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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.

  • Rituals

    12/31/2020

    Rituals
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “The Luncheon,” by Jeffrey Archer, performed by Jefferson Mays
    “Love Is Not a Pie,” by Amy Bloom, performed by Hope Davis

  • David Sedaris 952X597

    12/24/2020

    Holiday Hurdles
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Powder,” by Tobias Wolff, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “Gifts of the Jewish Magi,” by Allegra Goodman, performed by Michael Cerveris and Dana Ivey
    “Christmas in New York,” by Jeanette Winterson, performed by Richard Masur

  • I Did It My Way

    12/17/2020

    I Did It My Way
    GUEST HOST: KIRSTEN VANGSNESS

    Excerpt from My Way of Life, by Joan Crawford, performed by Cole Escola
    “Crazy They Call Me,” by Zadie Smith, performed by Karen Pittman
    “Interview” by Will Eno, performed by Will Eno
    “I Am Narcissus” by Elizabeth Olmstead, performed by Bebe Neuwirth

  • 2 Parisreview Typewriter Crthe Paris Review

    12/10/2020

    Rites of Passage: Stories from The Paris Review
    GUEST HOST: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

    “How to Travel with Salmon,” by Umberto Eco, performed by Jin Ha
    “Marabou,” by Joy Williams, performed by Michael Emerson
    “The Twenty-sixth Second,” by George Fox, performed by Linda Lavin
    “The Hat,” by Patrick Modiano, performed by Robert Sean Leonard

  • Rites And Rituals

    12/03/2020

    Rites & Rituals
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Cultural Relativity,” by Charles Johnson, performed by Regina King
    “The Lazy River,” by Zadie Smith, performed by Zadie Smith
    “The Hope Chest,” by Jean Stafford, performed by Dana Ivey

  • Modern Fables

    11/26/2020

    Modern Fables
    GUEST HOST: KIRSTEN VANGSNESS

    “A Wild Swan,” by Michael Cunningham, performed by Valorie Curry
    “Fox 8” excerpt, by George Saunders, performed by John Cameron Mitchell

  • Extended Families

    11/19/2020

    Extended Families
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “They Tell Me, Now I Know,” by Shay Youngblood, performed by Viola Davis
    “A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness,” by Jai Chakrabarti, performed by Bhavesh Patel

  • Look Again

    11/12/2020

    Look Again
    GUEST HOST: MAULIK PANCHOLY

    “The Flowers,” by Alice Walker, performed by Crystal Dickinson
    “Star Food,” by Ethan Canin, performed by David Strathairn

  • Anton Chekhov 1889

    11/05/2020

    Only Human: Anton Chekhov
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “A Drama,” by Anton Chekhov, performed by Cynthia Nixon
    “Rapture,” by Anton Chekhov, performed by performed by Robin Miles, Sam Underwood, Rainn Wilson, and Di Zhu
    “Verotchka,” by Anton Chekhov, performed by Rainn Wilson
    “Which Is Better?” by Anton Chekhov, performed by Rainn Wilson

  • Its A Sign

    10/29/2020

    It’s a Sign
    GUEST HOST: MAULIK PANCHOLY

    “Story of a Parrot,” by Ana Menéndez, performed by Jacqueline Kim
    “In Paris,” by Ivan Bunin, performed by René Auberjonois

  • Redemption

    10/22/2020

    Redemption
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Sibyl,” by Carys Davis, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
    Beloved
    (excerpt), by Toni Morrison, performed by Andre Braugher
    Goodbye, Vitamin
    (excerpt), by Rachel Khong, performed by Jennifer Ikeda

  • Improbable Dreams

    10/15/2020

    Improbable Dreams
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “The Orange,” by Benjamin Rosenbaum, performed by John Cameron Mitchell
    “The Man, the Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower,” by Ben Loory, performed by Stana Katic
    “I, Gentile,” by David Gordon, performed by Michael Urie

  • Hard Choices

    10/08/2020

    Hard Choices
    GUEST HOST: KIRSTEN VANGSNESS

    “Trivial Pursuit,” by Jac Jemc, performed by Jordan Klepper
    “Baghead,” by Renée Jessica Tan, performed by Karen Chee
    “Spanish Winter,” by Jennifer Egan, performed by Melora Hardin

