Informações:
Sinopsis
Spellbinding short stories by established and emerging writers take on a new life when they are performed by stars of the stage and screen.
Episodios
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Fitting In
29/08/2024 Duración: 01h00sMeg Wolitzer presents three stories in that explore the idea of “fitting in,” and whether it’s worth the effort. In “Reality,” by Diana Spechler, a woman longs for the ephemeral glory of a reality show. It’s read by Kirsten Vangsness. “Long Hair,” by Uche Okonkwo, performed by Karen Pittman, explores hair as a form of power. And “A Sacrifice,” by Simon Van Booy, performed by Joanna Gleason, explores social dynamics and family secrets in a small Irish village. A brief interview with Van Booy is included.
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Best Laid Plans
22/08/2024 Duración: 56minMeg Wolitzer presents three stories in which plans go awry, or alter completely. In Ben Loory’s “Dandelions,” read by Wyatt Cenac, a suburb is invaded, and experiences a change of heart. Edwidge Danticat imagines an ultimate act and its consequences in “Cane and Roses,” read by Anika Noni Rose. And a romance with comic underpinnings changes course in Ray Bradbury’s “The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair,” read by Tate Donovan.
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The New American West
15/08/2024 Duración: 58minHost Meg Wolitzer presents two works that reassess and redefine our ideas of “the West.” It’s both a landscape of awesome beauty, and the scene of cultural appropriation, and we’ve got two masters sharing and shaping our experience. In Louise Erdrich’s “The Hollow Children” a natural disaster tests family ties. It’s read by Tate Donovan. And writer and environmental activist Rick Bass stress tests the West, and his main character, in “Fires,” read by John Benjamin Hickey. We also reprise part of an interview with Louise Erdrich from earlier in the year.In it, she mentions a new novel in progress, which has now been published: The Mighty Red: A Novel.
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Out of Their Element
08/08/2024 Duración: 58minHost Meg Wolitzer presents two works in which characters are out of their element. This is quite literally the case in Robert Coover’s witty reworking of the fable “The Frog Prince,” who finds human life exhausting despite the enthusiasm of his suburban love interest. Parker Posey reads. In Cristina Henríquez’s “Chasing Birds” a married couple share an exotic holiday locale, but not much else. It’s voiced by Maryann Plunkett, who also comments on the story at the end of her read, and introduced by novelist Amy Tan, a bird lover and illustrator.
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Up in the Air with Radiolab
01/08/2024 Duración: 01h43sSELECTED SHORTS host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that were presented as part of our live evening with WNYC’s Radiolab and hosts Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. The theme was flight in many imaginative manifestations. Randa Jarrar’s “The Lunatics’ Eclipse” is a fable-like story of romance and interstellar travel, read by Abubakr Ali. Our second story is “Roy Spivey,” by Miranda July, and is a sly and gentle probing of celebrity culture. It’s read by Molly Bernard. Don Shea’s “Jumper Down” bares the vulnerability and resilience of a rescue worker. it’s read by Becca Blackwell. And our last story, “My Life as a Bat,” shares the secret life a mysterious creature in fact and fable. It’s by Canadian fiction master Margaret Atwood and is read by Zach Grenier.
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The Me I Used to Be
25/07/2024 Duración: 57minHost Meg Wolitzer presents three works about change. Yalcin Tosun’s “Muzaffer and Bananas” explores the awkward rites of passage of two teenaged boys. It’s performed by Arian Moayed. In Anya DeNiro’s “Take Pills and Wait for Hips,” performed by Pooya Mohseni, a trans woman reflects on her life before and after the change. And a former couple rehearse the disintegration of their relationship—on a street corner—in A.M. Homes’ “Goodbye to the Road Not Taken” performed by Jane Kaczmarek and Tony Shalhoub.
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Beyond Leprechauns
18/07/2024 Duración: 56minHost Meg Wolitzer presents three works in which characters have unusual friends who change their lives—whether they like it nor not. In “Unicorn Me,” by Elizabeth Crane, a magical box delivers a unicorn who offers ambiguous advice. Miriam Shor performs.A sentient cockroach intrigues and alarms a woman in “The Double Life of the Cockroach’s Wife,” by Helen Phillips.It’s performed by Sarah Steele. And the latest iPhone knows everything about you in Weike Wang’s “iPhoneSE,” performed by Dawn Akemi Saito. All three stories were commissions for SELECTED SHORTS’ anthology Small Odysseys.
