Episodi
-
Meg Wolitzer presents stories that take the idea of âthe magic of fictionâ literallyâor literarily. The British writer Penelope Lively offers up a tricky combination of love and real estate in âThe Third Wife,â performed by real-life husband and wife Patricia Kalember and Daniel Gerroll. The only âtrickâ in our next story, âTempo,â by R.O. Kwon, is the trick the mind plays when it wishes the present would restore a lost bit of the past. The reader is Hettienne Park. And Dave Eggersâ âThe Alaska of Giants and Godsâ includes a real magic act, but also the longing for some other kind of magic, misplaced on a rocky road, to be restored. Kate Burton reads.
-
Meg Wolitzer presents four works that consider various forms of risk, and risk taking. In âClicking on Heavenâs Door,â by Anand Giridharadas, performed by Negin Farsad, the pearly gates require an online account, a password, a security questionâŠyou get the idea. âThe Stand-In,â by Gerald Jones and Jean Marple, imagines a unique job. Itâs read by Tony Hale. David Sedaris creates the ultimate in well-meant interference in other peopleâs livesâoh, and thereâs a parrot. âFarnsworthâ is read by Jessica Keenan Wynn. Andâdining at the end of the world. Whereâs the waiter? Robin Hemleyâs âThe Last Customer,â is read by Jane Curtin and Mike Doyle.
-
Episodi mancanti?
-
Meg Wolitzer presents stories by the incomparable Margaret Atwood, drawn from SELECTED SHORTSâ archives and a live performance evening hosted by the author. âThere Was Onceâ is a brief satire about the art of writing and the importance of free speech. Itâs performed by RenĂ© Auberjonois, Zach Grenier, and Jane Kaczmarek. âWidows,â performed by Ellen Burstyn, is a delicate and ironic tale in which a recently widowed woman becomes accustomed to her new role. And Atwood is in full dystopian throttle in âFreeforallâ where reproductive rights have become a matter of life and death. The reader is Becky Ann Baker. Portions of Atwoodâs onstage talk with fellow writer A.M. Homes are also featured, and the full interview is available as a bonus on our podcast.
-
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.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about personal transformation.In Kenneth Calhounâs âMindless in America,â a SELECTED SHORTS commission, a couple trapped by their own technology resolves to lead a simpler life. The reader is Justin Kirk. In âD Day,â by Rachel Khong, God has a Plan B for the human race. Spoiler alertâhow do you think youâd look with a tail? Or scales? The reader is Katrina Lenk.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that reflect on the allureâor notâof summer. In Massimo Bontempelliâs âThe Miraculous Beach or, Prize for Modesty,â translated by Jenny McPhee, a hot summer in Rome produces a magical moment. The reader is Hugh Dancy. Essayist and humorist Samantha Irby could do without summer, thank you, and makes âA Case for Remaining in Doorsâ, performed by Retta. And Denis OâHare reads a baseball classic, W.P. Kinsellaâs âThe Thrill of the Grass.â
-
Itâs June, time to celebrate Pride privately and publicly. Host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that celebrate the complexities of love family and belonging. Ivan E. Coyoteâs âNo Bikini,â read by Becca Blackwell, offers one childâs act of quiet rebellion. Lovers drift together, and apart, in Michael Cunninghamâs âSleepless,â read by Mike Doyle. A newish couple faces harsh weather in Deesha Philyawâs âSnowfall,â read by Michelle Beck, and poet Kay Ulanday Barrett shares their âSong for the Kicked Out.â
-
Rachel B. Glaser has been recognized as one of Granta Magazine's Best Young American Novelists, and her work has been showcased in prestigious publications such as The Paris Review and McSweeney's. "Ira & the Whale" was honored with an O. Henry Prize in 2023. Jeff Hiller is an actor who has been a charming anchor of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere. He's appeared in many other funny shows, such as 30 Rock; was on Broadway in the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; and performs solo shows at Joe's Pub. After the reading, Hiller talked to host Aparna Nancherla about the character, finding your place in the world, and his own book, Actress of a Certain Age, which come out in June of 2025.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer is presents two stories from a live SELECTED SHORTS evening celebrating the O. Henry Prize, with guest editor Amor Towles, bestselling author of volumes including A Gentleman from Moscow.On todayâs show, Allegra Hyde imagines the very near future as a never-ending road trip, in âMobilization,â read by Jane Kaczmarek. And a family is disrupted by the arrival of a young woman in âThe Import,â by Jai Chakrabarti, read by Arjun Gupta.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer presents four stories in which characters give, and get, a little assistance, from friends, strangers and family. A daughter copes with a cantankerous parent in âHow to Take Dad to the Doctorâ by Jenny Allen, performed by Jennifer Mudge. A woman moves to a new town and makes a strange new friend in Laura van den Bergâs âFriends,â performed by Roberta Colindrez. A Tyrolean cafĂ© improbably situated in South America is home to mysterious strangers and new and old romances, in Isabel Allendeâs âThe Little Heidelberg.â Itâs performed by Kathleen Turner. And a budding singer and socialist gets unwelcome help from Mom in Grace Paleyâs âInjustice,â performed by Jackie Hoffman.
-
"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 mediaâwhich gave her a strange kind of insight into this story. This episode is hosted by Aparna Nancherla.
-
Meg Wolitzer speaks with author Judy Blume about her life, her writing and the challenges of book banning.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer talks with political satirist and author Andy Borowitz in this bonus interview.
-
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 âidealâ life. âBoy Meets Girlâ is Jen Kimâs humorous version of a Hollywood love story. Itâs read by Tony Hale. In the John Cheever classic âThe Worm in the Appleâ a couple have the perfect lifeâbut no one can believe it. Itâs read by Anne Meara. And a harried mother fantasizes about a brand new life in Vanessa Cutiâs âOur Children,â performed by Claire Danes, followed by an interview with Danes.
.
-
Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story âHomeâ 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 OâHare 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 Atwoodâs new short story collection âOld Babes in the Wood.â The interview was recorded in front of a live audience at Symphony Space.
- Mostra di più
