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 light in the darkness. The reader is Michael Stuhlbarg. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See ...
Jun 04, 2026•58 min
Host Meg Wolitzer presents the Wayfinder podcast. It’s a podcast about travel journeys that transform us, told through immersive stories of places, people, and moments that stay with you even once you are back home. Give it a listen, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Jun 04, 2026•2 min
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.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...
May 28, 2026•58 min
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,” by Alexander Weinstein, make a tactical choice about technology. It’s performed by Randall Park. The...
May 21, 2026•1 hr
Host Meg Wolitzer presents the Wayfinder podcast. It’s a podcast about travel journeys that transform us, told through immersive stories of places, people, and moments that stay with you even once you are back home. Give it a listen, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
May 21, 2026•2 min
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about social occasions for introverts and extroverts alike, curated with the Belletrist Book Club, founded by actor Emma Roberts and producer Karah Preiss, and recorded at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Humorist Samantha Irby asks “Please Invite Me to Your Party,” but we’re not sure she means it. The reader is Richa Moorjani. Victoria Lancelotta’s “The Anniversary Trip,” performed by Judy Greer, is, and is not, about the married couple making the trip. ...
May 14, 2026•59 min
Host Meg Wolitzerpresents two stories about characters who find themselves in a place in which they need to make a choice, something that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic, “Direction of the Road,” an ancient being has to make hard choices in its role as a guardian and a force of nature. The reader is Nikki M. James. In Helen Schulman’s “The Shabbos Goy,” a divorcee and a rabbi develop an interesting relationship around their mutual love of poetry. The ...
May 07, 2026•59 min
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 novels such as Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude, as well as short stories, recently ...
May 04, 2026•44 min
Host Meg Wolitzerpresents four works in which nature and the out-of-doors drive both plots and character. Humorist Jenny Allen does battle with her stubborn plants in “Garden Growing Pains,” read by Kirsten Vangsness. The majestic Canadian border separates an Indigenous family in Thomas King’s “Borders,” read by Kimberly Guerrero. A housewife masters one of the elements in “Flying,” by Alyce Miller. The reader is Kirsten Vansgness again.And a sudden storm creates a sense of abandon in the Kate C...
Apr 30, 2026•57 min
Host Meg Wolitzercelebrates 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, “Persuasion.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our c...
Apr 23, 2026•1 hr
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 details the story of decades of sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. She specializes in sto...
Apr 20, 2026•31 min
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Apr 16, 2026•57 min
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 wonders if she’s in the right life, but tries to fit into it.It’s read by Maggie Siff. Hosted by Simplec...
Apr 09, 2026•57 min
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 the Hollywood classic All About Eve —Mary Orr’s “The Wisdom of Eve.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ...
Apr 02, 2026•59 min
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...
Mar 26, 2026•58 min
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.
Mar 19, 2026•15 min
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.
Mar 05, 2026•16 min
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 Night Ocean. He unfortunately died in 2023 when he was still in his early 50s; and while we never h...
Mar 02, 2026•28 min
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 will she channel the other side of her mythological self? Our reader is Cynthia Nixon , best known f...
Jan 05, 2026•21 min
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 in these uncertain times. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informa...
Dec 11, 2025•35 min
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 his story, “Jacked,” read by Jim Parsons, which we featured on Selected Shorts, but they also nerd out...
Nov 13, 2025•23 min
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 of some kind, and this is our chance to look behind the scenes and find out how those stories get m...
Sep 15, 2025•33 min
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.
Jun 26, 2025•18 min
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.
Jan 16, 2025•15 min
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.
Oct 24, 2024•14 min
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 personal data for advertising....
Sep 02, 2024•43 min
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. . ...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min
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.
Apr 04, 2024•11 min
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.
Feb 15, 2024•15 min
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Feb 08, 2024•16 min
