Tom's guest for the hour today is journalist and author Stefan Fatsis, whose latest book is an homage to the dictionary, and the colorful and ingenious people who compile them, and who wrestle with the myriad questions surrounding how to choose what words to include, and how to define them.
Stefan is a former co-host of Slate's weekly sports podcast, "Hang Up and Listen," and a sports commentator on NPR's "All Things Considered." He was a longtime staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and during four decades as a journalist, he's written and talked for The New York Times, Slate, The Atlantic, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, New York, Defector, and many other outlets.
Stefan is also the author of four books: A Few Seconds of Panic, about life in the NFL; Word Freak, about the world of competitive Scrabble; and Wild and Outside, about minor league baseball.
His latest is called Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary, an immersive and fascinating look inside Merriam-Webster, one of America's most famous dictionary publishers. In this new book, Stefan embedded himself at Merriam Webster's editorial office, where he learned how to be a lexicographer.
He suggested words to add to the Merriam Webster compendium, and he formulated definitions. And over the course of more than a decade, he found out how American English and the business of defining American English evolved and adapted to public taste and to new digital technologies.
Stefan Fatsis and Tom will be at Bird in Hand Coffee and Books in Charles Village tonight at 6pm to continue their conversation about Unabridged. Click the link above for more info and to register for the event .
But now, Stefan Fatsis joins Tom in Studio A.
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