Selected Shorts

Meg Wolitzer presents three unexpected stories that let us see the holidays’ associations—family, friends, food, gifts, and goodwill—in different ways. Amy Krouse Rosenthal presents a playful encounter with the Almighty in “Interview with God,” performed by Jayne Atkinson and James Naughton. In Sherrie Flick’s “Heidi is Dead,” read by Adina Verson, a second wife tries to tune in with her in-laws. And John Cheever’s “Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor” is a richly comic and warmhearted look at giving and receiving. Teagle F. Bougere reads.

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two provocative stories that address the idea of communing with something “other”. In Etgar Keret’s “Polar Bear” an AI program, and a lonely widow, commune. The reader is Michael Imperioli. And Mom is close by—and full of unwanted advice—in “The Acorn” by Elizabeth Stix, performed by Dylan Baker.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2025

Israeli writer Etgar Keret talks to his friend, This American Life host Ira Glass.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents the Explain Like I'm 5 podcast, a show that takes the questions you always wanted to ask and talks about them in a way that is easy to understand. Some times we want simple answers to complex questions! We here at Selected Shorts have become big fans and hope you enjoy it too!

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three fictional disappearing acts. In “We Have Your Son,” by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, a kidnapping goes wrong. This darkly humorous piece recalls O’Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief” and is performed by Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker. In “Where’s Dad?” by Claire Fridkin, performed by Emily Skeggs, the hunt for Waldo gets personal. And Anita Felicelli creates a mysterious lodger and an atmosphere of Hitchcockian dread in “A Minor Disturbance,” performed by Jill Eikenberry.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three imaginative and funny reworkings of classic stories. In Ginny Hogan’s “Phantoms and Prejudice,” Jane Austen’s Bennet sisters learn about ghosting. The reader is Sara Bareilles. Anthony Marra invents a plausible reason for murder in his reworking of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” read by Mike Doyle. And Michael Cunningham turns Jack into an entrepreneur in “Jacked,” read by Jim Parsons.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2025

The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours sits down with Meg for a chat about all things writing.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about the nature of time and how it shapes our lives. In Helen Phillips’ “The Knowers,” a woman chooses to learn a vital fact about her future, while her husband does not. Stockard Channing reads this thought-provoking fantasy. In Anita Felicelli’s “Time Invents Us” a chance encounter turns the clock back for an aging artist. It’s read by Kirsten Vangsness.

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories in which characters are faced with unexpected revelations that alter their lives. In “A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets,” by Kevin Brockmeier, performed by Geoffrey Arend, a thrift purchase comes with unusual fringe benefits. In “Lady Tigers,” by Nick White, performed by Michael Urie, the bus driver of a girls’ softball team encounters a storm, and a secret.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about self-deception. In “Participation Trophy,” by Simon Rich, the author is taken to task by a discarded relic of childhood triumphs. The reader is Colton Dunn. Japanese playwright and novelist Betsuyaku Minoru creates an Industrial Age fable in “Factory Town.” The story was translated by Royall Tyler and is read by Suzy Nakamura. And a college student falls in love with the idea of love in Lauren Pruneski’s “Mama, Mama,” read by Kirsten Vangsness.

Transcribed - Published: 23 October 2025

Bonnie Milligan reads author Pam Houston's short story about the blurred lines between a boyfriend and a dog.

Transcribed - Published: 13 October 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about our relationship with man’s best friend, from an evening of dog stories hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer. Emma Brewer’s “Think You Deserve Companionship? Apply to Adopt a Dog Today,” pokes fun at the bureaucratic hurdles involved in getting a new friend. It’s performed by Gasteyer. Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum offers a up a tale of romance, transformation and machinations, in “The Glass Dog,” performed by Jeremy Shamos. And David Means’ “Clementine, Carmelita, Dog,” tells the tale of one dog with two names—and two families. It’s performed by Javier Munoz.

Transcribed - Published: 9 October 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents Curiosity Weekly, a podcast from Discovery that helps makes sense of some of the biggest questions and ideas shaping our world. The show breaks down science and technology in a way that connects to our everyday lives. We hope you check it out too!

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2025

On this Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about the risks and rewards of making things “better.” In Kim Fu’s “Fair,” a Selected Shorts commission, a woman’s envy of her neighbors takes a dramatic turn. The reader is Julie Benko. In Kristen Iskandrian’s “Quantum Voicemail,” a long-distance friendship is tested by a bold move. The reader is Lauren Ambrose.

Transcribed - Published: 25 September 2025

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.

Transcribed - Published: 15 September 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about the attraction and perils of reinvention. In “Kerosene,” by Simon Rich, timing is all in matters of invention. The reader is Santino Fontana. Attentive parents want to keep their baby safe at all costs in “The Cage,” by Tania James, read by Nicole Kang. And a widowed man looks for love—with some guidance from his late wife--in “The Dark,” by Jess Walter, read by Jason Alexander.

