Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that contemplate a way out—of our lives, and even of this world. In Joe Meno’s “Books You Read,” performed by Joan Allen, a young boy helps his jaded teacher to love reading again. J. Robert Lennon takes us into deep space and a conversation between a computer and a survivor in “Escape Pod W41,” performed by Stephen Lang. And marriage, and a friendship, are t...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that offer unusual perspectives on clothes and fashion—selling, making, and coveting. In Anne Enright’s “(She Owns) Everything,” read by Mary-Louise Parker, a saleswoman becomes a compulsive consumer; In “Clothes on the Ground: A Conversation with Leap,” we hear from a Cambodian garment worker, interviewed by Julia Wallace for the compendium Women in Clothes,...

Out of Sight by Symphony Space

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout by Symphony Space

On this episode of Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about change. A playful fantasy, a domestic dilemma, and a private struggle help us to adjust to the idea of transformation, losses, and gains. In “Sea Monster,” by Seth Fried, performed by Natasha Rothwell, a husband and wife reveal their secret identities to each other. In “Death by Printer,” by Mira Jacob, a widow lear...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about the act of writing and how it can remake us--a prankish skit; a playful and tender investigation of creating with words; and a fraught social encounter between two characters who don’t ‘get’ each other’s stories. B.J. Novak takes the old saying “Great Writers Steal” literally in a short piece read by Novak and Aasif Mandvi. In Etgar Keret’s “Creative...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three diverse stories that look at what gets left behind when life changes, gradually or suddenly. Restless retirees try on the ultimate next step in Greg Ames’ funny “Funeral Platter,” performed by Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole. The family in Julia Alvarez’s “Liberty” are on their way to a new life in America, but it’s difficult leaving the old one behind. The read...

Hitched by Symphony Space

You've Lost It by Symphony Space

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about the course of true love, from two very different perspectives. Sigrid Nunez explores a roller-coaster romance in a small town in “This Is It,” performed by Christina Pickles, and Simon Rich offers up Stone-Age love in a small cave in “I Love Girl.” It’s performed by Michael Ian Black, who also chats with Wolitzer about what he’s been reading and the tri...

This week we reprise a great show from our archives: guest host Cynthia Nixon presents stories from New York Magazine’s online portal “The Cut,” which combines art, journalism, and the kind of fresh contemporary fiction that speaks to us. On this program, a woman tries on different identities, as well as clothes, in a dress shop fitting room, in “Fully Zipped” by Shelly Oria, performed by Katja Bl...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents four stories about journeys, both physical and emotional. Strangers size one another up on a busy city bus in Kurt Vonnegut’s “City,” performed by Bhavesh Patel and Sarah Steele. An excerpt from James Baldwin’s Another Country takes us on a frantic subway ride towards an ultimate moment. It is performed by Nathan Hinton. Hopeful immigrants try to reach America in a dubio...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that ask the big, basic questions: Who? What? Where? The characters resonate, the situations are intriguing, and each offers a fully realized world. In “What Animal Are You?,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Willem Dafoe, a celebrity writer and his son play themselves for the media. In Rumaan Alam’s “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” performed by Nathan Hinton, a...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about indomitable women. A mother grieves a loss fiercely in Carribean Fragoza’s “Lumberjack Mom,” performed by Roberta Colindrez. And Richard Yates’ classic “Fun with a Stranger” offers a portrait of an unforgettable teacher. It’s performed by Marian Seldes.

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to journalist, activist and feminist writer Mona Eltahawy about her life, literature and what it means to be a "dangerous woman."

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about women who defy the status quo and might therefore be perceived as “dangerous.”  In Margaret Atwood’s “Unpopular Gals,” fairy-tale archetypes reclaim their power. The reader is Ann Harada.  A boisterous and brilliant student threatens to upend the order of her high school in Shanteka Sigers’ “A Way with Bea,” performed by Pascale Armand.  And a Victorian...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about close—but complex—ties of family and friendship. Jamaica Kincaid offers up a lyrical, dreamlike account of the mother/daughter bond in “My Mother,” performed by Laurine Towler. In Laura van den Berg’s “Lessons” a quartet of youthful bank robbers faces hard questions about love and loyalty. The story is read by Emily Skeggs.

On this SELECTED SHORTS, bad guys. Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories featuring famous villains, real and fictional. A woman writes a letter to a former president—now residing in Hell, in “Thank You, Mr. Nixon,” by Gish Jen, performed by Cindy Cheung. And a man in recovery faces off against a former Roman leader with a really bad rep in "Playing Ping-Pong with Pontius Pilate" by Greg Ames, p...

For Memorial Day, host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that feature men in uniform, codes of honor, and how conflicts can sometime lead to connection. Maile Meloy’s “Red,” performed by Keith Szarabajka, takes place in London during the Blitz, where a man and woman find a rare moment of peace. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Cruise of the Jolly Roger,” a retired army man searches for the next chapter in...

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about profound and unexpected connections between people—territory she herself covers a lot as a writer. Old enemies meet in Lauren Groff’s “Once,” performed by Cynthia Nixon. Old friends come together and wonder what might have been in Rachel Khong’s “Slow and Steady,” performed by Hettienne Park. And an artistic collaboration takes a bizarre turn in Eliza...

On this SELECTED SHORTS, host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories from our recently published anthology, Small Odysseys, which features 35 commissioned stories from some of the series’ favorite writers. This week, parents try to help with their daughter’s unusual school science research project. Michael Shannon reads Susan Perabo’s “The Project.” And in Luis Alberto Urrea’s “King of Bread,” a father...

On this SELECTED SHORTS host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories featuring mothers and children, and entertains a special guest—her own mother, Hilma Wolitzer. In Annette Sanford’s “Trip in a Summer Dress,” a young woman is setting out to get married, but leaving her real life—and a hard choice—behind. The reader is Mia Dillon. “Palaver,” by Bryan Washington, offers a playful—but also serious—battle...

On this SELECTED SHORTS host Meg Wolitzer presents two works by the dazzling writer Joan Didion, whose essays, novels, and memoirs have been beloved by generations of readers. This sophisticated, knowing artist placed herself squarely in her reportage, telling her own story vividly and courageously. We’ll hear excepts from two of her best-known works, The White Album, in which she reports on her o...

SELECTED SHORTS partnered with WNYC’s Alison Stewart on this program featuring tales of love and haunting by new and established writers who have been featured on her show All of It. In Hilary Leichter’s “Doggy-Dog World” family life takes an unexpected turn. It’s read by Sarah Mezzanotte. Is “Horror Story” a series of hauntings, or is it the form that love takes when it’s not working? Carmen Mari...

Selected Shorts presents a bonus interview between our host and best-selling author, Meg Wolitzer, and the host of WNYC’s All of It, Alison Stewart. Wolitzer reveals some of the secrets to great writing and the two women share their own reading habits and thoughts about the importance of fiction.