Selected Shorts

SELECTED SHORTS partnered with WNYC’s Alison Stewart on this program featuring tales of love and haunting by new and established writers who have been featured on her show All of It. In Hilary Leichter’s “Doggy-Dog World” family life takes an unexpected turn. It’s read by Sarah Mezzanotte. Is “Horror Story” a series of hauntings, or is it the form that love takes when it’s not working? Carmen Maria Machado’s story is read by Molly Bernard. And the masterful Louise Erdrich gives us an old story—falling in love with your teacher—in a new guise; she happens to be a nun. Cynthia Nixon is the reader of “Sister Godzilla.”

On the next Selected Shorts, it's all about the Slaughterhouse Five author who somehow managed to make a bleak dystopia funny, and a high school band teacher a hero. With host Meg Wolitzer we celebrate 100 years of Vonnegut with stories that explore the darkly absurd side he’s known for—“Harrison Bergeron” performed by Becky Ann Baker--and a softer, touching side in “The Kid Nobody Could Handle,” performed by Dylan Baker.

SELECTED SHORTS host 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 a Day,” by Naguib Mahfouz, performed by Bruce Altman, time collapses and a lifetime goes by in a flash. And in Charles Baxter’s “Fenstad’s Mother,” a mother and son rehearse old patterns and find new ones. The reader is Edie Falco.

SELECTED SHORTS host 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 is Mia Dillon. And a widowed mother and a lonely man make an odd couple in Lisa Ko’s “Pat + Sam,” performed by Jennifer Ikeda.

SELECTED SHORTS 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 a fire, but can’t escape the challenges of her family life. Tanis Parenteau is the reader.

SELECTED SHORTS host 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 (Theater) Friend,” by Amber Sparks, A retired diva just can’t fit into ordinary life—and then, she’s given an extraordinary gift. Krystina Alabado reads. Ann Petry’s “Solo on the Drums,” read by Peter Francis James, captures a passionate performance. And Anton Chekhov offers up a theatrical power couple and their puzzling marriage in “He and She,” read by present-day theatrical power couple Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes.

Complicated Women by Symphony Space

Ploughshares at 50 by Symphony Space

Guest host Cynthia Nixon presents two stories about unusual family members. In Alix Ohlin’s “The Cruise,” a heartsick divorcee travels with her unconventional aunt. Laura Benanti reads. An elderly dog is “A Permanent Member of the Family,” and a bone of contention, in this Russell Banks story performed by Zach Grenier.

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents our holiday show--two stories about being home for the holidays and how you can count on your Mom to be there for you—and possibly to complicate things. First, memoirist Augusten Burroughs recalls a disastrous—and hilarious—childhood cooking project. Reader Michael Cerveris relishes every bite. And in “Live Wires” by Thomas Beller, a young man invites his girlfriend to his mother’s annual Hanukkah party. The reader is Jane Curtin.