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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.

  • 12/26/2013

    Ghosts and Angels
    GUEST HOST: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

    “The Night the Ghost Got In,” by James Thurber, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “Examining the Evidence,” by Alice Hoffman, performed by Joanna Gleason
    “It Had Wings,” by Allen Gurganus, performed by Marian Seldes
    “Second-Hand Man,” by Rita Dove, performed by Audra McDonald

  • 12/19/2013

    Christmas Special
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “The H Street Sledding Record,” by Ron Carlson, performed by Keith Szarabajka
    “Christmas Morning,” by Frank O'Connor, performed by Malachy McCourt
    “Occurrence on the Six-Seventeen,” by George Shephard, performed by Tony Roberts
    “Christmas in Qatar” (poem), by Calvin Trillin, performed by Calvin Trillin

  • 12/12/2013

    What Would You Do?
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Mary Beth Hurt
    “The Night in Question,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Lou Antonio
    “I Know What I'm Doing About All the Attention I've Been Getting,” by Frank Gannon, performed by David Sedaris

  • 12/05/2013

    Wanting More
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D.H. Lawrence, performed by Fionnula Flanagan
    “The Book,” by Ben Loory, performed by Jane Kaczmarek

  • 11/28/2013

    Writers on Writing
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “The Writers’ Model,” by Molly Giles, performed by Kaneza Schaal
    “Creative Writing,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Alex Karpovsky
    “On Keeping a Notebook,” by Joan Didion, performed by Parker Posey
    “I Dated Jane Austen,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 11/21/2013

    John Updike Redux
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “Unstuck,” by John Updike, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
    “Playing with Dynamite,” by John Updike, performed by Sally Field

  • 11/14/2013

    All Tangled Up
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “The Lie,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Stephen Colbert
    “Yma Dream,” by Thomas Meehan, performed by Christine Baranski
    “Pride and Prejudice,” from “Twitterature,” performed by Wyatt Cenac

  • 11/07/2013

    Complicated Couples
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “Do You Know Where I Am?” by Sherman Alexie, performed by Keir Dullea
    “Game,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by David Strathairn

  • 10/31/2013

    Child's Play
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “Solomon's Big Day,” by Touré, performed by Daniel Alexander Jones
    “Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband,” by George Saunders, performed by James Naughton
    “Charles,” by Shirley Jackson, performed by Lois Smith

  • 10/24/2013

    Fateful Meetings: A Halloween Special
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “The Cat That Went to Trinity,” by Robertson Davies, performed by Charles Keating
    “The Bells,” by Edgar Allen Poe, performed by René Auberjonois, Fionnula Flanagan, Isaiah Sheffer, and Harris Yulin
    “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allen Poe, performed by René Auberjonois, Fionnula Flanagan, Isaiah Sheffer, and Harris Yulin
    “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe, performed by Wyatt Cenac

  • 10/17/2013

    So You Want to Change the World?
    GUEST HOST: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

    “Homegirls on St. Nicholas Avenue,” by Sonia Sanchez, performed by Marsha Stephanie Blake
    “Strike and Fade,” by Henry Dumas, performed by Francois Battiste
    “Fenstad’s Mother,” by Charles Baxter, performed by Edie Falco

  • 10/10/2013

    Love Songs?
    GUEST HOST: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

    “I Love Girl,” by Simon Rich, performed by Michael Ian Black
    “When We Lived Together In the Belly of a Whale, Some Nights Were Perfect,” by Mara Sternberg, performed by BD Wong
    “Jubilation, Florida,” by N.M Kelby, performed by Amy Ryan

  • 10/03/2013

    Too Late
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “The Dome,” by Steven Millhauser, performed by Alec Baldwin
    “Cretan Love Song,” by Jim Shepard, performed by Joe Morton
    “Subsoil,” by Nicholas Baker, performed by Thomas Gibson

  • 09/26/2013

    A Thurber Festival
    GUEST HOST: WYATT CENAC

    “A Ride with Olympy,” by James Thurber, preformed by David Rakoff
    “The Macbeth Murder Mystery,” by James Thurber, performed by Wyatt Cenac
    “The Topaz Cufflinks Mystery,” by James Thurber, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “How to Relax While Broadcasting,” by James Thurber, performed by Eli Wallach
    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” by James Thurber, performed by Wyatt Cenac

  • 09/19/2013

    Dorothy Parker’s Wicked Pen
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Here We Are,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Jane Alexander
    “Just a Little One,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Dana Ivey
    “The Waltz,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Parker Posey

