Selected Shorts

Эпизоды

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  The New American West 24.09.2026 58мин

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works that reassess and redefine our ideas of “the West.” It’s both a landscape of awesome beauty, and the scene of cultural appropriation, and we’ve got two masters sharing and shaping our experience. In Louise Erdrich’s “The Hollow Children” a natural disaster tests family ties. It’s read by Tate Donovan. And writer and environmental activist Rick Bass stress tests the West, and his main character, in “Fires,” read by John Benjamin Hickey. We also reprise part of an interview with Louise Erdrich from earlier in the year. In it, she mentions a new novel in progress, which has now been published: The Mighty Red: A Novel.
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  Introducing What Could Go Right? 24.09.2026 2мин

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents the podcast What Could Go Right, by the Progress Network. It’s a current affairs show that tries to find a more balanced way of looking at what’s happening in the world. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
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  Love and UFOs 17.09.2026 58мин

  Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that combine different sorts of unknowables: unidentified—or hard to identify—flying objects, and romantic love. In “The Duck,” by Ben Loory, a heartsick mallard has chosen a really unattainable object of affection. The reader, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, was Sonia Manzano. And an early Haruki Murakami story, “U.F.O. in Kushiro,” sends a jilted husband on a journey of self-discovery. The reader, at The Japan Society, was Javier Munoz.
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  A Full Plate 10.09.2026 1ч 2мин

  Meg Wolitzer presents two favorite Selected Shorts works in which food and nourishment figure both literally and symbolically. The narrator of Haruki Murakami’s “The Year of Spaghetti” seems to be just sharing pasta recipes, but it’s the recipe for assuaging loneliness that may elude him. The reader is Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli. And unusual family dynamics shape Amy Bloom’s “Love is Not a Pie,” performed by Hope Davis. We also share a discussion of this work by the mother and daughter book club organized by our frequent reader Rita Wolf and her daughter Anjeli.
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  Forsaking All Others 03.09.2026 57мин

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about love and marriage. In Amy Silverberg’s “Have You Met Husband?” two men and a dog vie for this title. The reader is Molly Bernard. And Mary Gordon’s “The Magician’s Wife” is a touching portrait of life-long devotion—a kind of magic itself. The reader is Jane Curtin.
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  Tim Curry Performs "Ziggurat" by Stephen O'Connor 30.08.2026 46мин

  British actor Tim Curry died on August 26th at the age of 80. We are pleased to share, on this special bonus podcast, his deliciously chilling and seductive reading of Stephen O’Connor’s story "Ziggurat."
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  Building Worlds, with N.K. Jemisin 27.08.2026 1ч

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works of speculative fiction curated by best-selling author N.K. Jemisin. In John Scalzi’s “When the Yogurt Took Over” a popular breakfast staple decides it’s good for everyone. The reader in Jin Ha. Chatbots and A.I. can be helpful—but sometimes too helpful--as we hear in Alexandra Chang’s “Me and My Algo,” read by Catherine Cohen. And Jemisin herself reworks a classic by Ursula K. Le Guin in “The Ones Who Stay and Fight,” read by Teagle F. Bougere. Some of Jemisin’s on stage comments are included in this show
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  Up in the Air with Radiolab 20.08.2026 1ч

  SELECTED SHORTS host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that were read as part of our live evening with WNYC’s Radiolab and hosts Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. The theme was flight in many imaginative manifestations. Randa Jarrar’s “The Lunatics’ Eclipse” is a fable-like story of romance and interstellar travel, read by Abubakr Ali. Our second story is “Roy Spivey,” by Miranda July, and is a sly and gentle probing of celebrity culture. It’s read by Molly Bernard. Don Shea’s “Jumper Down” bares the vulnerability and resilience of a rescue worker. it’s read by Becca Blackwell. And our last story, “My Life as a Bat,” shares the secret life a mysterious creature in fact and fable. It’s by Canadian fiction master Margaret Atwood and is read by Zach Grenier.
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  Seeing is Believing 13.08.2026 57мин

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about perception and the relationship between what we see and what we believe. In “Heart of a Champion,” T.C. Boyle gives the children’s classic Lassie an affectionately humorous reboot. The reader is Kirsten Vangsness. In Jamel Brinkley’s “The Let-Out,” an unofficial street party provides a young man with an intriguing encounter, and a bit of family history. The reader is Ato Blankson-Wood.
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  Romance of the Summer 06.08.2026 1ч

  Host Meg Wolitzer presents three lively stories about the allure—or not—of summer. Italian writer Massimo Bontempeli creates a magical beach inside an apartment in “The Miraculous Beach, or Prize for Modesty.” The work was translated by Jenny McPhee and is read by Hugh Dancy. Humorist Samantha Irby doesn’t get summer, and presents a contrarian’s view in “The Case for Remaining Indoors,” read by Retta. And Denis O’Hare reads a baseball classic—W.P. Kinsella’s “The Thrill of the Grass.”
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  Too Hot For Radio: Erin Somers "Washing Up" 06.07.2026 29мин

  Miriam Shor (Pluribus, The Americans) reads Erin Somers' story about a mom doing not seemingly very mom-like things.
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  Too Hot For Radio: Jonathan Lethem "The King of Sentences" 04.05.2026 44мин

  The author of novels such as Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude brings us a story about meeting your heroes. It's read by the actor Brendan Hunt, best known these days for the series Ted Lasso.
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  Tell Me More: Jodi Kantor 20.04.2026 30мин

  Meg Wolitzer speaks to Jodi Kantor, the prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, as part of the spin-off series, where we bring together all kinds of stories and storytelling.
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  Meg Wolitzer Talks with Louise Erdrich 19.03.2026 14мин

  In this bonus feature, host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Louise Edrich about “The Big Cat,” her craft, and her Native American roots.
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  Meg Wolitzer Talks with Denis O'Hare 05.03.2026 16мин

  In this bonus feature, host Meg Wolitzer talks with actor Denis O’Hare about his craft, and his approaches to readings of the two very different stories on this program.
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  Too Hot For Radio: Paul La Farge "Another Life" 02.03.2026 28мин

  Actor Josh Radnor performs Paul La Farge's story, "Another Life."
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  Too Hot For Radio: Carmen Maria Machado "Persephone Rides at the End of Days" 05.01.2026 20мин

  Cynthia Nixon reads Carmen Maria Machado's short story, "Persephone Rides at the End of Days."
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  Bonus: Etgar Keret and Ira Glass 11.12.2025 35мин

  Israeli writer Etgar Keret talks to his friend, This American Life host Ira Glass.
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  Meg Wolitzer Talks to Author Michael Cunningham 13.11.2025 22мин

  The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours sits down with Meg for a chat about all things writing.
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  Tell Me More: Kathryn Nicolai 15.09.2025 32мин

  Introducing Tell Me More, a bonus podcast that brings all kinds of stories and storytelling together under one big tent. First up, an interview with the popular host of the podcast, Nothing Much Happens, Kathryn Nicolai.