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PODCAST

Selected Shorts

Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.

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All Episodes

00:28:09

Too Hot for Radio: Jen Spyra "The Ballad of Bagel Rat"

Selected Shorts ·

2025/03/03

"The Ballad of Bagel Rat," is by Jen Spyra. She's written for The Onion, The New Yorker, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After reading her short story collection Big Time, we not only brought two of Spyra's stories to the stage, but commissioned this one, too. Actor Busy Phillips read this story onstage. She's been in shows from Freaks & Geeks to Cougar Town, though these days you may know her from Girls5Eva or the movie musical Mean Girls. Also, she is the best at social media—which gave

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00:58:15

Out of Bounds

Selected Shorts ·

2025/02/27

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about women whose social boundaries are changed. In “Somebody’s Daughter,” by Amy Silverberg, a young woman flirts with transgression as one way of defining herself. The reader is Hettienne Park. In Julie Otsuka’s “Evacuation Order No. 19,” a wife and mother makes hard decisions during World War II. The reader is Jennifer Ikeda.

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00:58:15

Friendship!

Selected Shorts ·

2025/02/20

On this show, host Meg Wolitzer gets friendly, and shares three stories about friendships of all kinds. Kelly Stout’s zinger “Let’s Get Drinks,” offers up the perils of conducting a social life via hyperbolic texts, which are hilariously performed by Jane Curtin and Jane Kaczmarek. Next, “True Friendship,” by Jorge Hernandez, describes a life-long friend who’s almost too good to be—true. The reader is Michael Urie. And three misfits fit together in Anthony Marra’s “The Last Words of Benito Picone,”

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00:57:36

Peas in a Pod

Selected Shorts ·

2025/02/13

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about perfect pairs, and what happens if and when they split up. A friendship unravels in “Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Mia Dillon and Rita Wolf.Writer Toure feels that there ought to be a corresponding ritual to marriage and commitment celebrations, and has created “The Breakup Ceremony,” performed by Maulik Pancholy. And in “Twins,” by Philip Graham, siblings rediscover one another. It’s performed by Michael

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00:58:01

A Celebration of Langston Hughes

Selected Shorts ·

2025/02/06

Host Meg Wolitzer hands off to stage and film actor Teagle F. Bougere, our guest host for a show that celebrates the protean literary master and social activist Langston Hughes (1901-1967). It features three of his most striking works. In “Passing” Hughes reflects on a difficult aspect of the Black experience—the need some felt to “pass” as white. Program host Teagle F. Bougere is the reader. Pauletta Pearson Washington reads the humorous and much anthologized “Thank You, M’am." And Joe Morton

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00:57:40

Stephen King: A Half Century of Scares

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/30

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories from a live evening at Symphony Space celebrating the prolific writer Stephen King. It was hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead.The program presents King in two different modes: the legendary scare-master who entered the horror genre with Carrie, and the author of stories that draw on memory and family like “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” An excerpt from Carrie is read by Carrie Coon, and “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is read by John

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00:58:16

Slippery Roads and Fancy Shorts

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/23

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories in which some things are saved and some are left behind. In Haruki Murakami’s “Lederhosen,” performed by Aasif Mandvi, the traditional German shorts become a singular obsession for one half of a married couple. In Elizabeth McCracken’s “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark,” a couple and their son find themselves in over their heads. Mike Doyle is the reader.

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01:03:12

Banned Books with Judy Blume

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/16

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories that were presented as part of an evening with the writer Judy Blume that explored the issues around book banning, and featured works by two authors whose works have been banned. (Blume’s works have also frequently been banned.). First, Xu Mason’s witty “Finally a Book that Cannot be Banned,” imagines what it would take to write a work that could escape all censure. It’s read by Troy Iwata. Celebrated children’s author Roald Dahl cooks up the perfect murder in

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00:14:59

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks with Judy Blume

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/16

Meg Wolitzer speaks with author Judy Blume about her life, her writing and the challenges of book banning.

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00:58:19

The Road Not Taken

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/09

On this Selected Shorts program, host Meg Wolitzer presents stories about journeys—physical and emotional—that end in unexpected places. In “A Woman Driving Alone,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, the main character travels s long way to see a friend, but seems also to be escaping a challenging moment in her life. The piece was commissioned for Selected Shorts’ anthology Small Odysseys, and is read by Amber Tamblyn. In Tom Perrotta’s “Nine Inches”, a teacher drives only across town, to chaperone a

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00:23:39

Too Hot For Radio: Maeve Dunigan "My Husband, I Vow...

