Selected Shorts - podcast cover

Selected Shorts

Symphony Spacewww.symphonyspace.org
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.

Episodes

Best American Short Stories 2022

Selected Shorts celebrates this important collection each year, and this show, presented by host Meg Wolitzer, reprises works from the 2022 Best American edition selected by guest editor Andrew Sean Greer. Included are “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado, performed by Krystina Alabado, and a second story selected by John Updike for the volume Best American Stories of the Century. It’s Grace Stone Coates’ “Wild Plums,” performed by Mia Dillon.

May 01, 202558 min

Adios, Sayonara, Goodbye!

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories by contemporary Japanese writers that were featured during a live program created in collaboration with the Japan Society. Each touches on the idea of letting go. In “Hawaii,” Aoko Matsuda imagines a afterlife for garments. It’s read by Maria Dizzia. In “Sunrise,” by Erika Kobayashi, a woman’s life parallels the world of nuclear power. The reader is Rita Wolf. And Hugh Dancy meets a mermaid in Hiromi Kawakami’s “I Won’t Let You Go.”

Apr 24, 202557 min

Writers & Readers

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories and two poems the celebrate the power and mystery of reading and writing. Billy Collins contributes magical verse from two perspectives in “Books” read by Kirsten Vangsness, and “Dear Reader,” performed by Dion Graham. N.K. Jemisin entices us with a tricky narrative that contemplates the cost of literary celebrity. It’s read by Yetide Badaki.And at least one character in Ian McEwan’s “My Purple Scented Novel” wants celebrity at all costs. It's read by Tony ...

Apr 17, 202558 min

No Filter

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about selves obscured and revealed, by characters whose own identities are mysteries to them. In Aimee Bender’s “Un-Selfie, a woman reveals her extraordinary past to a stranger.The story was a commission for our 2022 Small Odysseys anthology, and is read by Alysia Reiner. In our second story, “Best Western” by Louise Erdrich, a young wife struggles to maintain a romantic fiction, until the real world crashes in on her. It’s read by Patricia Kalember....

Apr 10, 202557 min

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

On the Media ’s Brooke Gladstone was our guest for a live Selected Shorts event, and this week, host Meg Wolitzer presents some of the stories Gladstone chose. They all explore the theme of tales we tell ourselves—and others. The title says it all in Mary Gordon’s “My Podiatrist Tells Me a Story about a Boy and a Dog” read by Bebe Neuwirth and Richard Masur. Two imaginative cooks reinvent themselves in a new country in Meron Hadero’s “A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times,” read by Chinasa ...

Apr 03, 20251 hr

The Price of Admission

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about belonging and sacrifice in two very different kinds of social orders. In Wolitzer’s own “The Summer Reading List” the intensity of youthful bookworms is perfectly captured. It’s performed by Melora Hardin. And Marie-Helene Bertino takes us inside a bat cave for a story of love, longing, and immortality. “Viola in Midwinter” was chosen for the Best American Short Stories 2024 anthology by guest editor Lauren Groff. It’s performed by Rita Wolf....

Mar 27, 202558 min

Secret Spaces

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about secret spaces and what they represent. In N. K. Jemisin’s speculative fantasy “Elevator Dancer,” a security guard in a totalitarian regime is beguiled by an act of freedom. The reader is Laura Gómez. And Hugh Dancy reads Greg Jackson’s “The Hollow,” about a secret room, a purposeless life, and a guy who can’t stop talking about Vincent Van Gogh.

Mar 20, 202559 min

Friendly Advice

Host Meg Wolitzer present three stories in which friendly advice is proffered, whether it’s wanted or not. The title of the first, by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler, says it all: “Relationship Advice from Your Aunt Who Has Been Divorced Six Times.” It’s read by Jane Kaczmarek. In Mira Jacob’s “Death by Printer,” a YouTube DIY video seems to have a mind of its own.The reader is Rita Wolf. And a husband dispenses lavish advice at a wedding brimming with his wife’s exes in “The Happiest Day of Yo...

