Host Meg Wolitzerpresents three stories about characters who try an end run around trouble, sometimes doing more harm than good.  In Joe Meno’s “Animal Hospital” a well-meaning father is surprised by his kids response to “let’s play doctor.”  The reader is Becky Anne Baker, and an interview with Meno is featured in the show.  In “The Silk Handkerchief,” by Sait Faik Abasiyanik, a thief and a night watchman have a moment of rapport.  It’s read by Amir Arison.  And Margaret Atwood’s recurring couple Tig and Nell try to stave off the inevitable by taking a  “First Aid” class. The reader is Maggie Siff.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents the Explain Like I'm 5 podcast, a show that takes the questions you always wanted to ask and talks about them in a way that is easy to understand. Some times we want simple answers to complex questions! We here at Selected Shorts have become big fans and hope you enjoy it too!

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about sudden interventions that change lives.  In Stephen King’s “The Fifth Step” a beguiling stranger asks for help.  The reader is David Morse.  In “Blessed Deliverance,” by Jamel Brinkley, a neighborhood oddball may be its salvation.The reader is Teagle F. Bougere.

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Host Meg Wolitzer helps a great documentarian celebrate a great American author.  Cather is the of author of novels like My Antonia and O Pioneers! And Ken Burns hosted a live evening of her shorter works to celebrate her sesquicentennial—her 150th birthday, in 2023.  On this program, we feature “The Way of the World,” in which an imaginary town’s young “citizens” are rife with romance and rivalry.  The reader is Sonia Manzano.   And a weary farmer’s wife recaptures her long-dormant passion for music at “A Wagner Matinee,” read by David Strathairn.

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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, this 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 for her role on Sex & the City as well as its sequel, And Just Like That. She has also appeared in so many other television series, including The Gilded Age, and is big on Broadway. Aprana Nancherla hosts this episode.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about characters wrestling with their roles in life.  In “The Ugly Sister,” by Joanne Harris, a fairy-tale villainess tells her side of the story.  The reader is Jayne Atkinson.  And a young wife struggles to find her place in a close-knit family in “Underwater,” by Hannah Kingsley-Ma, read by Marin Ireland.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about finding solutions to complex problems, and to simple ones. T. C. Boyle tackles evolution and government intervention in “Top of the Food Chain,” read by Zach Grenier. In Matthew Ryan Frankel’s “Carapace,” a young boy struggles with feelings at a family funeral—with the help of some crabs. The reader is Philip Estrera. And a young woman traveling between two worlds and two families has to deal with what to put in “The Suitcase” by Meron Hadero. The reader is Renée Elise Goldsberry. The show also includes an interview with Hadero.

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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 Naughton.  In Sherrie Flick’s “Heidi is Dead,” read by Adina Verson, a second wife tries to tune in with her in-laws. And John Cheever’s “Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor” is a richly comic and warmhearted look at giving and receiving.  Teagle F. Bougere reads.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two provocative stories that address the idea of communing with something “other”.  In Etgar Keret’s “Polar Bear” an AI program, and a lonely widow, commune.  The reader is Michael Imperioli. And Mom is close by—and full of unwanted advice—in “The Acorn” by Elizabeth Stix, performed by Dylan Baker.

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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.

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