Selected Shorts

Guest host Maulik Pancholy presents two selections from the 2018 Best American Short Stories anthology, with comments by guest editor, Roxane Gay. In “Suburbia,” by Amy Silverberg, a young girl leaves home for the first time, and both she, and it, are transformed. The reader is Martha Plimpton. “Everything is Far from Here,” by Cristina Henriquez, goes to the heart of the country’s immigration crisis with an affecting portrait of a migrant mother and her son. It’s performed by Zabryna...

Guest host Roxane Gay presents three stories about resisting the inevitable, and testing the status quo. The title tells all in Haruki Murakami’s “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning,” read by Randall Park. A girl is tutored in fly tying by her father in Elizabeth Winthrop’s “The Golden Darters,” read by Ann Dowd, and a boy disappoints his wizard parents in “The Accountant,” by Robert Sheckley, read by Nate Corddry. Join and give!:...

Read by actress Kirsten Vangsness, this Jane Eyre fan fiction imagines Mr. Rochester as a pit bull. After the story, host Aparna Nancherla talks to Jane Eyre expert, author Patricia Park, about the enduring allure of Charlotte Brontë's novel. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents works celebrating dance. A domineering mother uses an evening at the ballet to find fault in "My Mother Explains the Ballet to Me,” by Jesse Eisenberg, performed by Patricia Kalember. A pioneering African-American dancer remembers an audition in “Léonide Massine,” by Janet Collins, performed by Carmen de Lavallade. A magical garment transforms its owner in “The Cape,” by Ben Loory, performed by Tony Yazbeck. And the “Tango” undermines a stuffy WASP...

Guest host Maulik Pancholy presents four tales with unexpected twists and turns. We begin with his reading of “Riding Solo,” Simon Rich’s re-telling of the Paul Revere legend. An Italian holiday offers revelations to a group of tourists in Laura van den Berg’s “The Cult of Mary,” performed by Colby Minifie; Philip K. Dick’s “The Eyes Have It,” has a joke at the expense of a literal-minded reader; Paul Giamatti performs. And two masters meet in Carmen de Lavallade’s reading of Alice Walker’s...

Guest host Jane Curtin offers up tales of courtship and its consequences. In “Prince Amilec,” by Tanith Lee, a handsome prince pursues a beautiful princess, but it’s not the same old, same old fairy tale. Gildart Jackson performs. A couple explores their relationship in a humorous piece by A.M. Homes. “Be Mine” is performed by Sanjit De Silva and Adina Verson. And in “The Idea of Marcel,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, a breakup leads ex lovers to reboot each other. It’s performed by Jenna...

Guest host Kevin Kwan presents two stories with unexpected twists. In Italo Calvino’s satirical fantasy, “A General in the Library” a military tribunal investigates seditious books. Selected Shorts’ late host and founder Isaiah Sheffer is the reader. Old friends reunite—and revisit their shared past—in Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” performed by Bebe Neuwirth. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Guest host John Darnielle presents two of his favorite weird stories. In Amparo Davila’s “Moses and Gaspar,” a grieving man has inherited two—creatures—from his dead brother. But what in the world are they? Peter Jay Fernandez reads. A slick salesman has a little something extra up his sleeve in Dennis Etchison’s “The Pitch,” read by Michael Shannon. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our story today addresses, or should I say undresses - why snacking on your underwear might not be all that’s promised on the box. In this hilarious story written by Tony Tulathimutte, the narrator, played by actor Maulik Pancholy, is taking on the edible underpants industry. Later host Aparna Nancherla talks to the author about the inspiration for his story. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Guest host Roxane Gay presents three works about considering people and feelings at a distance. Italian fabulist Italo Calvino observes young love on the slopes in “The Adventure of a Skier,” performed by James Naughton. In Edwidge Danticat’s “New York Day Women” a daughter watches her mother walking through Manhattan. The reader is Laurine Towler. And the James Baldwin grapples with what it means to be an American in "Notes for a Hypothetical Novel," performed by Brandon J. Dirden. Join and...

