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Selected Shorts
Below is the schedule for upcoming and previous Selected Shorts episodes.
Our most recently released shows are available for audio streaming HERE.
12/30/2021
“The Cruise,” by Alix Ohlin, performed by Laura Benanti
“A Permanent Member of the Family,” by Russell Banks, performed by Zach Grenier
12/23/2021
“And Two Eyes Made Out of Coal,” by Augusten Burroughs, performed by Michael Cerveris
“Live Wires,” by Thomas Beller, performed by Jane Curtin
12/16/2021
“Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,” by Jamil Jan Kochai, performed by Leo Solomon
“Biology,” by Kevin Wilson, performed by Mike Doyle
12/09/2021
“The Baby,” by Simon Rich, performed by Jason Mantzoukas
“Buttony,” by Fiona McFarlane, performed by Jin Ha
“Crumb Cake,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Andy Richter
With an introduction by Aimee Bender
12/02/2021
“Three Great Meals,” by Donald Barthelme (published under the pseudonym William White), performed by Nate Corddry
“Simple Recipes,” by Madeleine Thien, performed by Cindy Cheung
“Lamb to the Slaughter,” by Roald Dahl, performed by Catherine O'Hara
11/25/2021
“The Elevator Dancer,” by N. K. Jemisin, performed by Laura Gómez
“Marigolds,” by Eugenia W. Collier, performed by Sharon Washington
“The Wife’s Story,” by Ursula K. Le Guin, performed by Joanna Gleason
11/18/2021
“Fairness,” by Chinelo Okparanta, performed by Chinasa Ogbuagu
“Little Nightmares, Little Dreams,” by Rachel Simon, performed by Maria Tucci
11/11/2021
“No Bikini,” by Ivan E. Coyote, performed by Becca Blackwell
“The World with My Mother Still in It,” by Kathryn Chetkovich, performed by Phillipa Soo
“At the Zoo,” by Caitlin Horrocks, performed by Kate Walsh
With an introduction by Celeste Ng
11/04/2021
“The Rememberer,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Marian Seldes
“Rumors About Me,” by Yasutaka Tsutsui and translated by Andrew Driver, performed by Kennedy Kanagawa
“The Orange,” by Benjamin Rosenbaum, performed by John Cameron Mitchell (podcast only)
10/28/2021
“Yours Truly,” by A.M. Homes, performed by Beth Malone
“Omakase,” by Weike Wang, performed by Jennifer Lim
10/21/2021
“Loose Change,” by Andrea Levy, performed by Eve Best
“Anyone Can Do It,” by Manuel Muñoz, performed by Monica Raymund
10/14/2021
“Fly Already,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Liev Schreiber
“Where Are You?” by Joyce Carol Oates, performed by Dianna Agron
“One Gram Short,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Ira Glass
“Assassin,” by Joyce Carol Oates, performed by Becky Ann Baker
10/07/2021
“Break,” by Rabih Alameddine, performed by Pooya Mohseni
“Your Mother And I,” by Dave Eggers, performed by David Rakoff
“Silver Water,” by Amy Bloom, performed by Linda Lavin
09/30/2021
“Looking for a Thief,” by Danielle Lazarin, performed by Heather Burns
“I Stand Here Ironing,” by Tillie Olsen, performed by Kate Burton
09/23/2021
“Tandolfo the Great,” by Richard Bausch, performed by Michael Ian Black
“A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud,” by Carson McCullers, performed by Lance Reddick
09/16/2021
“Friends,” by Lucia Berlin, performed by Lydia Gaston
“Control Negro,” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, performed by LeVar Burton
09/09/2021
“Funeral Platter,” by Greg Ames, performed by Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole
“Liberty,” by Julia Alvarez, performed by Laura Gómez
“The Dog of the Marriage,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Joan Allen
09/02/2021
“Alarm,” by Aja Gabel, performed by Hettienne Park
“Flower Hunters,” by Lauren Groff, performed by Maria Dizzia
“Tempo,” by R. O. Kwon, performed by Hettienne Park
“Buck Boy,” by James McBride, performed by Teagle F. Bougere
08/26/2021
“Parent Night at Confidence Academy,” by Kiley Reid, performed by Juliana Canfield
“A Little Fable,” by Alfred Döblin, translated by Damion Searls, performed by Kate Burton
“Shouting Wenkie,” by Peter Orner, performed by Liev Schreiber
08/19/2021
“Hello?,” by Dmitry Biriukov, performed by Mike Doyle
“How to Tie-Dye,” by Jenny Allen, performed by Jane Curtin
“From the Diary of a Hot-Tempered Man,” by Anton Chekhov and translated by Peter Constantine, performed by Sam Underwood
