Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about losing something, but finding something revealing to take its place.  In “Light,” by Lesley Nkeka Arimah, parents differ about how to raise a strong-willed daughter.  The reader is Crystal Dickinson.  And in Taryn Bowe’s “Camp Emeline,” performed by Edie Falco, a family struggles after a loss, but grief leads to self-discovery for the determined narrator....

Erin Somers is an author we've featured twice on Too Hot in the past, making her the first three-timer in the history of Too Hot! She's the author of the novels Stay Up with Hugo Best and The Ten Year Affair ; the latter originated as a short story of the same title, which we did read on Too Hot. She's quite good at finding new ways to articulate the twists and turns of romantic relationships, as...

In this program, created in collaboration with Waterwell and the New York Immigration Coalition, guest host Arian Moayed takes listeners through a live performance of thirteen stories and one song that vividly bring to life the vital role immigrants play in New York City's past, present and future. Here are their names:  Mary Twomey, Sara M., Zead Ramadan and Andy Eng, Mónica Carrillo, Sabelo Nara...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works from an evening with New Yorker author and cartoonist Roz Chast, inspired by Chast’s book I Must be Dreaming.   “The Wife on Ambien,” by Ed Park, is a sort of late-night fever dream.  It’s read by John Fugelsang.  In Tessa Hadley’s “Bad Dreams,” images than begin in dreams envelop a family in real life. The reader is Rita Wolf.  Tom Barbash’s “Stay Up With Me...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two O. Henry Prize-winning stories, from the volume guest edited by Edward P. Jones.  The Prize was created in honor of the 19th-century writer best known for slyly humorous stories like “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “Gift of the Magi,” but contemporary selections range wide.  In “Rosaura at Dawn,” by Daniel Saldaña París, a woman searches for new life, and a new home. T...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two unconventional love stories, one classic, one contemporary, that avoid the usual tropes of “meet cute,” “opposites attract,” or “happily ever after” but are still engaging.  In “Love in the Slump,” by Evelyn Waugh, clueless upper-crust newlyweds are sent on a comic odyssey.  The reader is Jane Kaczmarek.  And Esther Yi’s “Moon” explores something we often mistake for...

In the second of two programs created with the podcast Death, Sex, and Money and our live event host Anna Sale, we explore issues of happiness.  Host Meg Wolitzer introduces a satirical romance by Oscar Wilde (did he write any other kind?).  “The Model Millionaire” is read by Peter Francis James.  In Kevin Brockmeier’s “Space,” a grieving widower and his son try to get past their loss, looking for...

In the first of two programs created with the podcast Death, Sex, and Money and host Anna Sale, we explore issues of identity and connection.  In “Sacrament of Confession,” by Ernie Wang, a man struggles with a messy past that is affecting the present.  The reader is Richard Kind.  And in a touching do-over, a man meets his wife for the first time—again. Amy Ryan reads Seth Fried’s “You Again.” Ho...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents four stories, recorded at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, in which characters shape their expectations and dreams to a manageable size.  So if you’re “Medusa,” as in our first story, by Tania James, you try to figure out how to live in the world instead of turning it to stone.  The reader is Constance Zimmer.  Parents in our second story, “We Only Wanted Their Happiness...

Today's story is all about what happens when you become infatuated with someone you don't really know. And what strange or scary things you might do in order to make real contact with that person. The story is also about youth, love of language, and what you do with all your passion when you have more energy than you know what to do with.  This story is by Jonathan Lethem . He's a writer known for...

In a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, the two authors sit down to discuss journalism, the #MeToo movement, the Supreme Court, and what it takes to tell a good story. Jodi Kantor is a best-selling author and prize-winning investigative reporter whose work reveals hidden truths about power, law, gender, technology and culture. She is the bestselling co-author of She Said, the book that detai...

In this bonus feature, host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Louise Edrich about “The Big Cat,” her craft, and her Native American roots. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this bonus feature, host Meg Wolitzer talks with actor Denis O’Hare about his craft, and his approaches to readings of the two very different stories on this program. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This story is one from our archives, by Paul La Farge . Pay attention because the author delivers lots of little hints about what is happening behind the scenes—to the protagonist, and the peripheral characters, too. But it isn't clear until the very last moments of the story exactly what kind of a story we've been listening to. La Farge is the author of novels including Luminous Airplanes and The...

Written by Carmen Maria Machado , the dark, inventive and sensual writer behind the collection Her Body and Other Parties, and the memoir In the Dream House, t his story, “Persephone Rides at the End of Days," was commissioned for the Selected Shorts anthology Small Odysseys. It's about a Greek goddess coming to terms with who and what she is. Is her name, meaning "bringer of death," her fate? Or...

Symphony Space was thrilled to host an evening with Israeli writer Etgar Keret, whose stories we’ve featured many times on Selected Shorts. He was interviewed by his longtime friend, and host of This American Life, Ira Glass. In this condensed version of their talk, they playfully challenge each other on a wide range of topics, some political, some creative, but mainly about what it’s like to live...

Meg Wolitzer sits down with her friend, writer Michael Cunningham. Michael is an American novelist, screenwriter, and educator. He is best known for his novel The Hours , which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award and was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film and opera. What happens when two writers get together? Well, of course, they talk about writing, specifically hi...

The host of Selected Shorts, Meg Wolitzer launches the spin-off podcast, Tell Me More. If you know Selected Shorts you know that we're obsessed with stories. This new show will give us the chance to talk about many different kinds of stories—not just fiction! In the future, we'll talk to actors and journalists and, who knows, scientists, visual artists, even chefs. Creative people all tell stories...

As part of our live event with Margaret Atwood, host A.M. Homes interviewed her from the stage at Symphony Space.  Here is that interview. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Meg Wolitzer speaks with author Judy Blume about her life, her writing and the challenges of book banning. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Host Meg Wolitzer talks with political satirist and author Andy Borowitz in this bonus interview. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the author of Eileen and My Year of Rest and Relaxation , a story about weird people doing weird things. Read by Colby Minifie from The Boys , The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fear the Walking Dead . Michael Ian Black hosts this episode, which includes an interview with Moshfegh. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of persona...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about idealized lives, and ideas about what constitutes an “ideal” life.  “Boy Meets Girl” is Jen Kim’s humorous version of a Hollywood love story.  It’s read by Tony Hale.  In the John Cheever classic “The Worm in the Apple” a couple have the perfect life—but no one can believe it.  It’s read by Anne Meara.  And a harried mother fantasizes about a brand new...

  Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story “Home” and the fictional family Strout has created. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to author Louise Erdrich about her story; her writing life; and what do with left over index cards.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.