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:
<ul>
<li>Nicholson Baker&nbsp;- A novelist and essayist; he's the author of 17 books, including, most recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/553978/baseless-by-nicholson-baker/">Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act</a></li>
<li>Judith Flanders&nbsp;- Author of&nbsp;A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order</li>
<li>Peter Sokolowski&nbsp;- A lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster and co-host of the podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://digital.nepr.net/podcasthub/word-matters/">Word Matters</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2021.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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