Selected Shorts

Symphony Space

Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.

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35 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes35

Newest first

A Conversation with Andy Borowitz
Host Meg Wolitzer talks with political satirist and author Andy Borowitz in this bonus interview.
Oct 24, 2024 · 13 min
Too Hot For Radio: Ottessa Moshfegh "The Weirdos"
From the author of Eileen and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a story about weird people doing weird things. Read by Colby Minifie. This episode is hosted by Michael Ian Black.
Sep 2, 2024 · 42 min
Picture Perfect
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about idealized lives, and ideas about what constitutes an “ideal” life. “Boy Meets Girl” is Jen Kim’s humorous version of a Hollywood love story. It’s read by Tony Hale. In the John Cheever classic “The Worm in the Apple” a couple have the perfect life—but no one can believe it. It’s read by Anne Meara. And a harried mother fantasizes about a brand new life in Vanessa Cuti’s “Our Children,” performed by Claire Danes, followed by an interview with Dane
Jun 6, 2024 · 1 hr 1 min
Bonus: A Conversation with Elizabeth Strout
Host Meg Wolitzer talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her story “Home” and the fictional family Strout has created.
Apr 4, 2024 · 10 min
Meg Wolitzer interviews Louise Erdrich
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to author Louise Erdrich about her story; her writing life; and what do with left over index cards. •
Feb 15, 2024 · 14 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Denis O’Hare
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to actor Denis O’Hare about his craft, and his approaches to readings of the two very different stories on this program.
Feb 8, 2024 · 16 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Visits Her Favorite Indie Bookstore
Host Meg Wolitzer visits a favorite indie bookstore, Three Lives & Company in Greenwich Village, remembers her early years there as a writer and reader, and is let in on some trade secrets.
Jun 29, 2023 · 15 min
Bonus: Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes
In this bonus conversation, writers Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes discuss everything from feminism, time, writing and dystopian fiction, to Atwood’s new short story collection “Old Babes in the Wood.” The interview was recorded in front of a live audience at Symphony Space.
Jun 15, 2023 · 17 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Alison Stewart
In this bonus conversation, host and best-selling author, Meg Wolitzer, talks to host of WNYC’s All of It, Alison Stewart. Wolitzer reveals some of the secrets to great writing and the two share their own reading habits and thoughts about the importance of fiction.
Jun 8, 2023 · 9 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Patricia Marx
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and New Yorker humorist Patricia Marx about her story “Singin’ in the Acid Rain,” and writing funny.
Feb 9, 2023 · 12 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks with George Saunders
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders about crafting short stories, where ideas come from, and how his work has evolved over the years.
Jan 12, 2023 · 20 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to friend and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout about writing, short stories, and the use of recurring characters in her work.
Sep 8, 2022 · 10 min
Host Meg Wolitzer Talks to Comedian Michael Ian Black
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to comedian and writer Michael Ian Black about what he’s been reading and the tricky business of being funny. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage
Jul 21, 2022 · 19 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer and Mona Eltahawy Talk Being a Dangerous Woman
In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to journalist, activist and feminist writer Mona Eltahawy about her life, literature and what it means to be a "dangerous woman."Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage
Jun 16, 2022 · 21 min
Bonus: Meg Wolitzer and Alison Stewart Talk Fiction
A bonus interview between our host and best-selling author, Meg Wolitzer, and the host of WNYC’s All of It, Alison Stewart. Wolitzer reveals some of the secrets to great writing and the two women share their own reading habits and thoughts about the importance of fiction. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage
Apr 14, 2022 · 9 min

Selected Shorts

A Conversation with Andy Borowitz

Too Hot For Radio: Ottessa Moshfegh "The Weirdos"

Picture Perfect

Bonus: A Conversation with Elizabeth Strout

Meg Wolitzer interviews Louise Erdrich

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Denis O’Hare

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Visits Her Favorite Indie Bookstore

Bonus: Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Alison Stewart

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Patricia Marx

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks with George Saunders

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer Talks to Elizabeth Strout

Host Meg Wolitzer Talks to Comedian Michael Ian Black

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer and Mona Eltahawy Talk Being a Dangerous Woman

Bonus: Meg Wolitzer and Alison Stewart Talk Fiction