  • 09/12/2013

    High Society
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    Bonfire of the Vanities (excerpt), by Tom Wolfe, performed by Danny Burstein
    “Xingu,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 09/05/2013

    Expect the Unexpected
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “The Baby-Sitter,” by Jane Yolen, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” by James Thurber, performed by Dick Cavett
    “The Pedestrian,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Jamey Sheridan
    “The Wood Duck,” by James Thurber, performed by Malachy McCourt

  • 08/29/2013

    Dreams and Schemes
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Stephen Colbert
    “The Catbird Seat,” by James Thurber, performed by Leonard Nimoy

  • 08/22/2013

    Odd Couples
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, performed by James Naughton
    “I Dated Jane Austen,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 08/15/2013

    Pushing the Limits
    GUEST HOST: JOHN LITHGOW

    “You Were Perfectly Fine,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Aya Cash and David Furr
    “Unprotected,” by Simon Rich, performed by Wyatt Cenac
    “The Day the Dam Broke,” by James Thurber, performed by Alec Baldwin
    “Center of the Universe,” by Simon Rich, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Tablecloth of Turin,” by Ron Carlson, performed by Edi Gathegi

  • 08/08/2013

    Romantic Disasters
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “Starting from Happy,” by Patricia Marx, performed by Kirsten Vangsness
    “Occupy Jen’s Street,” by Simon Rich, performed by Wyatt Cenac
    “Audio Tour,” by Patricia Marx, performed by Anna Chlumsky
    “The Swim Team,” by Miranda July, performed by Parker Posey
    “The Meeting,” by Aimee Bender, performed by Kate Burton

  • 08/01/2013

    Love and Cake
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “Art of Cake,” by Michael Chabon, performed by David Furr
    “True Loves,” by Mark Strand, performed by Robert Sean Leonard
    “Trash Kites,” by Justin Torres, performed by Colman Domingo

  • 07/25/2013

    Wishing and Wanting
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “Glittery Eyes,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Parker Posey
    “What Animal Are You?” by Etgar Keret, performed by Willem Dafoe
    “Sixty-Nine Cents,” by Gary Shteyngart, performed by Alex Karpovsky
    “Flying Carpets,” by Steven Millhauser, performed by Billy Campbell

  • 07/18/2013

    Do You Know Where You Are?
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “It’s Six A.M., Do You Know Where You Are?” by Jay McInerney, performed by Jeremy Shamos
    “Red from Green,” by Maile Meloy, performed by Patricia Kalember

  • 07/11/2013

    Dogs and Dates
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “Sir Henry,” by Lydia Millet, performed by John Lithgow
    “Some Contemporary Characters,” by Rick Moody, performed by Mike Birbiglia and Aya Cash

  • 07/04/2013

    Music and a Minotaur
    GUEST HOST: PARKER POSEY

    “Customer Service at the Karaoke Don Quixote,” by Juan Martinez, performed by Nate Corddry
    “Ziggurat,” by Stephen O’Connor, performed by Tim Curry

  • 06/27/2013

    Parents and Children
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “In Dreams Become Responsibilities,” by Delmore Schwartz, performed by Leonard Nimoy
    “The Lover of Horses,” by Tess Gallagher, performed by Kate Burton

  • 06/20/2013

    Alternative Endings
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “Beg, SI Tog, Inc, Cont, Rep (Begin, Slip Together, Increase, Continue, Repeat),” by Amy Hempel, performed by Anika Noni Rose
    “Sarah’s Story,” by Galina Vroman, performed by Jane Curtin

  • 06/13/2013

    Complicated Relationships
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “Scenes from a Life,” by Sherman Alexie, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “The Vow,” by Sherman Alexie, performed by Amber Tamblyn
    “People Are Becoming Clouds,” by Joe Meno, performed by Kirsten Vangsness
    “The Storm,” by Kate Chopin, performed by Jane Curtin

  • 06/06/2013

    Rites of Passage
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “The Grid,” by Rick Moody, performed by Josh Radnor
    “Anaconda,” by Martha McPhee, performed by Lindsay Crouse

  • 05/31/2013

    About Time
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “The History of Everything Including You,” by Jenny Hollowell, performed by Kyra Sedgwick
    “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” by Paul Broks, performed by Jane Curtin
    “Getting Closer,” by Steven Millhauser, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 05/24/2013

    Convergence
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” by Flannery O’Connor, performed by Estelle Parsons
    “Jesus is Waiting,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Mary Stuart Masterson

  • 05/17/2013

    Family Values
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out,” by Patricia Highsmith, performed by Tandy Cronyn
    “Powder,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 05/10/2013

