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Selected Shorts

Broadcast Schedule

Below is the schedule for upcoming and previous Selected Shorts episodes.

Our most recently released shows are available for audio streaming HERE.

  • 12/31/2004

    Tripped on a Pop-Top
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Documentary Artist,” by Jaime Manrique, performed by BD Wong
    “The Trickle-Down Effect,” by Annie Proulx, performed by James Naughton

  • 12/24/2004

    The Fullness of Life
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Fullness of Life,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Jane Curtin
    “The Daughter,” by Courtney Angela Brkic, performed by Patricia Kalember

  • 12/17/2004

    Willful Women
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Petrified Man,” by Eudora Welty, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “My Singular Irene,” by José Alcántara Almánzar, performed by Leonard Nimoy

  • 12/10/2004

    Surprise!
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Stephen Colbert
    “The Ambitious Guest,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, performed by Paul Hecht

  • 12/03/2004

    Escapes and Cityscapes
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Getaway,” by Dorothy Thomas, performed by Mia Dillon
    “New York’s Bicycle Speedway,” by Stephen Crane, performed by Joe Grifasi
    Swallow Canyon (excerpt), by Meghan Daum, performed by Jane Curtin

  • 11/26/2004

    Visitation
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “It Had Wings,” by Allan Gurganus, performed by Marian Seldes
    “Devotion,” by Adam Haslett, performed by John Shea

  • 11/19/2004

    Handsome and Lonesome
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Travis, B.” by Maile Meloy, performed by William Hurt
    “A Soldier for the Crown,” by Charles Johnson, performed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson

  • 11/12/2004

    Small Things
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Mrs. Manstey’s View,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Kathleen Chalfant
    “An Orange Line Train to Ballston,” by Edward P. Jones, performed by Sonia Manzano

  • 11/05/2004

    Flaws
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” by Sherman Alexie, performed by Keir Dullea
    “Lemonade,” by Raymond Carver, performed by Leonard Nimoy

  • 10/29/2004

    Great Men, Small Lives
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “A Warm Welcome to the President, Insh’Allah!” by Meera Nair, performed by Aasif Mandvi
    “A Vectorial History of Leroy Pippin,” by Patrick Keppel, performed by Eli Wallach

  • 10/22/2004

    Movies and Memories
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Skyshot,” by Manuel Muñoz, performed by Héctor Elizondo
    “Knowledge,” by Gail Jones, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 10/15/2004

    Long Journeys
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Mother in the Trenches,” by Robert Olen Butler, performed by Kathleen Chalfant
    “Time Between Trains,” by Anthony Bukowski, performed by Liev Schreiber

  • 09/24/2004

    Deferred Lives
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Genevieve Thayer,” by Thomas McMahon, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “The Lone Pilgrim,” by Laurie Colwin, performed by Hope Davis

  • 09/17/2004

    A Quartet of Serio-Comic Tales
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Verger,” by W. Somerset Maugham, performed by Schuyler G. Chapin
    “Partners,” by Veronica Geng, performed by Vinie Burrows
    “True Love,” by Don Shea, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Breaking Up of the Winships,” by James Thurber, performed by Henderson Forsythe

  • 09/10/2004

    Family Matters
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Watch the Animals,” by Alice Elliott Dark, performed by Deborah Rush
    “One Holy Night,” by Sandra Cisneros, performed by Jacqueline Kim

  • 09/03/2004

    Mysteries of Marriage
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Drover's Wife,” by Murray Bail, performed by René Auberjonois
    “Jamaica,” by David Schickler, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 08/27/2004

    Worlds Apart
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Sharing,” by John Edgar Wideman, performed by Susanna Thompson
    “The Night in Question,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Lou Antonio
    Featuring an interview with John Edgar Wideman

  • 08/20/2004

    Tales by Two Adams
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “214 Minutes,” by Adam Langer, performed by Teri Garr
    “The Good Doctor,” by Adam Haslett, performed by Billy Campbell

  • 08/13/2004

    War is Hell
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “There Will Be Peace in Korea,” by Larry McMurtry, performed by Tim Guinee
    When the Emperor Was Divine (excerpt), by Julie Otsuka, performed by Gedde Watanabe

  • 08/06/2004

    The Awkward Stage
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Smokers,” by Elizabeth Haas, performed by Teri Garr
    “Devotion,” by Alexai Galaviz-Budziszewski, performed by John Shea
    “Public Defenders and Other Fossils,” by George Singleton, performed by James Cromwell

  • 07/30/2004

    Exiles
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Blind Jozef Pronek,” by Aleksandar Hemon, performed by William Hurt

  • 07/23/2004

    The End
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “House Raising,” by Chris Offutt, performed by Peter Gerety
    “Keep Talking,” by Pam Durban, performed by Barbara Barrie

  • 07/16/2004

    All in the Family
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Weight,” by John Edgar Wideman, performed by Terrell Tilford
    “Mister Brother,” by Michael Cunningham, performed by Daniel Alexander Jones

  • 07/09/2004

    Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Trip Back,” by Robert Olen Butler, performed by Alvin Epstein
    “Four More Years,” by Myra Alperson, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 07/02/2004

    Things Unknown
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Unknown Soldier,” by Luc Sante, performed by Jack Davidson
    “Surtsey,” by Elizabeth Graver, performed by Maria Tucci