  • Food52 952X597

    10/01/2020

    Home Cooking with Food52
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “Feeding the Fussy,” by Laurie Colwin, performed by Tracee Chimo
    “Home Turf,” by Kiran Desai, performed by Angel Desai
    “Watkyn, Comma,” by Joan Aiken, performed by Sonia Manzano

  • David Sedaris

    09/24/2020

    Love & Prohibition
    GUEST HOST: DAVID SEDARIS

    “Girl,” by Jamaica Kincaid, performed by Hattie Winston
    “Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Husband and Father,” by George Saunders, performed by James Naughton
    “A Domestic Dilemma,” by Carson McCullers, performed by Joanna Gleason

  • Outsiders

    09/17/2020

    Outsiders
    GUEST HOST: DENIS O'HARE

    “Ancient Rome,” by Kyle McCarthy, performed by Tavi Gevinson
    “The Thing Around Your Neck,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, performed by Condola Rashad

  • Thecutlogo

    09/10/2020

    Try This On - Stories from An Evening with New York Magazine’s The Cut
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “Fully Zipped,” by Shelly Oria, performed by Katja Blichfeld
    “Bad Latch,” by Curtis Sittenfeld, performed by Justine Lupe
    “Future Cat,” by Xuan Juliana Wang, performed by Parker Posey

  • Coming Of Age

    09/03/2020

    Coming of Age
    GUEST HOST: TAYARI JONES

    “The First Kiss,” by Clarice Lispector, performed by Pepe Nufrio
    “Hellion,” by Julia Elliott, performed by Donna Lynne Champlin

  • Ways Of Seeing

    08/27/2020

    Ways of Seeing
    GUEST HOST: MAULIK PANCHOLY

    “Yancey,” by Ann Beattie, performed by Mia Dillon
    “The Mappist,” by Barry Lopez, performed by Joe Spano

  • Runs In The Family

    08/20/2020

    Runs In the Family
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “The Cruise,” by Alix Ohlin, performed by Laura Benanti
    “A Permanent Member of the Family,” by Russell Banks, performed by Zach Grenier

  • Two Against The World

    08/13/2020

    Two Against the World
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “Nayla,” by Youmna Chlala, performed by Rita Wolf
    “Life Off My E,” by Susan Perabo, performed by Hope Davis

  • I Do I Do

    08/06/2020

    I Do, I Do
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “Any Number of Little Old Ladies,” by Bruce Jay Friedman, performed by Blythe Danner and Maulik Pancholy
    “In Naples,” by Roxana Robinson, performed by Betty Buckley

  • Kelli Ohara Robert Sean Leonard Ss Blog 952X597

    07/30/2020

    Best Intentions
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “A Printer’s Tale,” by Robin Hemley, performed by Robert Sean Leonard
    “Oh Shenandoah,” by Maura Stanton, performed by Kelli O’Hara

  • Childs Play

    07/23/2020

    Child's Play
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “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

  • Past And Future

    07/16/2020

    Past and Future
    GUEST HOST: MAULIK PANCHOLY

    “Snow Blind,” by Elizabeth Strout, performed by Melora Hardin
    “August Evening,” by Joyce Carol Oates, performed by Sonia Manzano
    “Half a Day,” by Naguib Mahfouz, performed by Bruce Altman

  • 1 Podacst Main

    07/09/2020

    Journeys, Memories, and Miracles: Italian Stories
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “The Long Voyage,” by Leonardo Sciascia, performed by John Turturro
    “Invitation to Dinner,” by Alba de Céspedes, performed by Dawn Akemi Saito
    “The Miraculous Beach, or, Prize for Modesty,” by Massimo Bontempelli, performed by Hugh Dancy

  • Toni Morrison Ss Blog 952X597

    07/02/2020

    Celebrating Toni Morrison
    GUEST HOST: TAYARI JONES

    “A Knowing So Deep,” by Toni Morrison, performed by Tayari Jones
    The Bluest Eye (excerpt), by Toni Morrison, performed by Anika Noni Rose
    Jazz (excerpt), by Toni Morrison, performed by S. Epatha Merkerson
    “Sweetness,” by Toni Morrison, performed by Phylicia Rashad
    With commentary by Fran Lebowitz

