Close Search

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.

  • 12/25/2009

    A Touch of Magic
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Palmist,” by Andrew Lam, performed by James Naughton
    “The Occasional Garden,” by Saki, performed by Daniel Gerroll
    “The Balloon,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by Maria Tucci
    “The Little Green Monster,” by Haruki Murakami, performed by Dana Ivey

  • 12/18/2009

    Holiday Special
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The H Street Sledding Record,” by Ron Carlson, performed by Keith Szarabajka
    “Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor,” by John Cheever, performed by Malachy McCourt
    “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” by James Thurber

  • 12/18/2009

    Confused Couples
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “For the Relief of Unbearable Urges,” by Nathan Englander, performed by Jefferson Mays
    “A Second of Pleasure,” by Neil LaBute, performed by Andrew McCarthy and Maura Tierney
    “Lies I've Told,” by Sue Allison, performed by Barbara Barrie and David Strathairn

  • 12/11/2009

    Asking for Directions
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Mappist,” by Barry Lopez, performed by Joe Spano
    “Devil of a Curve,” by Walter Kirn, performed by Roscoe Lee Browne

  • 12/04/2009

    The Heart of the Matter
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allen Poe, performed by Terrence Mann
    “Gimpel the Fool,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Paring Knife,” by Michael Oppenheimer, performed by Steve Gilborn

  • 11/27/2009

    Adventures in London and the Wild West
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    The Road Home (excerpt), by Rose Tremain, performed by Paul Hecht
    “Cary Grant's Suit,” by Todd McEwen, performed by James Cromwell

  • 11/20/2009

    Rebel Yiddish Writers
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “My First Love,” by Moishe Nadir, performed by John Shea
    “A Quiet Garden Spot,” by Sholem Asch, performed by Laura Esterman
    “Job's Jobs,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Anjelica Huston

  • 11/13/2009

    Stories That Surprise!
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Jesus is Waiting,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Mary Stuart Masterson
    “No Other Country,” by Shaun Tan, performed by Campbell Scott
    “Swimmers,” by Daniela Maristany, performed by Mary Stuart Masterson
    “Number 10,” by Edna O'Brien, performed by Marian Seldes

  • 11/06/2009

    Tales from the Great Epics
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Death of Hector,” from The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, performed by Stephen Lang
    “Cantos IV and V,” from Dante's Inferno, by Dante Aligheri, translated by Mark Strand and Daniel Halpern, performed by Phylicia Rashad
    “Captain Ahab, A Novel by the White Whale,” by Paul West, performed by Diane Venora

  • 10/30/2009

    Women on the Move
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “She Shall Not Be Moved,” by Shereen Pandit, performed by Rita Wolf
    “Loose Change,” by Andrea Levy, performed by Eve Best
    “Pie Dance,” by Molly Giles, performed by Kate Burton

  • 10/23/2009

    Tale of Terror
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Bees,” by Dan Chaon, performed by Boyd Gaines

  • 10/16/2009

    French Fictions
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “A Parisian Affair,” by Guy de Maupassant, performed by René Auberjonois
    Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow (excerpt), by Faiza Guene, performed by Sonia Manzano
    “The Secret of the Old Music,” by Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, performed by Philippe de Montebello

  • 10/09/2009

    Please Don't Explain
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Just a Little One,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Dana Ivey
    “The Spray,” by Jonathan Lethem, performed by Robert Sean Leonard
    “The Swim Team,” by Miranda July, performed by Parker Posey
    “Jesus Shaves,” by David Sedaris, performed by Tim Blake Nelson

  • 10/02/2009

    Unlikely Situations
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Schartz-Metterklume Method,” by Saki, performed by Marian Seldes
    “I Dated Jane Austen,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Sixth Borough,” by Jonathan Safran Foer, performed by Jerry Zaks
    “Game,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by David Strathairn

  • 09/25/2009

    The Rea Award for the Short Story: A Tribute (Pt. 2)
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Coo-Coo,” by John Edgar Wideman, performed by John Edgar Wideman
    “Escapes,” by Joy Williams, performed by Joy Williams
    “That Room,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Tobias Wolff
    “The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” by John Updike, performed by Campbell Scott

  • 09/18/2009

    The Rea Award for the Short Story: A Tribute (Pt. 1)
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Shawl,” by Cynthia Ozick, performed by Lois Smith
    “Some Other Better Otto,” by Deborah Eisenberg, performed by Deborah Eisenberg
    “Calling,” by Richard Ford, performed by Richard Ford
    “Slow,” by Joyce Carol Oates, performed by Joyce Carol Oates
    “In This Country But in Another Language, My Aunt Refuses to Marry the Men Everyone Wants Her To,” by Grace Paley, performed by Grace Paley
    “Plot on the Poem,” by Grace Paley, performed by Grace Paley

