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.
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that offer unusual perspectives on clothes and fashionâselling, making, and coveting. In Anne Enrightâs â(She Owns) Everything,â read by Mary-Louise Parker, a saleswoman becomes a compulsive consumer. In âClothes on the Ground: A Conversation with Leap,â we hear from a Cambodian garment worker, interviewed by Julia Wallace for the compendium Women in Clothes. Leap is voiced by Jennifer Lim. And shopping is an antidote to aging in Joanne Harrisâs âFaith and Hope Go Shopping,â read by Lois Smith.
Host Meg Wolitzer presents two unconventional love stories, one classic, one contemporary, that avoid the usual tropes of âmeet cute,â âopposites attract,â or âhappily ever afterâ but are still engaging. In âLove in the Slump,â by Evelyn Waugh, clueless upper-crust newlyweds are sent on a comic odyssey. The reader is Jane Kaczmarek. And Esther Yiâs âMoonâ explores something we often mistake for loveâobsession, as a young woman is drawn farther and farther into K-Pop fandom.The story was selected by guest editor Min Jin Lee for Best American Short Stories 2023. Itâs read by Hettienne Park. And we hear Leeâs and Parkâs thoughts about the story.
Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents two stories from the Best American Short Stories 2021 anthology selected by guest editor Jesmyn Ward. Both involve adolescents facing displacement or rejection, but the stories are set in very different environments: One takes place in a surreal, Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, and one inside a junior high school in Tennessee. First, Leo Solomon reads âPlaying Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain,â by Jamil Jan Kochai. Then we hear âBiology,â a beautiful story by Kevin Wilson, performed by Mike Doyle. And Ward comments briefly on her approach to creating this yearâs diverse anthology.Â
HostMeg Wolitzer shares three stories about people who put things out of sightâand try to put them out of mind. In Lisa Koâs âNightlife,â read by Vanessa Kai, a pair of friends quietly sidestep feelings that might complicate their relationship. A teacher tries to help a parent see who her child really is in âThe Holeâ by Patrick Cottrell, performed by Becca Blackwell. And Elizabeth Strout brings us a beautiful and devastating story of a woman grappling with whether to put her mother into institutional care in âHome,â performed by Mia Dillon. Strout talks with Wolitzer after the reading. All three works were commissioned for the Selected Shortsâ anthology, Small Odysseys.
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Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story âHomeâ and the fictional family Strout has created.
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about social occasions for introverts and extroverts alike, curated with the Belletrist Book Club, founded by actor Emma Roberts and producer Karah Preiss. The show was recorded at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Humorist Samantha Irby asks âPlease Invite Me to Your Party,â but does she mean it? The reader is Richa Moorjani. Victoria Lancelottaâs âThe Anniversary Trip,â performed by Judy Greer, is, and is not, about the married couple making the trip. And Jen Spyra takes it to extremes to get to the altar in perfect shape in âThe Bridal Body,â performed by Erinn Hayes.
This is Selected Shorts' first collaboration with Belletrist. Since 2017, Belletrist has chosen over 75 books for the book club and dozens more for myriad content features across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and a newsletter: The Belletrist Brief. In 2019, Emma and Karah spun out Belletrist Book Club into a production company called Belletrist Productions. https://www.belletrist.com
On this episode of Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about change. A playful fantasy, a domestic dilemma, and a private struggle help us to adjust to the idea of transformation, losses, and gains. In âSea Monster,â by Seth Fried, performed by Natasha Rothwell, a husband and wife reveal their secret identities to each other. In âDeath by Printer,â by Mira Jacob, read by Rita Wolf, a widow learns to cope with lossâand technology. And a mature woman embraces the self she is becoming in Maile Meloyâs âPeriod Piece,â performed by Kelli OâHara. The last two stories were commissioned for Selected Shortsâ anthology Small Odysseys.
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Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about the act of writing and how it can remake us--a prankish skit; a playful and tender investigation of creating with words; and a fraught social encounter between two characters who donât âgetâ each otherâs stories. B.J. Novak takes on the old saying âGreat Writers Stealâ in a short piece read by Novak and Aasif Mandvi. In Etgar Keretâs âCreative Writingâ a wife writes her way out of grief. Itâs read by Alex Karpovsky. A dinner party becomes a scene of personal and political tension in Lorrie Mooreâs âFoes,â performed by Joan Allen and Kyle MacLachlan. And Moore joins Wolitzer to talk about the story and creating fiction.
This story is by the writer Erin Somers. She has a novel, Stay Up with Hugo Best, and has been published in The Paris Review, The New Yorker and elsewhere. Performing it, we've got two actors who found the funny with both the words and each other. The first, Paget Brewster, is best known for her role on Criminal Minds. Additionally, she has appeared on Friends, Community and Comedy Centralâs Another Period. Playing off her is Andy Richter, known for his years on Conan and Late Night with Conan O'Brien; but has also appeared in cult classics like Cabin Boy and done many voiceovers for animated movies like Madagascar.  The episode is hosted by Aparna Nancherla. The story was recorded at SketchFest in San Francisco.
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In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to author Louise Erdrich about her story; her writing life; and what do with left over index cards.
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