  • Stonewall At 50

    06/25/2020

    Shout It Out: The Stonewall Uprising at 50
    GUEST HOST: DENIS O'HARE

    Including selections from The Stonewall Reader, edited by The New York Public Library: Stonewall memories from Jayne County, Mark Segal, Lucian Truscott IV, and Holly Woodlawn
    “Wedding,” by Gary Eldon Peter, performed by John Benjamin Hickey
    “We Did It!” by Perry Brass, performed by Ivory Aquino and Kate Bornstein
    “Song for the Kicked Out” (poem), by Kay Ulanday Barrett, performed by Kay Ulanday Barrett

  • Escalation

    06/18/2020

    Escalation
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “Belles Lettres,” by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, performed by Eboni Booth, Mary Karr, and Shalewa Sharpe
    “About Two Nice People,” by Shirley Jackson, performed by Lilli Cooper, Ethan Slater, and Julie Halston

  • Not Your Mothers Love Stories

    06/11/2020

    Not Your Mother's Love Stories
    GUEST HOST: DENIS O'HARE

    “The Pangs of Love,” by Jane Gardam, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
    “Hat Trick,” by Edith Pearlman, performed by Sharon Gless

  • More Funny Favorites

    06/04/2020

    More Funny Favorites from Andy Borowitz
    GUEST HOST: ANDY BOROWITZ

    “Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer,” performed by S.J. Perelman, performed by James Naughton
    “Shiftless Little Loafers,” by Susan Orlean, performed by Dave Hill
    “The Counterfeit Secret Circle Member Gets the Message, or the Asp Strikes Again,” by Jean Shepherd, performed by Isaiah Sheffer
    “Awake,” by Jenny Allen, performed by Jane Kaczmarek

  • Surprises

    05/28/2020

    Surprises
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “Second Hand,” by Andrés Neuman, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
    “Dinner on the Rocks,” by Dawn Powell, performed by Christina Pickles
    “Fortune Cookie,” by Hubert Selby, Jr., performed by Michael Imperioli

  • Itoccurstome Main 2 Symphony Space

    05/21/2020

    I Am America
    GUEST HOST: MAULIK PANCHOLY

    “The Walk,” by Elizabeth Strout, performed by Ellen Burstyn
    “Listen,” by Susan Minot, performed by Jennifer Ikeda and Khris Lewin
    “Speak! Speak!” by Julia Alvarez, performed by Selenis Leyva
    “Lines to Ida B. Wells,” by Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman, performed by Crystal Dickinson
    “Speech Delivered to Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio” (excerpt), by Sojourner Truth, performed by Kaneza Schaal
    “Afmerica,” by Mary E. Ashe Lee, performed by Kaneza Schaal

  • Fractured Fairy Tales

    05/14/2020

    Fractured Fairy Tales
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “The Princess Who Stood on Her Own Two Feet,” by Jeanne Desy, performed by Jane Kaczmarek
    “Beauty and the Beast or The Enormous Wound,” by Clarice Lispector, performed by Kate Burton

  • What Strangers See

    05/07/2020

    What Strangers See
    GUEST HOST: MICHAEL CERVERIS

    “Riding the Doghouse,” by Randy DeVita, performed by Michael Cerveris
    “Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass,” by Carol Shields, performed by Kathleen Chalfant

  • Borowitz Andy Cr Seth Olenick

    04/30/2020

    Funny Favorites from Andy Borowitz
    GUEST HOST: ANDY BOROWITZ

    “Tough as Bob War and Other Stuff,” by Molly Ivins, performed by Judith Ivey
    “The Pony Problem,” by Sloane Crosley, performed by Kirsten Vangsness
    “The Waltz,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Parker Posey
    “Lamentations of the Father,” by Ian Frazier, performed by Isaiah Sheffer

  • Kyle Allen Ss Blog 952X597

    04/23/2020

    Food Fights with Food52
    GUEST HOST: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

    “Breadman,” by J. Robert Lennon, performed by Kyle MacLachlan
    An excerpt from Heartburn by Nora Ephron, performed by Joan Allen

  • Mitchellvangsnessschwimmer Main Image 1 Symphony Space

    04/16/2020

    Sweet and Sour
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “Wedding Announcement,” by Colin Nissan, performed by John Cameron Mitchell
    “The Eyes of the Soul,” by Michel Faber, performed by Kirsten Vangsness
    “Lime Pickle,” by James Lasdun, performed by David Schwimmer