Transcribed - Published: 11 September 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about neighbors and the unexpected relationships that can develop between people who live adjacent to one another. In Tess Gallagher’s “Mr. Woodriff’s Neckties,” a famous novelist lets his neighbor in on a secret. The reader is Dion Graham. In “Hoodie in Xanadu,” by Ann Beattie, a woman discovers that her shy neighbor possesses creative genius. The story is performed by Kirsten Vangsness.

Transcribed - Published: 28 August 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents stories celebrating a quarter century of clever, funny, playful, weird, and literary writing, in print and online, showcased by the powerhouse indie publisher McSweeney’s. These include a comic fantasy, “Poor Little Egg-Boy Hatched in a Shul, by Nathan Englander, performed by Ophira Eisenberg; an unusual mother/son story, “Crumb Cake,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Andy Richter; and unlikely heroism at the amusement park in “Stay Brave, My Hercules,” by Ernie Wang, performed by BD Wong.

Transcribed - Published: 21 August 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness. Each week, Jonathan offers tips and strategies to help us thrive while hosting incredible guests like Dan Harris, Gretchen Rubin and Wendy Suzuki. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents three works about squabbles between people who love one another most. Jenny Allen’s “In the Car” chronicles the European road trip of a long married couple—and he won’t ask for directions. The reader is Alysia Reiner. In Jade Jones’ “Your Aunt Thinks She Ramona Africa,” a close family doesn’t know what to do with a nonconformist. Crystal Dickinson reads. And in “CobRa,” by Katherine Heiny, the methods of uncluttering guru Marie Kondo almost tidy away a marriage. Peter Grosz reads.

Transcribed - Published: 7 August 2025

Jessica Hecht performs Roxane Gay's "Requiem for a Glass Heart," and host Aparna Nancherla talks to Amanda Jones, the author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories featured in the anthology A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker. The magazine celebrates its 100th birthday, and this is the second of two programs this season in which we join the party. Robert Coover’s “Going for a Beer” begins with a date and a drink, but you’ll be surprised where it ends up. The reader is SELECTED SHORTS’ late founder and host, Isaiah Sheffer. Cynthia Ozick’s moving story “The Shawl” pulls grace from the worst of circumstances in a powerful reading by Lois Smith. And V.S. Pritchett turns a ladder into a sly symbol of marital discord in our third tale. “The Ladder” is performed by Cynthia Nixon.

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about the things she loves most: books and words and why they matter. In Ben Loory’s “The Book,” a contrarian volume becomes a literary sensation, and alters one woman’s life. The reader is Jane Kaczmarek. In “Things I Know to be True” by Kendra Fortmeyer, originally published in One Story, a damaged veteran uses words to hold his life together. The reader is Calvin Leon Smith. And in a special feature, Wolitzer visits a favorite indie bookstore, Three Lives & Company: http://threelives.com/who.html The Greenwich Village icon, which was founded in the 1980s, is a haven for readers, writers, and book lovers of all kinds. Michael Cunningham calls it “One of the greatest bookstores on the face of the Earth. Every single person who works there is incredibly knowledgeable and well read and full of soul.” And you’ll meet some of them—and the books they treasure--on this show.

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a quartet of summer stories. Umberto Eco endures trial by mini bar in “How to Travel with a Salmon,” read by Jin Hah. A scenic getaway turns eerie in Elizabeth Spencer’s “The Weekend Travelers,” read by Campbell Scott. Life looks up—way up—for an overworked restaurant owner in “The Man, The Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower,” by Ben Loory, read by Stana Katic. And upper-class “frenemies” have a reckoning in Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” read by Maria Tucci.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents four works that consider various forms of risk, and risk taking. In “Clicking on Heaven’s Door,” by Anand Giridharadas, performed by Negin Farsad, the pearly gates require an online account, a password, a security question…you get the idea. “The Stand-In,” by Gerald Jones and Jean Marple, imagines a unique job. It’s read by Tony Hale. David Sedaris creates the ultimate in well-meant interference in other people’s lives—oh, and there’s a parrot. “Farnsworth” is read by Jessica Keenan Wynn. And—dining at the end of the world. Where’s the waiter? Robin Hemley’s “The Last Customer,” is read by Jane Curtin and Mike Doyle.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

As part of our live event with Margaret Atwood, host A.M. Homes interviewed her from the stage at Symphony Space. Here is that interview.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about personal transformation. In Kenneth Calhoun’s “Mindless in America,” a SELECTED SHORTS commission, a couple trapped by their own technology resolves to lead a simpler life. The reader is Justin Kirk. In “D Day,” by Rachel Khong, God has a Plan B for the human race. Spoiler alert—how do you think you’d look with a tail? Or scales? The reader is Katrina Lenk.

