Selected Shorts

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.

This story was read as a part of a live show hosted by the great Judy Blume, on the subject of banned books, something she personally knows about. This story hasn't been banned on its own, but many of Roxane Gay's works have, including Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture and Hunger: A Memoir of My Body. Because these bans are so prevalent, and so pernicious, we wanted to talk about that cultural argument, too. Surprising to absolutely no one, we at Too Hot are free speech boosters; so after the reading, we feature a fascinating talk with Amanda Jones, the author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, who is on the frontline of this culture war in Louisiana. The story was read by actress Jessica Hecht. Our host is Aparna Nancherla.

Meg Wolitzerpresents 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.

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. 

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. 

Meg Wolitzer presents stories that take the idea of “the magic of fiction” literally—or literarily. The British writer Penelope Lively offers up a tricky combination of love and real estate in “The Third Wife,” performed by real-life husband and wife Patricia Kalember and Daniel Gerroll. The only “trick” in our next story, “Tempo,” by R.O. Kwon, is the trick the mind plays when it wishes the present would restore a lost bit of the past. The reader is Hettienne Park. And Dave Eggers’ “The Alaska of Giants and Gods” includes a real magic act, but also the longing for some other kind of magic, misplaced on a rocky road, to be restored. Kate Burton reads.

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.

Meg Wolitzer presents stories by the incomparable Margaret Atwood, drawn from SELECTED SHORTS’ archives and a live performance evening hosted by the author. “There Was Once” is a brief satire about the art of writing and the importance of free speech. It’s performed by René Auberjonois, Zach Grenier, and Jane Kaczmarek. “Widows,” performed by Ellen Burstyn, is a delicate and ironic tale in which a recently widowed woman becomes accustomed to her new role. And Atwood is in full dystopian throttle in “Freeforall” where reproductive rights have become a matter of life and death. The reader is Becky Ann Baker. Portions of Atwood’s onstage talk with fellow writer A.M. Homes are also featured, and the full interview is available as a bonus on our podcast.

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.

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.

Rachel B. Glaser has been recognized as one of Granta Magazine's Best Young American Novelists, and her work has been showcased in prestigious publications such as The Paris Review and McSweeney's. "Ira & the Whale" was honored with an O. Henry Prize in 2023. Jeff Hiller is an actor who has been a charming anchor of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere. He's appeared in many other funny shows, such as 30 Rock; was on Broadway in the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; and performs solo shows at Joe's Pub. After the reading, Hiller talked to host Aparna Nancherla about the character, finding your place in the world, and his own book, Actress of a Certain Age, which come out in June of 2025.

"The Ballad of Bagel Rat," is by Jen Spyra. She's written for The Onion, The New Yorker, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After reading her short story collection Big Time, we not only brought two of Spyra's stories to the stage, but commissioned this one, too. Actor Busy Phillips read this story onstage. She's been in shows from Freaks & Geeks to Cougar Town, though these days you may know her from Girls5Eva or the movie musical Mean Girls. Also, she is the best at social media—which gave her a strange kind of insight into this story. This episode is hosted by Aparna Nancherla.

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

Host Meg Wolitzer talks with political satirist and author Andy Borowitz in this bonus interview.

From the author of Eileen and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a story about weird people doing weird things. Read by Colby Minifie from The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fear the Walking Dead. Michael Ian Black hosts this episode, which includes an interview with Moshfegh.

Host 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..

 Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story “Home” and the fictional family Strout has created.

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. 

In 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.

Host 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.