Ever wonder where the 26 letters of the alphabet came from — or how English became the world’s lingua franca?

Linguist and author Danny Bate joins Steve Scaffidi on The Scaffidiology Podcast for a fascinating, history-filled conversation about language and the building blocks of how we communicate. Bate, author of Why Q Needs U: A History of Our Letters and How We Use Them, explores how the alphabet evolved — and how something so familiar quietly shapes the way we think, read, and interact every day.

It’s an engaging and insightful look at one of humanity’s most essential tools.