    What Would You Do?
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried,” by Amy Hempel, performed by Mary Beth Hurt
    “The Night in Question,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Lou Antonio
    “I Know What I'm Doing About All the Attention I've Been Getting,” by Frank Gannon, performed by David Sedaris

  • 05/03/2013

    Dorothy Parker’s Wicked Pen
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Here We Are,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Jane Alexander
    “Just a Little One,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Dana Ivey
    “The Waltz,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Parker Posey

  • 04/26/2013

    A Tribute to David Rakoff
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Cryptology,” by Leonard Michaels, performed by David Rakoff
    “Gomez Palacio,” by Roberto Bolano, performed by David Rakoff

  • 04/19/2013

    Passion for the Park
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “Central Park,” by Colson Whitehead, performed by Leonard Nimoy
    Bad Boy
    (excerpt), by Walter Dean Myers, performed by Eric Poindexter
    “My Little Bit of Country,” by Susan Cheever, performed by Debra Monk
    “The Green Fields of the Mind,” by A. Bartlett Giamatti, performed by A. Bartlett Giamatti

  • 04/12/2013

    A Richard Ford Odyssey
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “Leaving for Kenosha,” by Richard Ford, performed by David Strathairn

  • 04/04/2013

    The Sun and the Moon
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “The Distance of the Moon,” by Italo Calvino, performed by Liev Schreiber
    “All Summer in a Day,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Michael Cerveris

  • 03/28/2013

    A Night at the Abbey
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum,” by P.G. Wodehouse, performed by Jim Dale
    “A Little Dinner Before the Play” (selection), by Agnes Jekyll, performed by Chip Kidd
    “Below Stairs” (selection), by Margaret Powell, performed by Jayne Houdyshell
    “The Reticence of Lady Anne,” by Saki, performed by BD Wong

  • 03/21/2013

    Expect the Unexpected
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “The Baby-Sitter,” by Jane Yolen, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” by James Thurber, performed by Dick Cavett
    “The Pedestrian,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Jamey Sheridan
    “The Wood Duck,” by James Thurber, performed by Malachy McCourt

  • 03/17/2013

    True Selves/Hidden Selves
    GUEST HOST: BD WONG

    “Reeling for the Empire,” by Karen Russell, performed by Kaneza Schaal
    “The Dodo,” by Ben Loory, performed by André Holland
    “The Secretary,” by Deborah Willis, performed by Arian Moayed

  • 03/07/2013

    Odd Couples
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, performed by James Naughton
    “I Dated Jane Austen,” by T.C. Boyle, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • 02/28/2013

    Flash Forward
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “Vanilla Bright Like Eminem,” by Michel Faber, performed by Daniel Gerroll
    “North Country,” by Roxane Gay, performed by Adepero Oduye

  • 02/21/2013

    High Society
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    Bonfire of the Vanities (excerpt), by Tom Wolfe, performed by Danny Burstein
    “Xingu,” by Edith Wharton, performed by Christina Pickles

  • 02/14/2013

    Love and Longing
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “Fires,” by Rick Bass, performed by Ted Marcoux
    “A Singer's Romance,” by Willa Cather, performed by Marian Seldes
    “What Do We Have in our Pockets?” by Etgar Keret, performed by David Rakoff

  • 02/07/2013

    Wanting More
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D.H. Lawrence, performed by Fionnula Flanagan
    “The Book,” by Ben Loory, performed by Jane Kaczmarek

  • 01/31/2013

    Illusions
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “Miracle Polish,” by Steven Millhauser, performed by Paul Hecht
    “The Open Window,” by Saki, performed by Tandy Cronyn

  • 01/24/2013

    Dreams and Schemes
    GUEST HOST: NEIL GAIMAN

    “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Stephen Colbert
    “The Catbird Seat,” by James Thurber, performed by Leonard Nimoy

  • 01/17/2013

    Wondrous Women
    GUEST HOST: JOHN LITHGOW

    “Melisande,” by Edith Nesbit, performed by Jane Curtin
    “Fault Lines,” by Barbara Kingsolver, performed by Jill Eikenberry

  • 01/10/2013

    Compulsions
    GUEST HOST: JOHN LITHGOW

    “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs, performed by John Lithgow
    “Two Words,” by Isabel Allende, performed by Lisa Fugard

  • 01/03/2013

    Readers and Writers
    GUEST HOST: JOHN LITHGOW

    “Ed Has His Mind Improved,” by Walter R. Brooks, performed by Tony Roberts
    “Exchange,” by Ray Bradbury, performed by Rochelle Oliver
    “Dreamtigers,” by Jorge Luis Borges, performed by Isaiah Sheffer