Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the wo...
On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, we're going to hear stories about students and schools that abandon the usual rules to follow their own, unusual, codes of behavior. In "Singin' in the Acid Rain," by Patricia Marx, performed by Katrina Lenk, it’s recess at a post-apocalyptic school. Marx talks with Meg Wolitzer about the story and her unique brand of humor after the read. The class in “The School,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by Laura Esterman, is facing a difficult test; and young love is framed by larger issues in "Melvin in the Sixth Grade," by Dana Johnson, performed by Nikki M. James. We hear from James about this nuanced rite-of-passage story.
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58:08
Handle with Care
Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that reflect on the beauty and vulnerability of the natural world. In “Joyas Voladoras,” by Brian Doyle, we hear the many different heartbeats of the natural kingdom.The reader is Becca Blackwell. And a talking fox has a lot to tell us about reading aloud, shopping malls, and fried chicken “Fox 8,” a darkly funny fable by George Saunders read by John Cameron Mitchell. And we’re joined by the mother/daughter book club we’ve featured on a couple of earlier episodes, which discusses “Fox 8,” at the end of the show.
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1:00:53
Domestic Rearrangements
A routine that never changes can get old. So this week on Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that shake up domestic life, teaching the characters something new about themselves and their circumstances. In “Scaffolding Man” by Jenny Allen, performed by Patricia Kalember, a woman in a drab marriage is intrigued by a “hot” stranger. In "Myrna's Dad" by Cyn Vargas, a father’s changing occupations hide a family secret. The reader is Krystina Alabado. And in “Overtime” by Hilma Wolitzer (Meg’s mom), read by Becky Ann Baker, a happy couple gets a jolt when the man’s ex moves into their apartment. After the story, Meg interviews Hilma about what gave her the idea and her writing in general.
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58:39
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Host Meg Wolitzerpresents works that reflect on the loss of love, creatively imagined by a quartet of thoughtful writers. In “The Space,” by Christopher Boucher, a lost love is replaced by—her absence. The reader is Rob Yang. In Wendi Kaufman’s “Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street,” the loss is the backstory, as a lively ‘tween, voiced by Donna Lynne Champlin, finds ways to deflect the emotional fallout from her father’s absence. Sharon Olds’ wrenching poem, “Last Look,” read by Jane Kaczmarek, is our palette clearer before we close with a Raymond Carver classic, “Why Don’t You Dance?”The couple idly roving a lawn sale don’t realize they are walking through the detritus of lost relationship.The reader is Corey Stoll.
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59:34
Too Hot For Radio: Carlos Greaves "Even I, Satan, Am Appalled by the State of the Republican Party"
The author of the story is Carlos Greaves. His stories have been featured in The New Yorker and McSweeney's. Reading this story is Jon Cameron Mitchell who wrote and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch—the musical and its film adaptation—and has made memorable appearances in series including Girls, Shrill, and City on Fire. And he continues to follow his passions with projects such as his musical podcast Anthem: Homunculus. After the story, host Aparna Nancherla talks to Greaves about his work, and yes, Satan.
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.