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Somebody, Somewhere's Jeff Hiller reads a funny and incisive story about a gay man trapped in a whale.

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer is presents two stories from a live SELECTED SHORTS evening celebrating the O’Henry Prize, with guest editor Amor Towles, bestselling author of volumes including A Gentleman from Moscow. On today’s show, Allegra Hyde imagines the very near future as a never-ending road trip, in “Mobilization,” read by Jane Kaczmarek. And a family is disrupted by the arrival of a young woman in “The Import,” by Jai Chakrabarti, read by Arjun Gupta.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer is presents two stories from a live SELECTED SHORTS evening celebrating the O. Henry Prize, with guest editor Amor Towles, bestselling author of volumes including A Gentleman from Moscow.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents four stories in which characters give, and get, a little assistance, from friends, strangers and family. A daughter copes with a cantankerous parent in “How to Take Dad to the Doctor” by Jenny Allen, performed by Jennifer Mudge. A woman moves to a new town and makes a strange new friend in Laura van den Berg’s “Friends,” performed by Roberta Colindrez. A Tyrolean café improbably situated in South America is home to mysterious strangers and new and old romances, in Isabel Allende’s “The Little Heidelberg.” It’s performed by Kathleen Turner. And a budding singer and socialist gets unwelcome help from Mom in Grace Paley’s “Injustice,” performed by Jackie Hoffman.

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a program celebrating the 100th anniversary of The New Yorker. One of the magazine’s strengths has always been its fiction, and honor of this winning literary streak, this year saw the release of the collection, A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker. The quartet of stories on this show is drawn from that volume. The program includes a pithy satire by E. B. White, “Life Cycle of a Literary Genius,” read by Liev Schreiber; “Love,” by William Maxwell, a tender recounting of an collective adolescent crush, read by Fred Hechinger; “Bullet in the Brain,” a powerful reversal of fortune tale by Tobias Wolff, read by Liev Schreiber; and “All Will be Well,” an intriguing tangle of truths and half-truths by Yiyun Li, read by Ann Harada.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about secrets that are just beneath the surface of the narratives and lives of the characters. In Walter Dean Myers’ “The Beast in the Labyrinth” children must conceal their real selves in a hostile society. The reader is Jelani Alladin. And the Shirley Jackson classic “The Lottery” demonstrates how the inconceivable can become the norm in a community if everyone accepts it. The reader is Amy Ryan.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Selected Shorts celebrates this important collection each year, and this show, presented by host Meg Wolitzer, reprises works from the 2022 Best American edition selected by guest editor Andrew Sean Greer. Included are “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado, performed by Krystina Alabado, and a second story selected by John Updike for the volume Best American Stories of the Century. It’s Grace Stone Coates’ “Wild Plums,” performed by Mia Dillon.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories by contemporary Japanese writers that were featured during a live program created in collaboration with the Japan Society. Each touches on the idea of letting go. In “Hawaii,” Aoko Matsuda imagines a afterlife for garments. It’s read by Maria Dizzia. In “Sunrise,” by Erika Kobayashi, a woman’s life parallels the world of nuclear power. The reader is Rita Wolf. And Hugh Dancy meets a mermaid in Hiromi Kawakami’s “I Won’t Let You Go.”

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories and two poems the celebrate the power and mystery of reading and writing. Billy Collins contributes magical verse from two perspectives in “Books” read by Kirsten Vangsness, and “Dear Reader,” performed by Dion Graham. N.K. Jemisin entices us with a tricky narrative that contemplates the cost of literary celebrity. It’s read by Yetide Badaki. And at least one character in Ian McEwan’s “My Purple Scented Novel” wants celebrity at all costs. It's read by Tony Hale.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

On the Media’s Brooke Gladstone was our guest for a live Selected Shorts event, and this week, host Meg Wolitzer presents some of the stories Gladstone chose. They all explore the theme of tales we tell ourselves—and others. The title says it all in Mary Gordon’s “My Podiatrist Tells Me a Story about a Boy and a Dog” read by Bebe Neuwirth and Richard Masur. Two imaginative cooks reinvent themselves in a new country in Meron Hadero’s “A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times,” read by Chinasa Ogbuagu. And a child imagines an absent parent through her postcards in “Love, Your Only Mother” by David Michael Kaplan, read by Bebe Neuwirth.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about belonging and sacrifice in two very different kinds of social orders. In Wolitzer’s own “The Summer Reading List” the intensity of youthful bookworms is perfectly captured. It’s performed by Melora Hardin. And Marie-Helene Bertino takes us inside a bat cave for a story of love, longing, and immortality. “Viola in Midwinter” was chosen for the Best American Short Stories 2024 anthology by guest editor Lauren Groff. It’s performed by Rita Wolf.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2025