  • 06/25/2004

    Fragrant Stories
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    Selections from The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, performed by Virginia Rambal
    “My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn,” by Sandra Cisneros, performed by Carmen Zapata
    “Dating Your Mom,” by Ian Frazier, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The School,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by Laura Esterman
    “Charles,” by Shirley Jackson, performed by Lois Smith

  • 06/18/2004

    Difficult Children
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Two Kinds,” by Amy Tan, performed by Lia Chang
    “Ramone,” by Judy Troy, performed by Angelina Phillips

  • 06/11/2004

    Confession
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Personal Testimony,” by Lynna Williams, performed by Cherry Jones
    “The Wonder Spot,” by Melissa Bank, performed by Keira Naughton

  • 06/04/2004

    Love and Family
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Call If You Need Me,” by Raymond Carver, performed by Harris Yulin
    “Anxious Objects,” by Zsuzsi Gartner, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “A Woman Without Prejudices,” by Anton Chekhov, performed by David Margulies

  • 05/28/2004

    Revelation
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Revelation,” by Flannery O’Connor, performed by Estelle Parsons

  • 05/21/2004

    Tender Twists
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “He’s at the Office,” by Allan Gurganus, performed by Philip Bosco
    “Happy Endings,” by Margaret Atwood, performed by Linda Lavin

  • 05/14/2004

    At Home and Abroad
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Arbitrage,” by André Aciman, performed by André Aciman
    “The Moor,” by Russell Banks, performed by Jay O. Sanders

  • 05/07/2004

    The Smoker
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Smoker,” by David Schickler, performed by Robert Sean Leonard

  • 04/30/2004

    Fact, Folk, and Fantasy
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “I Am Not a Jew,” by John Biguenet, performed by David Strathairn
    “They Tell Me, Now I Know,” by Shay Youngblood, performed by Viola Davis
    “Visit,” by Barry Yourgrau, performed by James Naughton

  • 04/23/2004

    The Human Drama
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Stuart,” by Zadie Smith, performed by Paul Hecht
    “Enough,” by Alice McDermott, performed by Kathleen Chalfant

  • 04/16/2004

    Not of This World
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Fix,” by Percival Everett, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “Men on the Moon,” by Simon J. Ortiz, performed by John Shea

  • 04/09/2004

    The Third and Final Continent
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Third and Final Continent,” by Jhumpa Lahiri, performed by Aasif Mandvi

  • 04/02/2004

    If Truth Be Told...
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Nettles,” by Alice Munro, performed by Kate Burton
    “Lies I've Told,” by Sue Allison, performed by Barbara Barrie and David Strathairn

  • 03/26/2004

    Sly Humor
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “There's No Future In It,” by H. E. Bates, performed by Victoria Tennant
    “The Wrong Suitcase,” by Maeve Binchy, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “Auditions for Actors,” by Al Hirschfeld, performed by Jane Curtin
    “Breakfast,” by John Steinbeck, performed by Joe Morton

  • 03/19/2004

    Death And Taxes...And Dolls
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Mortals,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Dolls,” by Ian McEwan, performed by George Bartenieff
    “A Profession Like Any Other,” by Ana María Shua, performed by Stephen Lang

  • 03/12/2004

    Confrontation and Guilt
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Diver,” by Lewis Robinson, performed by Peter Gallagher
    “The Guilt,” by Rayda Jacobs, performed by Sigourney Weaver

  • 03/05/2004

    Two Paths
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Meeting Frederick,” by Jewell Parker Rhodes, performed by Laurine Towler
    “Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses,” by Luis Alberto Urrea, performed by Ted Marcoux

  • 02/27/2004

    A Task Undone
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Nachman from Los Angeles,” by Leonard Michaels, performed by David Rakoff

  • 02/20/2004

    Difficult Love
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Disclaimer,” by Ron Carlson, performed by Tony Roberts
    “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter,” by D. H. Lawrence, performed by Jon DeVries

  • 02/13/2004

    Children Teach Us
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Solomon’s Big Day: A Children’s Story,” by Touré, performed by Daniel Alexander Jones
    “Nightingale,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by William Hurt

  • 02/06/2004

    A Tale of Vietnam
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “July ’69,” by Tim O’Brien, performed by William Hurt

  • 01/30/2004

    Urban Tales
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Traffic,” by Rubén Mendoza, performed by Joe Mantegna
    “Los Angeles Notebook,” by Joan Didion, performed by Linda Hunt
    “Cattle Car Complex,” by Thane Rosenbaum, performed by Mark Nelson

  • 01/23/2004

    Damaged Spirits
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Car Games,” by Frank Conroy, performed by John Shea
    “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, performed by Kate Burton and Michael Genet
    “Walimai,” by Isabel Allende, performed by Lazaro Perez

  • 01/16/2004

    Epiphanies
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Epiphany Branch,” by Mary Gordon, performed by Mary Cleere Haran
    “Maybe a Bride,” by Carol Bommarito, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “My Baby…” by Dorothy West, performed by Carmen de Lavallade

  • 01/09/2004

    Two Misfits Who Fit Together
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Labors of the Heart,” by Claire Davis, performed by Peter Gerety

  • 01/02/2004

    Escape Routes
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Our Lady of Peace,” by ZZ Packer, performed by Saidah Arrika Ekulona
    “Evacuation Order No. 19,” by Julie Otsuka, performed by Jennifer Ikeda