Selected Shorts

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 Wolitzer (Meg’s mom), read by Becky Ann Baker, a happy couple gets a jolt when the man’s ex moves into their apartment. After the story, Meg interviews Hilma about what gave her the idea and her writing in general.

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 palette clearer before we close with a Raymond Carver classic, “Why Don’t You Dance?”The couple idly roving a lawn sale don’t realize they are walking through the detritus of lost relationship.The reader is Corey Stoll.

The author of the story is Carlos Greaves. His stories have been featured in The New Yorker and McSweeney's. Reading this story is Jon Cameron Mitchell who wrote and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch—the musical and its film adaptation—and has made memorable appearances in series including Girls, Shrill, and City on Fire. And he continues to follow his passions with projects such as his musical podcast Anthem: Homunculus. After the story, host Aparna Nancherla talks to Greaves about his work, and yes, Satan.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about objects of love, and feelings that can't be returned, for very different reasons. In “A Love Letter” by Greg Ames, a boy falls head over heels in a crosswalk. Actor and Young Adult author Maulik Pancholy really captures teen ardor and angst in his reading. And in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Sugar Babies,” another teenager learns about adult responsibility from an everyday pantry staple. The reader is Sonia Manzano.

Meg Wolitzer presents four works drawn from an evening of satirical stories about American political history, hosted by Andy Borowitz.Nothing is sacred.  First, Joe Yan imagines Abraham Lincoln, huckster, in “I’m Abraham Lincoln and I Beg Of You, Please Commemorate My Birthday With Mattress Sales,” read by Ikechukwu Ufomadu.  In “Running for Governor,” Mark Twain imagines himself in the political horse race.  The reader is John Cameron Mitchell.  John and Abigail Adams had a famously happy marriage, despite often being apart, and why not imagine them taking advantage of the 18th century version of modern media options?  That’s the premise of Alexandra Petri’s “John and Abigail Adams Try Sexting,” read by Ophira Eisenberg and Ikechukwu Ufomadu.  And the show wraps with a piece by Borowitz himself, “A Very Nixon Halloween,” inspired by a photograph of Nixon as an awkward civilian after he left office.The reader is Caroline Aaron.

Host Meg Wolitzer talks with political satirist and author Andy Borowitz in this bonus interview.

Rarely do we devote one show to just one writer, but on this Selected Shorts, we turn the show over to universally beloved author George Saunders. Saunders somehow finds the good, or at any rate the imperfectly human, in his characters. The result is a catalog as funny as it is moving, as devastating as it is hopeful. On this program, two stories that perfectly illustrate this. “Love Letter” is from Saunders’ latest collection Liberation Day. In it, an anxious grandfather who is ambivalent about the state of the world counsels an older grandchild. “Love Letter” is read by Stephen Colbert. And a favorite from our archives, “The Falls,” shows us two flawed men given a chance to do the right thing. René Auberjonois reads. The show also includes a conversation between host Meg Wolitzer and Saunders.

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about the tricky subject of envy that question whether the grass is in fact always greener somewhere else.In Alexandra Petri’s “Seneca Falls for You,” feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton almost gets trapped in a romance novel.The reader is Ophira Eisenberg.  Ben Phillipe’s sly fairy tale, “The Luck of Others,” read by Joanna Gleason, reminds us to beware of what we wish for.  And a small town charity auction surfaces envy and confusion in George Saunders’ “Al Roosten,” read by Tony Hale.

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories with surprises the characters didn’t anticipate.  A smart Mom defies expectations in “Agouti,” by Brenda Williams, performed by Laurine Towler.  And a smart house has unexpected features in a classic by sci-fi master Ray Bradbury.Stephen Colbert reads “The Veldt.” 

Meg Wolitzer presents two favorite Selected Shorts works in which food and nourishment figure both literally and symbolically.  The narrator of Haruki Murakami’s “The Year of Spaghetti” seems to be just sharing pasta recipes, but it’s the recipe for assuaging loneliness that may elude him.  The reader is Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli.  And unusual family dynamics shape Amy Bloom’s “Love is Not a Pie,” performed by Hope Davis.  We also share a discussion of this work by the mother and daughter book club organized by our frequent reader Rita Wolf and her daughter Anjeli.

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.

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 life in Vanessa Cuti’s “Our Children,” performed by Claire Danes, followed by an interview with Danes..

This story was read at a Selected Shorts show in L.A., hosted by the Getty Center, and co-produced with the Belletrist Book Club, the online reading community created by longtime friends and readers Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss.  Jones-Yelvington is an artist and drag performer who is also a prolific writer. They have written chapbooks, a memoir, a young adult novel and two collections of short fiction, Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret and This Is a Dance Movie! And the title story of their collection is all about movie cliches, how we might play with them, and the kinds of connection we hope we can achieve in telling our own stories.  Writer and actor Ryan O'Connell performs the story. His book I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves was adapted into the Netflix series Special—in which he starred. His novel Just By Looking at Him came out in 2022, and he has appeared in recent series including the reboot of Queer as Folk.  Our episode was hosted by comedian Aparna Nancherla.

 Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story “Home” and the fictional family Strout has created.

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. 

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to actor Denis O’Hare about his craft, and his approaches to readings of the two very different stories on this program.

Host Meg Wolitzer visits a favorite indie bookstore, Three Lives & Company in Greenwich Village, remembers her early years there as a writer and reader, and is let in on some trade secrets.

In this bonus conversation, writers Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes discuss everything from feminism, time, writing and dystopian fiction, to Atwood’s new short story collection “Old Babes in the Wood.” The interview was recorded in front of a live audience at Symphony Space.

In this bonus conversation, host and best-selling author, Meg Wolitzer, talks to host of WNYC’s All of It, Alison Stewart. Wolitzer reveals some of the secrets to great writing and the two share their own reading habits and thoughts about the importance of fiction.

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and New Yorker humorist Patricia Marx about her story “Singin’ in the Acid Rain,” and writing funny.