whether it’s wanted or not. The title of the first, by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler, says it all: “Relationship Advice from Your Aunt Who Has Been Divorced Six Times.” It’s read by Jane Kaczmarek. In Mira Jacob’s “Death by Printer,” a YouTube DIY video seems to have a mind of its own. The reader is Rita Wolf. And a husband dispenses lavish advice at a wedding brimming with his wife’s exes in “The Happiest Day of Your Life,” by Katherine Damm, read by Santino Fontana.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

Actor Busy Phillips reads a funny fable about the razor thin line between good attention and bad attention, as told by a rat.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about women whose social boundaries are changed. In “Somebody’s Daughter,” by Amy Silverberg, a young woman flirts with transgression as one way of defining herself. The reader is Hettienne Park. In Julie Otsuka’s “Evacuation Order No. 19,” a wife and mother makes hard decisions during World War II. The reader is Jennifer Ikeda.

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about perfect pairs, and what happens if and when they split up. A friendship unravels in “Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Mia Dillon and Rita Wolf. Writer Toure feels that there ought to be a corresponding ritual to marriage and commitment celebrations, and has created “The Breakup Ceremony,” performed by Maulik Pancholy. And in “Twins,” by Philip Graham, siblings rediscover one another. It’s performed by Michael Tucker.

Transcribed - Published: 13 February 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer hands off to stage and film actor Teagle F. Bougere, our guest host for a show that celebrates the protean literary master and social activist Langston Hughes (1901-1967). It features three of his most striking works. In “Passing” Hughes reflects on a difficult aspect of the Black experience—the need some felt to “pass” as white. Program host Teagle F. Bougere is the reader. Pauletta Pearson Washington reads the humorous and much anthologized “Thank You, M’am." And Joe Morton performs one of Hughes’ most celebrated works, “The Blues I’m Playing,” which charts the long and complex relationship between a brilliant young Black pianist and her white patron. All three stories reflect Hughes’ explorations of questions of race, identity, and personal destiny.

Transcribed - Published: 6 February 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories from a live evening at Symphony Space celebrating the prolific writer Stephen King. It was hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead. The program presents King in two different modes: the legendary scare-master who entered the horror genre with Carrie, and the author of stories that draw on memory and family like “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” An excerpt from Carrie is read by Carrie Coon, and “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is read by John Benjamin Hickey. Colson Whitehead speaks briefly from the stage.

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories that were presented as part of an evening with the writer Judy Blume that explored the issues around book banning, and featured works by two authors whose works have been banned. (Blume’s works have also frequently been banned.). First, Xu Mason’s witty “Finally a Book that Cannot be Banned,” imagines what it would take to write a work that could escape all censure. It’s read by Troy Iwata. Celebrated children’s author Roald Dahl cooks up the perfect murder in “Lamb to the Slaughter,” read by Catherine O’Hara. And David Sedaris recounts a challenging encounter with a young man in “Bruised,” read by Maulik Pancholy. Some of Blume’s onstage remarks are included.

Transcribed - Published: 16 January 2025

Meg Wolitzer speaks with author Judy Blume about her life, her writing and the challenges of book banning.

Transcribed - Published: 16 January 2025

A story is about games and game playing. This piece is by writer Maeve Dunigan and read by Susie Essman, the longtime stand-up comic who spent many years yelling at Larry David while playing Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Plus, host Aparna Nancherla talks to writer Meg Wolitzer about her love of word games.

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2025

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in that look at some of the ways we “keep score” in life even though we know it’s not a game. Simon Rich explores the game as intergenerational competition in “The Tribal Rite of the Strombergs,” read by John Hodgman. In Dylan Marron’s “Some News,” a man carefully tracks an old friend on social media, while eyeing his own accomplishments. Marron is the reader. And Joanne Harris’ “Fule’s Gold,” a teacher tries to put himself on the board—by stealing points from an unwitting student. The reader is Gildart Jackson.

Transcribed - Published: 2 January 2025

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which games are featured. Brian Agler’s “The Rules of this Board Game Are Long, But Also Complicated” speaks for itself as the unnamed host of game night makes it clear there is no way to win this one. Meg Wolitzer is the reader. In John Updike’s “Still of Some Use,” a family clears its attic of old games; memories and emotions surface, along with battered boards and random game pieces. The reader is James Naughton. In Susan Perabo’s “Some Say the World,” a fragile young woman holds the world at bay with Parcheesi. The reader is Colby Minifie.

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 19 December 2024