08/12/2021
“Bayonne,” by John Cheever, performed by Mary Kay Place
“Alvin the Typesetter,” by Lydia Davis, performed by David Rakoff
“OBF, Inc.,” by Bernice L. McFadden, performed by Teagle F. Bougere
08/05/2021
“Detour,” by Évelyne Trouillot, performed by Arian Moayed and Rita Wolf
“Woman Striker Has Killer Left Foot,” by Réka Mán-Várhegyi, performed by Adina Verson
“Muzaffer and Bananas,” by Yalçın Tosun, performed by Arian Moayed
07/29/2021
“Once,” by Lauren Groff, performed by Cynthia Nixon
“Slow and Steady,” by Rachel Khong, performed by Hettienne Park
“Something Shiny,” by Elizabeth Crane, performed by Kate Walsh
07/22/2021
“A Case for Remaining Indoors,” by Samantha Irby, performed by Retta
“Everything We Know About the Bomber,” by Rebecca Makkai, performed by John Cameron Mitchell
“The Hoaxer,” by Walter Kirn, performed by Michael McKean
07/15/2021
“As a 28-Year-Old Latino, I’m Shocked My New Novel, Memoirs of a Middle-Aged White Lady, Has Been So Poorly Received,” by Carlos Greaves, performed by Anthony Ramos
“1,000-Year-Old Ghosts,” by Laura Chow Reeve, performed by Jennifer Lim
“The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens,” by A. A. Milne, performed by Michael Cerveris, Jane Curtin, Peter Francis James, James Naughton, and Rita Wolf
07/08/2021
“The Trip,” by Bruce Jay Friedman, performed by Santino Fontana and Julie Halston
“Foes,” by Lorrie Moore, performed by Joan Allen and Kyle MacLachlan
07/01/2021
"The Lower East Side of Manhattan," by Victor Hernández Cruz, performed by Sonia Manzano
“Dessert,” by Colum McCann, performed by F. Murray Abraham
“Home to Flatbush,” by Vinson Cunningham, performed by Wyatt Cenac
“Recognition,” by Victor LaValle, performed by Karen Pittman
Jazz (excerpt), by Toni Morrison, performed by Anika Noni Rose
06/24/2021
"The Wisdom of Eve," by Mary Orr, performed by Stana Katic
"The Leap," by Louise Erdrich, performed by Elizabeth Reaser
Introductions by Sarah Thyre and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
06/17/2021
"The Dancing Mind," by Toni Morrison, performed by Joe Morton
“How to Pronounce Knife,” by Souvankham Thammavongsa, performed by Deborah S. Craig
“My Purple Scented Novel,” by Ian McEwan, performed by Denis O’Hare
06/10/2021
"Patriots," by Patrick Dacey, performed by Wendie Malick
“Sea Monster,” by Seth Fried, performed by Natasha Rothwell
“The Mistress,” by Gina Berriault, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
06/03/2021
"Cat Pictures Please," by Naomi Kritzer, performed by Nia Vardalos
“There Will Come Soft Rains,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Kathleen Chalfant
“The Eyes of the Soul,” by Michel Faber, performed by Sam Underwood
“Sci-Fi,” by Tracy K. Smith, performed by Valorie Curry
05/27/2021
"First Person Shooter," by Charles Yu, performed by Tony Hale
“The Portable Mrs. Tillson,” by Whitfield Cook, performed by Laura Grey and Jordan Klepper
“Gertrude the Governess: or, Simple Seventeen,” by Stephen Leacock, performed by Sonia Manzano
05/20/2021
"The South Asian Speakers Series Presents the Archeologist and Adventurer Indiana Jones," by Tania James, performed by Bryan Cranston
“Today, You’re a Black Revolutionary,” by Jade Jones, performed by Moses Ingram
“On a Day That Tammy Had Not Eaten Enough Yellow,” by Kenneth Calhoun, performed by Michelle Buteau, John Cameron Mitchell, and Miriam Shor
05/13/2021
"Initials Etched on a Dining Room Table, Lockeport, Nova Scotia," by Peter Orner, performed by Maulik Pancholy
“Ollie’s Back,” by Lynn Sloan, performed by Nate Corddry
“Light,” by Lesley Nneka Arimah, performed by Crystal Dickinson
Introduction by Lesley Nneka Arimah
05/06/2021
"Miss Laura’s School for Esquire Men," by Carmen Maria Machado, performed by Emily Skeggs
“Rubberdust,” by Sarah Thankam Mathews, performed by Purva Bedi
“Sir Henry,” by Lydia Millet, performed by John Lithgow
04/29/2021
"Paddle to Canada," by Heather Monley, performed by Jenna Ushkowitz
“A Family,” by Jamel Brinkley, performed by Brandon J. Dirden
Introduction by Roxane Gay
04/22/2021
"After the Theatre," by Anton Chekhov translated by Constance Garnett, performed by Donna Lynne Champlin
