Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzer celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th with works by, and inspired by, the enduring romance novelist. Ann Harada performs an early Austen piece, “Edgar and Emma;” Sophie Carmen-Jones reads a letter from Austen to a mentor, James Stanier Clarke. Then things get playful in the T.C. Boyle parody “I Dated Jane Austen,” performed by Wyatt Cenac. And Hugh Dancy reads from an Austen classic, “P...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works with unusual family dynamics. In Zadie Smith’s “Grand Union,” the mother-daughter bond transcends death and brings with it a whole family history. The reader is Kaneza Schaal. And Richard Bausch’s “What Feels Like the World,” read by James Naughton, explores the bond between a grandparent and a grandchild.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about scaling the outsized real world down to manageable proportions. A couple brings the Papal seat home in Ben Loory’s “The Vatican,” read by Santino Fontana; In “I Love Betty,” by Kaitlyn Greenidge, communication problems invite interesting solutions, in a story read by Nathan Hinton. And in Shirley Jackson’s “The Beautiful Stranger” a wife and mother wond...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that crossed the boundaries between fiction and film for our collaboration with this prestigious New York film Festival. An eerie game has unexpected consequences in Richard Matheson’s “Button, Button,” performed by Marin Ireland. Michael Stuhlbarg gives a rousing performance of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky;” and Andrea Martin reads the story that inspired th...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories from the volume Best American Short Stories 2025, selected by guest editor Celeste Ng. In “An Early Departure,” by Jessica Treadway, a family relationship is altered in a moment at the train station. The reader is Cynthia Nixon. In “Third Room,” by Julian Robles, an apartment, and its mysterious tenant, take on lives of their own. The reader is Ivan Hernandez...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two humorous stories about marriages not made in heaven. In James Thurber’s classic “The Breaking Up of the Winships,” a long-married couple fall out over Donald Duck. The reader is Kristine Nielsen. And in Louise Erdrich’s “The Big Cat,” read by Keir Dullea, two powerful wives, a bemused husband, and a symphony of bone-jarring snores. The program also features an interv...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories with unlikely scenarios, rare events that have, at least fictionally, come to pass. Naomi Kritzer uses the idea of “The Little Free Library”—one of those impromptu structures that facilitate the swapping of books—to imagine an exchange of quite a different sort. The reader is Melora Hardin. And Ling Ma imagines how winning the lottery—292.2 million to one—act...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which reality contrasts with the dreams, perceptions, and actions of the characters. In “The Leap,” by Louise Erdrich, a mother’s unusual skill set changes the outcome of events. The reader is Elizabeth Reaser. In “Death and the Lady,” by Ben Loory, even the Grim Reaper harbors illusions. And his parents’ damaged marriage haunts an adult child in Delmore...

Meg Wolitzer Talks with Denis O'Hare by Symphony Space

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories by the extraordinary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami that demonstrate the breadth of his emotional imagination over a career of 35 years. In an early story, “The Window,” a professional letter-writer recalls an intimate encounter with a woman, and a hamburger steak. The reader is Mike Doyle. In the later story, “Kahu,” read by Jennifer Ikeda, a woman goes on...

This week on SELECTED SHORTS, guest host DeRay Mckesson presents four works that consider the Black experience in America from bold perspectives. Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm recalled her historic victory in her essay “Unbought and Unbossed.” An excerpt is read by Crystal Dickinson. James Baldwin’s powerful letter to his nephew, “My Dungeon Shook,” is read by Christopher Jackson. Poet Son...

This week on SELECTED SHORTS, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about problems without solutions. In Elif Batuman’s “The Board,” read by Cindy Cheung, the protagonist has found the perfect apartment, but he has to satisfy a Kafka-esque co-op committee. Jesse Eisenberg imagines an irritating sibling with problems of global proportions in ““My Little Sister Texts Me with Her Problems,” read b...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that demonstrate the ways in which characters—like all of us—can play many different roles in one another's lives, and in the world around us. Cherline Bazile’s “Tender,” which guest editor Min Jin Lee included in Best American Short Stories 2023, reflects the contradictory nature of friendship. It’s read by Anna Uzele. And our second story, Grace Paley’s “Th...