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Building Worlds With N.K. Jemisin
11/07/2024 Duración: 59minHost Meg Wolitzer presents three works of speculative fiction curated by best-selling author N.K. Jemisin. In John Scalzi’s “When the Yogurt Took Over” a popular breakfast staple decides it’s good for everyone. The reader is Jin Ha. Chatbots and A.I. can be helpful––but sometimes too helpful––as we hear in Alexandra Chang’s “Me and My Algo,” read by Catherine Cohen. And Jemisin herself reworks a classic by Ursula K. Le Guin in “The Ones Who Stay and Fight,” read by Teagle F. Bougere. Excerpts from Jemisin’s onstage remarks are included in this show.
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Too Hot For Radio: Dierdre Coyle "Stakes"
01/07/2024 Duración: 27minWriter Deirdre Coyle’s fiction and essays have appeared in Electric Literature, Lit Hub, The New Republic, The Texas Observer, Hobart Pulp, and elsewhere. This story, "Stakes," was performed at a show at the Getty Center in L.A., at a show produced in conjunction with the online literary collective, Belletrist Book Club. If you don't know Belletrist, it was founded by committed friends and readers Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss. They recommend new works by an incredible collection of writers, host online conversations and foster a community of like-minded readers. Emma Roberts reads this story, and we feature an interview between host Aparna Nancherla and Karah Preiss in this episode.
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Picture Perfect
06/06/2024 Duración: 01h01minHost Meg Wolitzer presents three works about idealized lives, and ideas about what constitutes an “ideal” life. “Boy Meets Girl” is Jen Kim’s humorous version of a Hollywood love story. It’s read by Tony Hale. In the John Cheever classic “The Worm in the Apple” a couple have the perfect life—but no one can believe it. It’s read by Anne Meara. And a harried mother fantasizes about a brand new life in Vanessa Cuti’s “Our Children,” performed by Claire Danes, followed by an interview with Danes..
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Too Hot for Radio: Tim Jones-Yelvington "This Is a Dance Movie"
06/05/2024 Duración: 30minThis story was read at a Selected Shorts show in L.A., hosted by the Getty Center, and co-produced with the Belletrist Book Club, the online reading community created by longtime friends and readers Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss. Jones-Yelvington is an artist and drag performer who is also a prolific writer. They have written chapbooks, a memoir, a young adult novel and two collections of short fiction, Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret and This Is a Dance Movie! And the title story of their collection is all about movie cliches, how we might play with them, and the kinds of connection we hope we can achieve in telling our own stories. Writer and actor Ryan O'Connell performs the story. His book I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves was adapted into the Netflix series Special—in which he starred. His novel Just By Looking at Him came out in 2022, and he has appeared in recent series including the reboot of Queer as Folk. Our episode was hosted by comedian Aparna Nancherla.
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Bonus: A Conversation with Elizabeth Strout
04/04/2024 Duración: 10minHost Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story “Home” and the fictional family Strout has created.
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Meg Wolitzer interviews Louise Erdrich
15/02/2024 Duración: 14minIn 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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Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Denis O’Hare
08/02/2024 Duración: 16minIn this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to actor Denis O’Hare about his craft, and his approaches to readings of the two very different stories on this program.
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Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Visits Her Favorite Indie Bookstore
29/06/2023 Duración: 15minHost Meg Wolitzer visits a favorite indie bookstore, Three Lives & Company in Greenwich Village, remembers her early years there as a writer and reader, and is let in on some trade secrets.
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Bonus: Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes
15/06/2023 Duración: 17minIn this bonus conversation, writers Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes discuss everything from feminism, time, writing and dystopian fiction, to Atwood’s new short story collection “Old Babes in the Wood.” The interview was recorded in front of a live audience at Symphony Space.
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Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Alison Stewart
08/06/2023 Duración: 09minIn this bonus conversation, host and best-selling author, Meg Wolitzer, talks to host of WNYC’s All of It, Alison Stewart. Wolitzer reveals some of the secrets to great writing and the two share their own reading habits and thoughts about the importance of fiction.
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Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Patricia Marx
09/02/2023 Duración: 12minIn this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and New Yorker humorist Patricia Marx about her story “Singin’ in the Acid Rain,” and writing funny.
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Meg Wolitzer Talks with George Saunders
12/01/2023 Duración: 20minIn this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders about crafting short stories, where ideas come from, and how his work has evolved over the years.
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Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout
08/09/2022 Duración: 10minIn this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout about writing, short stories, and the use of recurring characters in her work.