Among his many talents, Irish writer Frank O’Connor had a particular gift for showing the world through the eyes of young, precocious, often naive protagonists, like Larry Delaney of his 1954 story “The Genius.” Larry wants to be the town’s first proper genius and win the affections of Una Dwyer — first, he just has to find out where babies come from.

This week’s episode features a reading of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Late Encounter with the Enemy.” Written in 1953 and published in 1955 in her short story collection “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” this is O’Connor’s only story dealing with the American Civil War.

Bits and pieces from the comedy world, featuring a tribute to the late Larry Larson, a frequent contributor to AM1690 and the man who brought you characters such as Stefan and Anthony Fllambeau.

A meeting of great minds: William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and the men of Monty Python.

You know him, you love him — Spiritual Healer, Performance Artist, Life Coach, Pool Cleaner, Lawn Care Expert: Dr. Anthony Flambeau, a disciple of Dr. Marvin Monroe.

Is it humanly possible to have too much cowbell? I mean is it physically, psychologically, emotionally, and morally possible to have too much cowbell?

Acting at its finest, and a story about an imaginary playmate who can’t play because he has to take a meeting.

“Never, never had anyone spoken to me in that tone before. I looked at him incredulously and saw his face convulsed with rage. It was only then that I fully realized how God had codded me, listening to my prayers for the safe return of this monster.” — 7-year-old Larry, speaking of his father, in Frank O’Connor’s “My Oedipus Complex.”

We feature another great short story by Alice Munro titled “Axis,” first published in The New Yorker in 2011. As in many of Alice Munro’s short stories, the characters aren’t like anyone I know, but they never seem contrived or invented. I would say that she loves creating characters and then observing them as they go their own way.