Hello, this is Too Hot for Radio.

I'm a partner Nancherla and well, well, if it isn't my faithful hothead listener,

as you know, Too Hot for Radio is a show for people like you who love short stories

and don't mind if they're a little bit dirty, profane, or

otherwise questionable for a big public radio audience. As for short stories, of course, we love

them. In books, Reddit events, told by random guys holding court at the bodega chip rack,

they're all part of the same ecosystem. The best ones twist and turn and you can't

quite tell where it's all going and the ending surprises and satisfies you at the same time.

Some stories, you hear the first line and it telegraphs the catastrophe to follow. And you feel

like maybe you've already heard the entire thing.

You know, tequila makes me totally horny and deathly ill, but it was Cinco de Mayo, so.

And this story, something of a modern fable from Roxanne Gay, sets us up to believe we know exactly

what's going to happen.

In the very first line, Gay evokes the cliche into which she'll be leaning.

And the word choices throughout reinforce our expectations about what's going to happen.

But I think I can say, nope, you don't know where this one is

going. Well, okay, you kind of know, but you don't really. Roxanne Gay's writing includes the

essay collections, Bad Feminist, and her recent title, Opinions. This piece, which was part of her short story collection,

Difficult Women, certainly contains the elements of her writing that strike others as dangerous.

Unapologetic sexuality, feminism, and a willingness to point out the casual misogyny

ingrained in our culture. The story was performed by Jessica Hecht, an actor just as impressive on stage as she is on

screen. She's been on Broadway in shows including The Price and Fiddler on the Roof,

...