  • 09/11/2009

    People with Problems
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Wes Amerigo’s Giant Fear,” by David Schickler, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Doctor of Mental Health,” by Miranda F. Mellis, performed by David Rakoff

  • 09/04/2009

    Overwhelmed
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “A Curtain of Green,” by Eudora Welty, performed by Frances Sternhagen
    “Concerning Love,” by Anton Chekhov, translated by Ronald Hingley, performed by Joe Morton

  • 08/28/2009

    Figuring It Out
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Towel Season,” by Ron Carlson, performed by James Naughton
    “A Bad Joke,” by Ha Jin, performed by B.D. Wong

  • 08/21/2009

    Tales in Verse, and a Chiller
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Deacon's Masterpiece, or The Wonderful One Hoss Shay: A Logical Story,” by Oliver Wendell Holmes, performed by John Lithgow
    “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll, performed by Bill Irwin
    “The Jumblies,” by Edward Lear, performed by Bill Irwin and John Lithgow
    “If I Told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso,” by Gertrude Stein, performed by Bill Irwin and John Lithgow
    “The Tyger,” by William Blake, performed by John Lithgow
    “The Monkey's Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs, performed by John Lithgow

  • 08/14/2009

    It's Love
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Examining the Evidence,” by Alice Hoffman, performed by Joanna Gleason
    “An Old Fashioned Story,” by Laurie Colwin, performed by Mia Dillon

  • 08/07/2009

    Best Friends: Dog Tales
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Sleeping with Dogs on a King Size Bed,” by Abigail Thomas, performed by Rochelle Oliver
    “The Dog of the Marriage,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Joan Allen
    “Heart of a Champion,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 07/31/2009

    Strange But True: Aimee Bender and Etgar Keret
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Drunken Mimi,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Bernadette Quigley
    “Death Watch,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Bernadette Quigley
    “Your Man,” by Etgar Keret, translated by Miriam Shlesinger, performed by David Rakoff
    “Shooting Tuvia,” by Etgar Keret, translated by Miriam Shlesinger, performed by David Rakoff

  • 07/24/2009

    Paws and Claws
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Red Fox Fur Coat,” by Teolinda Gersão, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, performed by Kathleen Chalfant
    “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” by Karen Russell, performed by Joanna Gleason

  • 07/17/2009

    Memories That Define Us
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Dissed Fish,” by Calvin Trillin, performed by Calvin Trillin
    “Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses,” by Luis Alberto Urrea, performed by Robert Sean Leonard

  • 07/10/2009

    You Just Don't Understand: An Edith Wharton Celebration
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Dilettante,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Brenda Wehle
    “The Muse’s Tragedy,” by Edith Wharton, performed by David Strathairn

  • 07/03/2009

    Living Life to the Fullest
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “How to Talk to a Hunter,” by Pam Houston, performed by Mia Dillon
    “It Had Wings,” by Allan Gurganus, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Canoeists,” by Rick Bass, performed by Neil Patrick Harris
    “A Ride with Olympy,” by James Thurber, performed by David Rakoff

  • 06/26/2009

    Postcards from the Edge
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “What Was Mine,” by Ann Beattie, performed by John Shea
    “Shades,” by William Henry Lewis, performed by Curtis McClarin

  • 06/19/2009

    Hints of Madness
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Sermon in the Guava Tree,” by Kiran Desai, performed by Tazewell Thompson
    “Crazy Glue,” by Etgar Keret, translated by Miriam Schlesinger, performed by Chris Sarandon

  • 06/12/2009

    Appetites for Life
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Storytelling,” by Mary Gordon, performed by Lindsay Crouse
    “Just a Little More,” by V.S. Pritchett, performed by René Auberjonois

  • 06/05/2009

    A Gallant Writer Celebrated
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Grippes and Poche,” by Mavis Gallant, performed by Mavis Gallant

  • 05/29/2009

    Down To The Sea in Ships
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Initiation,” by Joseph Conrad, performed by Tony Roberts
    “Country Miles,” by Robert King, performed by Marian Seldes

  • 05/22/2009

    Proof of Love
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “An Enigmatic Nature,” by Anton Chekhov, translated by Constance Garnett, performed by Fionnula Flanagan
    “Brother,” by Edna O’Brien, performed by Fionnula Flanagan
    “Awaiting Orders,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Michael Cerveris

  • 05/15/2009

    Shattered Peace
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Woman from Hamburg,” by Hanna Krall, translated by Madeline G. Levine, performed by Hope Davis
    “The First Sense,” by Nadine Gordimer, performed by Joanna Gleason