  • Shaken And Stirred

    04/09/2020

    Shaken & Stirred
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “What We Talk About When We Talk About Doughnuts,” by Michael Gerber and Jonathan Schwarz, performed by Joey Slotnick
    “The Office Party,” by Corey Ford, performed by Jordan Klepper
    “The Sorrows of Gin,” by John Cheever, performed by Kathleen Chalfant

  • April Foolery

    04/02/2020

    April Foolery
    GUEST HOST: JANE KACZMAREK

    “Bee Beard,” by Ryan Boudinot, performed by Tony Hale
    “The Dummy,” by Susan Sontag, performed by Justin Kirk
    “The Swim Team,” by Miranda July, performed by Parker Posey

  • O Henry Ss Blog 952X597

    03/26/2020

    O. Henry at 100
    GUEST HOST: MICHAEL CERVERIS

    “Midrash on Happiness,” by Grace Paley, performed by Mia Dillon
    “The American Embassy,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, performed by Karen Pittman
    “My Father Sits in the Dark,” by Jerome Weidman, performed by Josh Hamilton

  • Big Shots

    03/19/2020

    Big Shots
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “The Greatest Man in the World,” by James Thurber, performed by Michael Ian Black
    “A Warm Welcome to the President, Insh’Allah!” by Meera Nair, performed by Aasif Mandvi
    Featuring an interview with Meera Nair

  • Safe Distance

    03/12/2020

    Safe Distance
    GUEST HOST: LeVar Burton

    “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

  • Crossing The Line Ss Blog 952X597

    03/05/2020

    Crossing the Line
    GUEST HOST: DENIS O'HARE

    “Distractions,” by Simon Rich, performed by Erinn Hayes
    “Love in a Kitchen Garden,” by Douglas Lawson, performed by Richard Kind
    “Brand Values,” by Emily Buckler, performed by Maulik Pancholy

  • Etgar Joyce Ss Ss Blog 952X597

    02/27/2020

    Embracing Disaster: Joyce Carol Oates and Etgar Keret
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “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

  • Imaginary Worlds

    02/20/2020

    Imaginary Worlds
    GUEST HOST: HOPE DAVIS

    “The Dreamlife of Toasters,” by Heather O’Neill, performed by Yvette Nicole Brown
    “The Invisible Collection,” by Stefan Zweig, performed by René Auberjonois

  • Inside Out

    02/13/2020

    Inside Out
    GUEST HOST: JANE CURTIN

    “The Sock,” by Lydia Davis, performed by Kaneza Schaal
    “Deep Lie the Woods,” by Meg Wolitzer, performed by Blythe Danner
    “Nightblooming,” by Kenneth Calhoun, performed by Josh Charles

  • Quiet Reflections

    02/06/2020

    Quiet Revelations
    GUEST HOST: MICHAEL CERVERIS

    “Yours Truly,” by A.M. Homes, performed by Beth Malone
    “Omakase,” by Weike Wang, performed by Jennifer Lim

  • Children And Thier Parents

    01/30/2020

    Children and Their Parents
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “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

  • Ways Of Loving

    01/23/2020

    Ways of Loving
    GUEST HOST: KIRSTEN VANGSNESS

    “Love and Hydrogen,” by Jim Shepard, performed by Sam Underwood
    “The Coat,” by Carys Davies, performed by Becca Blackwell

  • Dancy Hugh High

    01/16/2020

    Cozy and Chilly: An Agatha Christie Celebration
    GUEST HOST: DAVID STRATHAIRN

    “Miss Marple Tells a Story,” by Agatha Christie, performed by Lois Smith
    “Accident,” by Agatha Christie, performed by Hugh Dancy
    With commentary by Megan Abbott

  • Out Of Control

    01/09/2020

    Out of Control
    GUEST HOST: CYNTHIA NIXON

    “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

  • Love2 0

    01/02/2020

    Love 2.0
    GUEST HOST: KATE BURTON

    “My Date with Neanderthal Woman,” by David Galef, performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello
    “Edna in Rain,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, performed by Colby Minifie
    “Leak,” by Sam Ruddick, performed by Peter Sagal
    “The Little Heidelberg,” by Isabel Allende, performed by Kathleen Turner