Danny Bate WHY Q NEEDS U with Susie Dent

TV personality and 'Countdown Queen', Susie Dent discusses 'Why Q Needs U' with fellow linguist, writer and broadcaster, Danny Bate

Why Q Needs U

Every letter you're reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.

In Why Q Needs U, linguistic expert Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, diving into history, archaeology, politics and linguistics to discover where we get our writing from. Sharing fun facts and revealing the alphabet's hidden mechanisms, he explains where we get our letters from and why the English language uses them so strangely.

Explaining - and defending - the peculiar way English today uses our ancient letters, Bate's witty and entertaining book will help readers spot connections in languages across the world and inspire a newfound sense of wonder for the letters we use every day.

Danny Bate

Danny Bate is a linguist, writer, broadcaster and podcaster who is fascinated by the study of historical languages and etymology. He took his BA and MPhil degrees from the University of York and the University of Cambridge respectively, and his PhD in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh.

Susie Dent

Susie Dent is an English lexicographer, etymologist and media personality. She has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992. She also appears on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, a post-watershed comedy version of the show.