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/06

This piece is by writer Maeve Dunigan. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker and in McSweeney's; and her first collection of humor pieces and essays, Read This to Look Cool, will be published in 2025. Our reader was none other than Susie Essman, the longtime stand-up comic who spent many years yelling at Larry David while playing Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She has also had recurring roles in series including Broad City and Hacks. After the story, Host Aparna Nancherla talks to Meg

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00:59:41

Keeping Score

Selected Shorts ·

2025/01/02

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in that look at some of the ways we “keep score” in life even though we know it’s not a game. Simon Rich explores the game as intergenerational competition in “The Tribal Rite of the Strombergs,” read by John Hodgman. In Dylan Marron’s “Some News,” a man carefully tracks an old friend on social media, while eyeing his own accomplishments. Marron is the reader. And Joanne Harris’ “Fule’s Gold,” a teacher tries to put himself on the board—by stealing points

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01:00:01

Playing Games

Selected Shorts ·

2024/12/26

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which games are featured. Brian Agler’s “The Rules of this Board Game Are Long, But Also Complicated” speaks for itself as the unnamed host of game night makes it clear there is no way to win this one. Meg Wolitzer is the reader. In John Updike’s “Still of Some Use,” a family clears its attic of old games; memories and emotions surface, along with battered boards and random game pieces.The reader is James Naughton. In Susan Perabo’s “Some Say the

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00:58:16

Holidays with Mom

Selected Shorts ·

2024/12/19

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents our holiday show--two stories about being home for the holidays and how you can count on your Mom to be there for you—and possibly to complicate things. First, memoirist Augusten Burroughs recalls a disastrous—and hilarious—childhood cooking project. Reader Michael Cerveris relishes every bite. And in “Live Wires” by Thomas Beller, a young man invites his girlfriend to his mother’s annual Hanukkah party. The reader is Jane Curtin.

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00:58:15

Work of Art

Selected Shorts ·

2024/12/12

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories of inspiration small and large. In these tales, writers investigate moments in which art inspires life, or life inspires art, especially in a visual medium. In Elizabeth Crane’s “Blue Girl,” read by Valorie Curry, a young woman's secret life is given an unusual public forum. In Jai Chakrabarti’s “Lessons with Father,” commissioned for our Small Odysseys anthology, a middle-aged child tries to connect with her late father through brushstrokes. The reader is Purva

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00:59:23

Pushed from the Nest

Selected Shorts ·

2024/12/05

On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that offer unpredictable life lessons, from characters who are adolescent, and those who love them—a little eccentrically. In “The Facts of Life,” by Anthony Marra, a preteen learns about the birds and the bees from an icon of ’90s masculinity. The reader is Santino Fontana. In “Leave Me in St. Louis,” by Tania James, sisters tap their way into a new life. The reader is Rita Wolf. And in Elizabeth McKenzie’s “Hope Ranch,” a

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00:58:08

School Misrule

Selected Shorts ·

2024/11/28

On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, we're going to hear stories about students and schools that abandon the usual rules to follow their own, unusual, codes of behavior. In "Singin' in the Acid Rain," by Patricia Marx, performed by Katrina Lenk, it’s recess at a post-apocalyptic school. Marx talks with Meg Wolitzer about the story and her unique brand of humor after the read. The class in “The School,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by Laura Esterman, is facing a difficult test; and young love is

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01:00:53

Handle with Care

Selected Shorts ·

2024/11/21

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that reflect on the beauty and vulnerability of the natural world. In “Joyas Voladoras,” by Brian Doyle, we hear the many different heartbeats of the natural kingdom.The reader is Becca Blackwell. And a talking fox has a lot to tell us about reading aloud, shopping malls, and fried chicken “Fox 8,” a darkly funny fable by George Saunders read by John Cameron Mitchell. And we’re joined by the mother/daughter book club we’ve featured on a couple of earlier

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00:58:39

Domestic Rearrangements

Selected Shorts ·

2024/11/14

A routine that never changes can get old. So this week on Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that shake up domestic life, teaching the characters something new about themselves and their circumstances. In “Scaffolding Man” by Jenny Allen, performed by Patricia Kalember, a woman in a drab marriage is intrigued by a “hot” stranger. In "Myrna's Dad" by Cyn Vargas, a father’s changing occupations hide a family secret. The reader is Krystina Alabado. And in “Overtime” by Hilma

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00:59:34

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Selected Shorts ·

2024/11/07

Host Meg Wolitzerpresents works that reflect on the loss of love, creatively imagined by a quartet of thoughtful writers. In “The Space,” by Christopher Boucher, a lost love is replaced by—her absence. The reader is Rob Yang. In Wendi Kaufman’s “Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street,” the loss is the backstory, as a lively ‘tween, voiced by Donna Lynne Champlin, finds ways to deflect the emotional fallout from her father’s absence. Sharon Olds’ wrenching poem, “Last Look,” read by Jane Kaczmarek, is our

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124 results

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