Guest host, Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan presents stories on themes he’s been interested in ever since F. Scott Fitzgerald inspired him to start writing as a teen—the nature of privilege, and the obsession with appearance and social status. In “Little Miss International Goodwill” by Doretta Lau, a young girl doesn’t seem to fit in at home or at school. The story is performed by Annie Q. Virginia Woolf elegantly weighs the balance of power between an aristocrat and a merchant in “The...

Guest host Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show) presents a colorful and diverse collection of works that look at Presidential elections, warts and all. Roy Wood Jr. performs Mark Twain’s outrageous confessional “A Presidential Candidate.” Samantha Bee reads from Molly Ivins’ “Our Boy George.” Crystal Dickinson performs an excerpt from Unbought and Unbossed, the memoir of America’s first Black Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Washington columnist Alexandra Petri offers a Samuel Beckett pastiche,...

Guest host Jane Curtin presents provocative stories by T.C. Boyle and A.M. Homes, who comment on their craft as part of the show. In Boyle’s “Top of the Food Chain,” a government program wreaks havoc with Mother Nature. It’s performed by Zach Grenier. In “A Prize for Every Player,” Homes locates a charming family fantasy in a big box store. Jane Curtin is the reader. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Host Aparna Nancherla introduces two stories: "Joan of Arc Sits Naked on Her Dorm Room Floor,” by Rachel Engelman, performed by actor Adina Verson, and the satirical “Casual Sexism Fridays” by Peter McCleery performed by our host at a SketchFest performance in San Francisco. Later in the episode, Aparna chats with Chris Monks, the editor for the humor site McSweeney's, about why he published the McCleery story and what goes into their selection process. Join and give!:...

Guest host Hope Davis presents two stories about rituals. A young author takes a glamorous older woman to lunch and all does not go well in “The Luncheon” by Jeffrey Archer, performed by Jefferson Mays. And host Davis performs Amy Bloom’s touching story “Love is Not a Pie,” in which family secrets, and family bonds, are shared after a funeral. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest host David Sedaris presents stories that reimagine holiday rituals. In Tobias Wolff’s “Powder” a pre-Christmas snowstorm provides an adventure for a father and son. SELECTED SHORTS’ late host and founder Isaiah Sheffer is the reader. A long-established couple turn out to be able to surprise one another in Allegra Goodman’s gentle borrowing from an O’Henry classic. Dana Ivey and Michael Cerveris read her “Gifts of the Jewish Magi.” And David Sedaris says English writer Jeanette...

Guest host Kirsten Vangsness presents four works about fame, celebrity, show biz, and what it takes to survive them. First, actor Cole Escola channels the legendary Joan Crawford in an excerpt from her autobiography, My Way of Life. Author Zadie Smith channels the dauntless spirit of Billie Holiday in “Crazy They Call Me,” performed by Karen Pittman. Will Eno’s “Interview" is a freewheeling monologue which offers both sides of an extensive and confessional outpouring performed by the author....

Guest host Robert Sean Leonard presents stories from the legendary literary magazine The Paris Review. Umberto Eco has a really big fish in “How to Travel with a Salmon,” read by Jin Ha. A mother mourns her son with his difficult friends in “Marabou,” by Joy Williams, read by Michael Emerson. In George Fox’s “The Twenty-Sixth Second” a WWII veteran has a secret. It’s read by Linda Lavin. And host Leonard finishes up with a story set on the day of the Nazi occupation of Paris, “The Hat,” by...

Guest host David Sedaris offers three stories that question social rites. “Cultural Relativity” is Charles Johnson’s witty retelling of a classic fairy tale; it’s read by Regina King. Zadie Smith reads her own “Lazy River”—ostensibly about a failed holiday in Spain, but also a deft satire about Brexit, class, and exploitation. And the cantankerous spinster In Jean Stafford’s “The Hope Chest” has a Dickensian moment of grace. Dana Ivey is the reader. Join and give!:...

Actor Robin Lord Taylor (You, Gotham) performs a story about a single mom with two unruly sons. And later in the podcast, host Aparna Nancherla talks to Sarah Thyre about how she chose this story for a night at Selected Shorts. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.