perils of sharing your troubles with a stranger. In “Therapy,” by J. Robert Lennon, the patient follows a recursive loop of doubt about the whole process. The reader is Troy Iwata. In “Fable,” by Charles Yu, the issues that arise in therapy sessions morph into a revealing personal fairy tale. The reader is BD Wong. With comments by comedian Gary Gulman, who hosted the live show where these stories...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about characters who try an end run around trouble, sometimes doing more harm than good. In Joe Meno’s “Animal Hospital” a well-meaning father is surprised by his kids response to “let’s play doctor.” The reader is Becky Anne Baker, and an interview with Meno is featured in the show. In “The Silk Handkerchief,” by Sait Faik Abasiyanik, a thief and a night w...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about sudden interventions that change lives. In Stephen King’s “The Fifth Step” a beguiling stranger asks for help. The reader is David Morse. In “Blessed Deliverance,” by Jamel Brinkley, a neighborhood oddball may be its salvation. The reader is Teagle F. Bougere.

Host Meg Wolitzer helps a great documentarian celebrate a great American author. Cather is the of author of novels like My Antonia and O Pioneers! And Ken Burns hosted a live evening of her shorter works to celebrate her sesquicentennial—her 150th birthday, in 2023. On this program, we feature “The Way of the World,” in which an imaginary town’s young “citizens” are rife with romance and rivalry....

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about characters wrestling with their roles in life. In “The Ugly Sister,” by Joanne Harris, a fairy-tale villainess tells her side of the story. The reader is Jayne Atkinson. And a young wife struggles to find her place in a close-knit family in “Underwater,” by Hannah Kingsley-Ma, read by Marin Ireland.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about finding solutions to complex problems, and to simple ones. T. C. Boyle tackles evolution and government intervention in “Top of the Food Chain,” read by Zach Grenier. In Matthew Ryan Frankel’s “Carapace,” a young boy struggles with feelings at a family funeral—with the help of some crabs. The reader is Philip Estrera. And a young woman traveling betwe...

Meg Wolitzer presents three unexpected stories that let us see the holidays’ associations—family, friends, food, gifts, and goodwill—in different ways. Amy Krouse Rosenthal presents a playful encounter with the Almighty in “Interview with God,” performed by Jayne Atkinson and James Naughton. In Sherrie Flick’s “Heidi is Dead,” read by Adina Verson, a second wife tries to tune in with her in-laws....

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two provocative stories that address the idea of communing with something “other”. In Etgar Keret’s “Polar Bear” an AI program, and a lonely widow, commune. The reader is Michael Imperioli. And Mom is close by—and full of unwanted advice—in “The Acorn” by Elizabeth Stix, performed by Dylan Baker.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories about characters coping with pre-existing difficulties, large and small—and then encountering someone or something ready to change everything. In “Shoulder-Top Secretary” by Shinichi Hoshi, performed by Thom Sesma, a door-to-door salesman unveils the must-have technology of the future. In “It Had Wings” by Allan Gurganus, performed by Marian Seldes, a celestial b...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three imaginative and funny reworkings of classic stories. In Ginny Hogan’s “Phantoms and Prejudice,” Jane Austen’s Bennet sisters learn about ghosting. The reader is Sara Bareilles. Anthony Marra invents a plausible reason for murder in his reworking of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” read by Mike Doyle. And Michael Cunningham turns Jack into an entrepreneur in “Jacked,” r...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about the nature of time and how it shapes our lives. In Helen Phillips’ “The Knowers,” a woman chooses to learn a vital fact about her future, while her husband does not. Stockard Channing reads this thought-provoking fantasy. In Anita Felicelli’s “Time Invents Us” a chance encounter turns the clock back for an aging artist. It’s read by Kirsten Vangsness.

On this SELECTED SHORTS, host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories in which characters are faced with unexpected revelations that alter their lives. In “A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets,” by Kevin Brockmeier, performed by Geoffrey Arend, a thrift purchase comes with unusual fringe benefits. In “Lady Tigers,” by Nick White, performed by Michael Urie, the bus driver of a girl...