Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 25, 2026 · 49 MIN

Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble

from The Book Club

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Stefan Fatsis, whose classic Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble is 25 years old this year. Stefan tells me how a journalistic project turned into a quarter-century obsession, how dramatically tournament Scrabble differs from the living-room game, why we’re still having the same arguments over word lists … and how it has become a family story for him.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcastsContact us: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 25, 2026

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Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble

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