Mar 13, 202559 min

Grace Paley Centennial

The unique, unquenchable writer and activist Grace Paley would have turned 100 in 2022. On this Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer shares our tribute to the influential and outspoken New Yorker who was a great friend of the series. Paley’s emphasis on friends, family, and doing the right thing are evident in the three stories on this show. In “Wants,” a woman has a chance encounter while returning a lot of overdue library books. It’s read by Adina Verson. Two old friends work their way from chil...

Mar 06, 202558 min

Too Hot for Radio: Jen Spyra "The Ballad of Bagel Rat"

"The Ballad of Bagel Rat," is by Jen Spyra . She's written for The Onion, The New Yorker , and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After reading her short story collection Big Time, we not only brought two of Spyra's stories to the stage, but commissioned this one, too. Actor Busy Phillips read this story onstage. She's been in shows from Freaks & Geeks to Cougar Town , though these days you may know her from Girls5Eva or the movie musical Mean Girls. Also, she is the best at social media—which ...

Mar 03, 202528 min

Out of Bounds

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about women whose social boundaries are changed. In “Somebody’s Daughter,” by Amy Silverberg, a young woman flirts with transgression as one way of defining herself. The reader is Hettienne Park. In Julie Otsuka’s “Evacuation Order No. 19,” a wife and mother makes hard decisions during World War II. The reader is Jennifer Ikeda.

Feb 27, 202558 min

Friendship!

On this show, host Meg Wolitzer gets friendly, and shares three stories about friendships of all kinds. Kelly Stout’s zinger “Let’s Get Drinks,” offers up the perils of conducting a social life via hyperbolic texts, which are hilariously performed by Jane Curtin and Jane Kaczmarek. Next, “True Friendship,” by Jorge Hernandez, describes a life-long friend who’s almost too good to be—true. The reader is Michael Urie. And three misfits fit together in Anthony Marra’s “The Last Words of Benito Picon...

Feb 20, 202558 min

Peas in a Pod

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about perfect pairs, and what happens if and when they split up. A friendship unravels in “Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Mia Dillon and Rita Wolf.Writer Toure feels that there ought to be a corresponding ritual to marriage and commitment celebrations, and has created “The Breakup Ceremony,” performed by Maulik Pancholy. And in “Twins,” by Philip Graham, siblings rediscover one another. It’s performed by Michael Tucker....

Feb 13, 202558 min

A Celebration of Langston Hughes

Host Meg Wolitzer hands off to stage and film actor Teagle F. Bougere, our guest host for a show that celebrates the protean literary master and social activist Langston Hughes (1901-1967). It features three of his most striking works. In “Passing” Hughes reflects on a difficult aspect of the Black experience—the need some felt to “pass” as white. Program host Teagle F. Bougere is the reader. Pauletta Pearson Washington reads the humorous and much anthologized “Thank You, M’am." And Joe Morton p...

Feb 06, 202558 min

Too Hot For Radio: Maeve Dunigan "My Husband, I Vow to Honor You Always Unless..."

This piece is by writer Maeve Dunigan . Her work has been featured in The New Yorker and in McSweeney's ; and her first collection of humor pieces and essays, Read This to Look Cool, will be published in 2025. Our reader was none other than Susie Essman , the longtime stand-up comic who spent many years yelling at Larry David while playing Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She has also had recurring roles in series including Broad City and Hacks . After the story, Host Aparna Nancherla talks ...

Jan 06, 202524 min

Too Hot For Radio: Ottessa Moshfegh "The Weirdos"

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.

Sep 02, 202443 min

Picture Perfect

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, 20241 hr 2 min

Meg Wolitzer interviews Louise Erdrich

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.

Feb 15, 202415 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Denis O’Hare

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.

Feb 08, 202416 min

Bonus: Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes

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.

Jun 15, 202318 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Alison Stewart

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.

Jun 08, 20239 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Patricia Marx

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.

Feb 09, 202312 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks with George Saunders

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders about crafting short stories, where ideas come from, and how his work has evolved over the years.

Jan 12, 202320 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout about writing, short stories, and the use of recurring characters in her work.

Sep 08, 202211 min

Host Meg Wolitzer Talks to Comedian Michael Ian Black

In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to comedian and writer Michael Ian Black about what he’s been reading and the tricky business of being funny. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage

Jul 21, 202219 min

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer and Mona Eltahawy Talk Being a Dangerous Woman

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." Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage

Jun 16, 202222 min