“The Porcelain Doll,” by Leo Tolstoy translated by Aylmer Maude, performed by BD Wong
“Bobok,” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett, performed by Becca Blackwell, Peter Jay Fernandez, Santino Fontana, Zach Grenier, Ann Harada, Peter Mark Kendall
Introductions by George Saunders
04/15/2021
"I Break Everything I Touch," by James Thurber, performed by Keith Olbermann
“The Macbeth Murder Mystery,” by James Thurber, performed by Michael McKean and Susannah Rogers
“Many Moons,” by James Thurber, performed by Michael McKean
“The Tortoise and the Hare,” by James Thurber, performed by Kristine Nielsen
“The Peacelike Mongoose,” by James Thurber, performed by Keith Olbermann
“The Flaw in the Plan,” by James Thurber, performed by Keith Olbermann
“The Moth and the Star,” by James Thurber, performed by Susannah Rogers
Introduction by Roz Chast
04/08/2021
"It’s Not You," by Elizabeth McCracken, performed by Hope Davis
“In the Basement,” by Isaac Babel translated by Walter Morison, performed by Richard Masur
Introductions by Curtis Sittenfeld and George Saunders
04/01/2021
"My Last Duchess," by Robert Browning, performed by John Darnielle
“No More Loves,” by Javier Marías, performed by Molly Ringwald
“When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 ¼,” by Neil Gaiman, performed by Kirsten Vangsness
“Le Miroir,” by Robert Aickman, performed by Kathryn Erbe
03/25/2021
"What a Thought," by Shirley Jackson, performed by Andrea Martin
“Magnificent Desolation,” by Jess Walter, performed by Bobby Cannavale
“Draft Day,” by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, performed by BD Wong
03/18/2021
"Suburbia!," by Amy Silverberg, performed by Martha Plimpton
“Everything Is Far From Here,” by Cristina Henríquez, performed by Zabryna Guevara
03/11/2021
"On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning," by Haruki Murakami, performed by Randall Park
“The Golden Darters,” by Elizabeth Winthrop, performed by Ann Dowd
“The Accountant,” by Robert Sheckley, performed by Nate Corddry
03/04/2021
"My Mother Explains the Ballet to Me," by Jesse Eisenberg, performed by Patricia Kalember
“Léonide Massine,” by Janet Collins, performed by Carmen de Lavallade
“The Cape,” by Ben Loory, performed by Tony Yazbeck
“Tango,” by Kurt Vonnegut, performed by Tony Shalhoub
02/25/2021
"Riding Solo," by Simon Rich, performed by Maulik Pancholy
“The Cult of Mary,” by Laura van den Berg, performed by Colby Minifie
“The Eyes Have It,” by Philip K. Dick, performed by Paul Giamatti
“Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker, performed by Carmen de Lavallade
02/18/2021
"Prince Amilec," by Tanith Lee, performed by Gildart Jackson
“Be Mine,” by A.M. Homes, performed by Sanjit De Silva and Adina Verson
“The Idea of Marcel,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, performed by Jenna Ushkowitz
02/11/2021
"A General in the Library," by Italo Calvino, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
“Roman Fever,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Bebe Neuwirth
02/04/2021
"Moses and Gaspar," by Amparo Dávila, performed by Peter Jay Fernandez
“The Pitch,” by Dennis Etchison, performed by Michael Shannon
01/28/2021
"The Adventure of a Skier," by Italo Calvino, performed by James Naughton
“New York Day Women,” by Edwidge Danticat, performed by Laurine Towler
“Notes for a Hypothetical Novel,” by James Baldwin, performed by Brandon J. Dirden
01/21/2021
"Little Miss International Goodwill," by Doretta Lau, performed by Annie Q
“The Duchess and The Jeweller,” by Virginia Woolf, performed by Michael Urie
Excerpt from Sex and Vanity, by Kevin Kwan, performed by Melora Hardin
01/14/2021
"A Presidential Candidate," by Mark Twain, performed by Roy Wood, Jr.
“Our Boy George,” by Molly Ivins, performed by Samantha Bee
Excerpt from Unbought and Unbossed, by Shirley Chisholm, performed by Crystal Dickinson
“Waiting for Pivot,” by Alexandra Petri, performed by Paul Giamatti, Jordan Klepper, Aasif Mandvi, and Alexandra Petri
Excerpt from Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, by Hunter S. Thompson, performed by Jordan Klepper
01/07/2021
"Top of the Food Chain," by T.C. Boyle, performed by Zach Grenier
“A Prize for Every Player,” by A.M. Homes, performed by Jane Curtin