  • 05/08/2009

    Playwright's Delight
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” by Ernest Hemingway, performed by Ron Cephas Jones
    “The Little Green Monster,” by Haruki Murakami, performed by Dana Ivey
    “After the Storm,” by Ernest Hemingway, performed by John Turturro

  • 05/01/2009

    Food Fantasies
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Country Cooking from Central France: Roast Boned Rolled Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb (Farce Double),” by Harry Mathews, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant,” by Laurie Colwin, performed by Kelli O’Hara

  • 04/24/2009

    Indian Country
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Indian Country,” by Sherman Alexie, performed by John Lithgow

  • 04/17/2009

    Family Relations
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Why I Live at the P.O.,” by Eudora Welty, performed by Stockard Channing
    “Other Persons,” by Juan José Millás, performed by James Naughton
    “Ma, A Memoir,” by Lynn Freed, performed by Marian Seldes
    “The Bird Woman,” by Melodie Edwards, performed by Kelli O’Hara

  • 04/10/2009

    A Baseball Celebration
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Baseball Haiku,” by Various Authors, performed by Alec Baldwin and Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Hector Quesadilla Story,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Jerry Zaks
    The Glory of Their Times
    (excerpt), by Lawrence S. Ritter, performed by Jonathan Rubinstein
    “Polo Grounds,” by Rolfe Humphries, performed by Fritz Weaver

  • 04/03/2009

    Surprising Twists
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Sphinx,” by Edgar Allan Poe, performed by Kathleen Widdoes
    “Minuet,” by Guy de Maupassant, performed by René Auberjonois
    “The Toys of Peace,” by Saki, performed by Dana Ivey
    “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn,” by Thomas Wolfe, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 03/27/2009

    Dazed and Knights
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “What Happened Between Us,” by Rivka Galchen, performed by Jonathan Hadary
    “Chivalry,” by Neil Gaiman, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 03/20/2009

    Hard-Boiled and Hard Tack
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Creeping Siamese,” by Dashiell Hammett, performed by John Shea
    “Make Westing,” by Jack London, performed by Steven Gilborn

  • 03/13/2009

    Women on a Mission
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “A Shock for the Countess,” by C.S. Montanye, performed by Fionnula Flanagan
    “Katherine Comes to Yellow Sky,” by Mark Helprin, performed by LisaGay Hamilton

  • 03/06/2009

    Strong Men, Stronger Women
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Second-Hand Man,” by Rita Dove, performed by Audra McDonald
    “The Winnowing of Mrs. Schuping,” by Padgett Powell, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 02/27/2009

    Let's Not Talk
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Year of Silence,” by Kevin Brockmeier, performed by Anthony Rapp
    “Liberty Hall,” by Ring Lardner, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 02/20/2009

    Passions Run Deep
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Bible,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Jane Alexander
    “The Appropriation of Cultures,” by Percival Everett, performed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson

  • 02/13/2009

    Unexpected Developments
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Summer People,” by Shirley Jackson, performed by René Auberjonois
    “The Wrong Suitcase,” by Maeve Binchy, performed by Cynthia Nixon

  • 02/06/2009

    Two Wild Guys
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Gleason,” by Louise Erdrich, performed by Robert Sean Leonard
    “Red,” by Maile Meloy, performed by Keith Szarabajka

  • 01/30/2009

    Listen Up
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Apology,” by Brock Clark, performed by Stephen Lang
    “The Chairs,” by Joshua Ferris, performed by Ivy Austin
    “Feeling Good, Feeling Fine,” by George Garrett, performed by BD Wong

  • 01/23/2009

    Deepening Insight
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Seventh Man,” by Haruki Murakami, performed by John Shea
    “The Rememberer,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Marian Seldes

  • 01/16/2009

    A Pair of Paleys
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “The Long-Distance Runner,” by Grace Paley, performed by Laura Esterman
    “A Conversation with My Father,” by Grace Paley, performed by Anne Pitoniak

  • 01/09/2009

    Two Funny Guys
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Alvin the Typesetter,” by Lydia Davis, performed by David Rakoff
    “The Lie,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Stephen Colbert

  • 01/02/2009

    Family Matters
    HOST: ISAIAH SHEFFER

    “Charles,” by Shirley Jackson, performed by Lois Smith
    “Pride and Joy,” by Etgar Keret, translated by Miriam Shlesinger and Sondra Silverston, performed by Robert Sean Leonard
    “Blue Waltz with Coyotes,” by Jeanne Dixon, performed by Mia Dillon
    “Boys,” by Rick Moody, performed by BD Wong