Selected Shorts

By Symphony Space

Society & Culture Arts

What's Selected Shorts about?

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.

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Pride Inside

06.01.2023

It’s June, time to celebrate Pride privately and publicly. Host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that delve into the complexities of love, family and belonging. Ivan E. Coyote’s “No Bikini,” read by Becca Blackwell, offers one child’s act of quiet ...

Selected Shorts episodes:

06.01.2023 Pride Inside It’s June, time to celebrate Pride privately and publicly. Host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that delve into the complexities of love, family and belonging. Ivan E. Coyote’s “No Bikini,” read by Becca Blackwell, offers one child’s act of quiet ...
05.25.2023 A Point of Honor On this SELECTED SHORTS, we celebrate 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 ...
05.18.2023 With a Little Help 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 “How to Take Dad to the Doctor,” by Jenny Allen, performed by ...
05.11.2023 The Best American Short Stories Host Meg Wolitzer presents our annual celebration of this important collection. This year’s show features a pick by 2022 Best American guest editor Andrew Sean Greer, “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado, performed by Krystina Alabado. And ...
05.04.2023 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 ...
05.01.2023 Too Hot For Radio: Erin Somers "Ten Year Affair" Actress Holly Hunter reads Erin Somer's short story "Ten Year Affair."
04.27.2023 The Stories We Tell Ourselves with Brooke Gladstone Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories chosen by On the Media’s Brooke Gladstone. Gladstone was our guest for a live Selected Shorts event in which all the stories explore the theme of tales we tell ourselves—and others. The title says it ...
04.20.2023 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 Gomez. And Hugh ...
04.13.2023 On Repeat Meg Wolitzer presents three provocative works about rituals that reshape and define their characters. In “oh she gotta head fulla hair,” by Ntozake Shange, a woman’s attention to her hair consumes her life. The reader is Tamara Tunie. In “Half ...
04.06.2023 Grace Paley Centennial Host Meg Wolitzer shares our tribute to the influential and outspoken New Yorker Grace Paley, who would have turned 100 in 2022. Her emphasis on friends, family, and doing the right thing are evident in the three stories on this ...
03.30.2023 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 ...
03.23.2023 Approaching Peace On this show, Meg Wolitzer hands things off to guest host Hope Davis, who presents three stories about finding some kind of peace and stability in a variety of challenging circumstances. In Rabih Alameddine’s “Break” a trans woman reconnects with ...
03.16.2023 Slippery Roads and Fancy Shorts Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories in which some things are saved and some are left behind. Both stories also have a connection to the German language. In Haruki Murakami’s “Lederhosen,” performed by Aasif Mandvi, the traditional German shorts become ...
03.09.2023 The World According to Vonnegut Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories by Kurt Vonnegut in which the Slaughterhouse Five author somehow managed to make a bleak dystopia funny and a high school band teacher a hero. The stories explore the darkly absurd side he’s known for—“Harrison ...
03.06.2023 Too Hot For Radio: Roxane Gay "Men On Bikes" Read by Jane Kaczmarek, author Roxane Gay's playful story somehow confronts alcoholism, matrimony, masculinity, the nuclear family and the failure of the American Dream, while making us laugh. And host Aparna Nancherla talks to her friend, comedian Alison Leiby her ...
03.02.2023 The Road Not Taken On this Selected Shorts program, host Meg Wolitzer presents stories about journeys—physical and emotional—that end in unexpected places. In “A Woman Driving Alone,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, the main character travels s long way to see a friend, but seems also ...
02.23.2023 Work of Art Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories of inspirations small and large. In these tales, writers investigate moments in which art inspires life, or life inspires art, especially in a visual medium. In Elizabeth Crane’s “Blue Girl,” read by Valorie Curry, a ...
02.16.2023 Almost Like Love On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about love, or the next best thing. In Pam Houston’s “How to Talk to a Hunter” a smart woman can’t get enough of what her man can’t offer. The reader ...
02.09.2023 School Misrule On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, we're going to hear stories about students and schools that abandon the usual rules to follow their own, unusual, codes of behavior. In "Singin' in the Acid Rain," by Patricia Marx, performed by Katrina Lenk, ...
02.09.2023 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.
02.02.2023 Domestic Rearrangements 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 ...
01.26.2023 Jokes and Poems with Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein We reprise a recent favorite this week: Guest host Jane Curtin presents a cornucopia of jokes, poems, and stories from a live program with comedian Mike Birbiglia and poet J. Hope Stein. The couple shares material from their book, The ...
01.19.2023 Objects of Love 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 YA author ...
01.12.2023 When Push Comes to Shove: Stories by George Saunders 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 ...
01.12.2023 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.
01.09.2023 Too Hot For Radio: Kim Fu "Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867" Our new Too Hot episode features a story about memory, fantasy and a realm somewhere between the two—a place to which we might escape, for a price (calling all Black Mirror and Westworld fans).
01.05.2023 On the Run Host Meg Wolitzer presents two gripping stories about people in flight. In Rebecca Makkai’s “The Briefcase,” performed by Victor Garber, an escaped prisoner assumes another man’s identity. In “Paradise,” by Yxta Maya Murray, a young widow and mother runs from ...
12.29.2022 New Frontiers Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about quests and travel, which pose the question “How far do we need to go to find what we want, whether that something be an ephemeral pleasure, a lasting relationship, or a symbolic object?” In ...
12.22.2022 UnWrapping the Holidays Meg Wolitzer presents three unexpected stories that let us see the holidays’ associations—family, friends, food, gifts, and goodwill—in different ways. Amy Krouse Rosenthal presents a playful encounter with the Almighty in “Interview with God,” performed by Jayne Atkinson and James ...
12.15.2022 The Stand-Ins Meg Wolitzer presents a show of stories about replacements and stand-ins. While we tend to crave the original, sometimes a substitute can bring more happiness. In Steve Almond’s “A Happy Dream,” read by Phil LaMarr, a young man assumes a ...
12.08.2022 Prove Your Love Meg Wolitzer presents a show of stories about our need to have “proof of love”—some demonstration by those nearest and dearest of exactly how much they care. A lot, in Etgar Keret’s sweetly improbable “Almost Everything,” in which a husband ...
12.01.2022 A Night at the Theater Meg Wolitzer presents a show about the theater, and those who love it. Rachel Klein’s “Audience Instructions for Our Immersive/Experimental Theatre Production In An Abandoned Middle School In Bushwick,” read by Santino Fontana, sends up the avant-garde. In “Our Mutual ...
11.24.2022 In Dad We Trust--Maybe Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about fathers and fatherhood. In “Beauty and the Beast” by Simon Rich, a self-absorbed producer gets a little Disney sparkle from his daughter. The reader is Arian Moayed. “Bedtime Story” by Victor LaValle, read ...
11.17.2022 Best Laid Plans Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which plans go awry, or alter completely. In Ben Loory’s “Dandelions,” read by Wyatt Cenac, a suburb is invaded, and experiences a change of heart. Edwidge Danticat imagines an ultimate act and its consequences ...
11.10.2022 Distance Learning Meg Wolitzer hands off to guest host Roxane Gay in this rebroadcast of a show about considering people and feelings at a distance. Italian fabulist Italo Calvino observes young love on the slopes in “The Adventure of a Skier,” performed ...
11.03.2022 Out of Their Element Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works in which characters are out of their element. Literally, in the case of Robert Coover’s witty reworking of the fable “The Frog Prince,” who finds human life exhausting. Parker Posey reads the story. In ...
10.27.2022 The Me I Used to Be Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about change. Yalcin Tosun’s “Muzaffer and Bananas” explores the awkward rites of passage of two teenaged boys. It’s performed by Arian Moayed. In Anya DeNiro’s “Take Pills and Wait for Hips,” performed by Pooya ...
10.20.2022 Beyond Leprechauns Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works in which characters have unusual friends who change their lives—whether they like it or not. In “Unicorn Me” by Elizabeth Crane, a magical box delivers a unicorn who offers ambiguous advice. Miriam Shor performs ...
10.13.2022 Complicated Women Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that explore the many-layered lives of women. Edwidge Danticat’s essay “Women Like Us” honors the long line of strong women in her family, but also recognizes her need to distance herself in order to ...
10.06.2022 Miracle Grow Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about growth helped along by some sort of fantastical assistance. The characters in these pieces are stuck; consciously or not, they're looking for something to give them just a little push. And that nudge ...
09.29.2022 TAKING FLIGHT WITH AMY TAN Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works featuring birds, curated by writer and bird aficionado Amy Tan. Ben Loory’s “The Frog and the Bird,” is a twist the traditional fable genre; it’s performed by Mike Doyle. Teenagers are transformed in “Town ...
09.22.2022 Great Escapes 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. ...
09.15.2022 Wear and Tear 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 ...
09.08.2022 Out of Sight Host Meg Wolitzer shares three stories about people who put things out of sight—and try to put them out of mind. In Lisa Ko’s “Nightlife,” read by Vanessa Kai, a pair of friends quietly sidestep feelings that might complicate their ...
09.08.2022 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.
09.01.2022 Rites & Rituals Guest host David Sedaris offers three stories that question social rites. “Cultural Relativity” is Charles Johnson’s witty retelling of a classic fairy tale; it’s read by Regina King. Zadie Smith reads her own “Lazy River”—ostensibly about a failed holiday in ...
08.25.2022 Embracing Change 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, ...
08.18.2022 What's Your Story? 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 ...
08.11.2022 What's Left Behind 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 ...
08.04.2022 Hitched Host Meg Wolitzer presents three pieces about marriages that outlive the romance. In Etgar Keret’s “A World without Selfie Sticks,” performed by Tate Donovan, a man meets the woman of his dreams; but she’s from an alternate universe. “On the ...

