Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about being careful.  The title says it all in George Saunders’ “Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband,” as the central character goes to greater and greater extremes to protect his family from—everything.  The reader is BD Wong.  And a couple tiptoe towards love in Lily King’s “Five Tuesdays in Winter,” read by Justin Kirk.  A brief interview with King is included.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about losing something, but finding something revealing to take its place.  In “Light,” by Lesley Nkeka Arimah, parents differ about how to raise a strong-willed daughter.  The reader is Crystal Dickinson.  And in Taryn Bowe’s “Camp Emeline,” performed by Edie Falco, a family struggles after a loss, but grief leads to self-discovery for the determined narrator. This lovely work also introduces SELECTED SHORTS’ first-ever on-air book club.  Wolitzer joins a lively mother/daughter group to talk about Bowe’s work and how they related to it.

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Erin Somers is an author we've featured twice on Too Hot in the past, making her the first three-timer in the history of Too Hot! She's the author of the novels Stay Up with Hugo Best and The Ten Year Affair; the latter originated as a short story of the same title, which we did read on Too Hot. She's quite good at finding new ways to articulate the twists and turns of romantic relationships, as this story confirms. Reading this piece is Miriam Shor, an actor known for shows such as Younger and The Americans. She also featured in the recent hit film American Fiction and the Apple TV series Pluribus. Aparna Nancherla is our host.

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In this program, created in collaboration with Waterwell and the New York Immigration Coalition, guest host Arian Moayed takes listeners through a live performance of thirteen stories and one song that vividly bring to life the vital role immigrants play in New York City's past, present and future. Here are their names:  Mary Twomey, Sara M., Zead Ramadan and Andy Eng, Mónica Carrillo, Sabelo Narasimhan, Sadie Frowne, Gulnahar Alam, Fred Amram, Mohmoud Widdi, Tien “Johnny” Nghe, and Kofi, and Hassan Iqbal.

Readers include Moayed, and, in order of content, Jayne Houdyshell, Roberta Colindrez, Simu Liu, Pej Vahdat, Camila Cano-Flavia, Sunita Mani, Micaela Diamond, Sepideh Moafi, Kathryn Grody, Laith Nakli, Tramell Tillman, and Justin H. Min.  Near the middle of the program, a Korean folksong, “New Arirang,” is performed by Ruthie Ann Miles.

Listeners should note that Gulnahar Alam’s moving story, which begins at 36:56, includes a brief description of domestic abuse near the beginning of her narration.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works from an evening with New Yorker author and cartoonist Roz Chast, inspired by Chast’s book I Must be Dreaming.  “The Wife on Ambien,” by Ed Park, is a sort of late-night fever dream.  It’s read by John Fugelsang.  In Tessa Hadley’s “Bad Dreams,” images than begin in dreams envelop a family in real life.The reader is Rita Wolf.  Tom Barbash’s “Stay Up With Me” charts the rocky path of an old love affair.  It’s read by Jason Ralph.  And stay tuned for Chast’s own weird dream life, some of which she shares in this episode.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two O. Henry Prize-winning stories, from the volume guest edited by Edward P. Jones.  The Prize was created in honor of the 19th-century writer best known for slyly humorous stories like “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “Gift of the Magi,” but contemporary selections range wide.  In “Rosaura at Dawn,” by Daniel Saldaña París, a woman searches for new life, and a new home.The reader is Sonia Manzano.  And “Countdown,” by Anthony Marra, is a darkly comic look at life in modern Russia.  The reader is Morgan Spector.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two unconventional love stories, one classic, one contemporary, that avoid the usual tropes of “meet cute,” “opposites attract,” or “happily ever after” but are still engaging.  In “Love in the Slump,” by Evelyn Waugh, clueless upper-crust newlyweds are sent on a comic odyssey.  The reader is Jane Kaczmarek.  And Esther Yi’s “Moon” explores something we often mistake for love—obsession--as a young woman is drawn farther and farther into K-Pop fandom. The story was selected by guest editor Min Jin Lee for Best American Short Stories 2023.  It’s read by Hettienne Park.  And we hear Lee’s and Park’s thoughts about the story.

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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.

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