Older episodes

Selected Shorts

What's Selected Shorts about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Selected Shorts episodes:

Pride Inside

A Point of Honor

With a Little Help

The Best American Short Stories

No Filter

Too Hot For Radio: Erin Somers "Ten Year Affair"

The Stories We Tell Ourselves with Brooke Gladstone

Secret Spaces

On Repeat

Grace Paley Centennial

Friendship!

Approaching Peace

Slippery Roads and Fancy Shorts

The World According to Vonnegut

Too Hot For Radio: Roxane Gay "Men On Bikes"

The Road Not Taken

Work of Art

Almost Like Love

School Misrule

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Patricia Marx

Domestic Rearrangements

Jokes and Poems with Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein

Objects of Love

When Push Comes to Shove: Stories by George Saunders

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks with George Saunders

Too Hot For Radio: Kim Fu "Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867"

On the Run

New Frontiers

UnWrapping the Holidays

The Stand-Ins

Prove Your Love

A Night at the Theater

In Dad We Trust--Maybe

Best Laid Plans

Distance Learning

Out of Their Element

The Me I Used to Be

Beyond Leprechauns

Complicated Women

Miracle Grow

TAKING FLIGHT WITH AMY TAN

Great Escapes

Wear and Tear

Out of Sight

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout

Rites & Rituals

Embracing Change

What's Your Story?

What's Left Behind

Hitched

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