Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that reflect on the allure—or not—of summer. In Massimo Bontempelli’s “The Miraculous Beach or, Prize for Modesty,” translated by Jenny McPhee, a hot summer in Rome produces a magical moment. The reader is Hugh Dancy. Essayist and humorist Samantha Irby could do without summer, thank you, and makes “A Case for Remaining in Doors”, performed by Retta. And Denis O’Hare reads a baseball classic, W.P. Kinsella’s “The Thrill of the Grass.”

It’s June, time to celebrate Pride privately and publicly. Host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that celebrate the complexities of love family and belonging. Ivan E. Coyote’s “No Bikini,” read by Becca Blackwell, offers one child’s act of quiet rebellion. Lovers drift together, and apart, in Michael Cunningham’s “Sleepless,” read by Mike Doyle. A newish couple faces harsh weather in Deesha Philyaw’s “Snowfall,” read by Michelle Beck, and poet Kay Ulanday Barrett shares their “Song for the Kicked Out.”

Host Meg Wolitzer is presents two stories from a live SELECTED SHORTS evening celebrating the O’Henry Prize, with guest editor Amor Towles, bestselling author of volumes including A Gentleman from Moscow. On today’s show, Allegra Hyde imagines the very near future as a never-ending road trip, in “Mobilization,” read by Jane Kaczmarek. And a family is disrupted by the arrival of a young woman in “The Import,” by Jai Chakrabarti, read by Arjun Gupta.

Host Meg Wolitzer is presents two stories from a live SELECTED SHORTS evening celebrating the O’Henry Prize, with guest editor Amor Towles, bestselling author of volumes including A Gentleman from Moscow. On today’s show, Allegra Hyde imagines the very near future as a never-ending road trip, in “Mobilization,” read by Jane Kaczmarek. And a family is disrupted by the arrival of a young woman in “The Import,” by Jai Chakrabarti, read by Arjun Gupta.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a program celebrating the 100th anniversary of The New Yorker. One of the magazine’s strengths has always been its fiction, and honor of this winning literary streak, this year saw the release of the collection, A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker. The quartet of stories on this show is drawn from that volume. The program includes a pithy satire by E. B. White, “Life Cycle of a Literary Genius,” read by Liev Schreiber; “Love,” by William Maxwell, a tender recounting of an collective adolescent crush, read by Fred Hechinger; “Bullet in the Brain,” a powerful reversal of fortune tale by Tobias Wolff, read by Liev Schreiber; and “All Will be Well,” an intriguing tangle of truths and half-truths by Yiyun Li, read by Ann Harada.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about secrets that are just beneath the surface of the narratives and lives of the characters. In Walter Dean Myers’ “The Beast in the Labyrinth” children must conceal their real selves in a hostile society. The reader is Jelani Alladin. And the Shirley Jackson classic “The Lottery” demonstrates how the inconceivable can become the norm in a community if everyone accepts it. The reader is Amy Ryan.

Selected Shorts celebrates this important collection each year, and this show, presented by host Meg Wolitzer, reprises works from the 2022 Best American edition selected by guest editor Andrew Sean Greer. Included are “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado, performed by Krystina Alabado, and a second story selected by John Updike for the volume Best American Stories of the Century. It’s Grace Stone Coates’ “Wild Plums,” performed by Mia Dillon.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories by contemporary Japanese writers that were featured during a live program created in collaboration with the Japan Society. Each touches on the idea of letting go. In “Hawaii,” Aoko Matsuda imagines a afterlife for garments. It’s read by Maria Dizzia. In “Sunrise,” by Erika Kobayashi, a woman’s life parallels the world of nuclear power. The reader is Rita Wolf. And Hugh Dancy meets a mermaid in Hiromi Kawakami’s “I Won’t Let You Go.”

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories and two poems the celebrate the power and mystery of reading and writing. Billy Collins contributes magical verse from two perspectives in “Books” read by Kirsten Vangsness, and “Dear Reader,” performed by Dion Graham. N.K. Jemisin entices us with a tricky narrative that contemplates the cost of literary celebrity. It’s read by Yetide Badaki. And at least one character in Ian McEwan’s “My Purple Scented Novel” wants celebrity at all costs. It's read by Tony Hale.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about selves obscured and revealed, by characters whose own identities are mysteries to them. In Aimee Bender’s “Un-Selfie, a woman reveals her extraordinary past to a stranger. The story was a commission for our 2022 Small Odysseys anthology, and is read by Alysia Reiner. In our second story, “Best Western” by Louise Erdrich, a young wife struggles to maintain a romantic fiction, until the real world crashes in on her. It’s read by Patricia Kalember.

On the Media’s Brooke Gladstone was our guest for a live Selected Shorts event, and this week, host Meg Wolitzer presents some of the stories Gladstone chose. They all explore the theme of tales we tell ourselves—and others. The title says it all in Mary Gordon’s “My Podiatrist Tells Me a Story about a Boy and a Dog” read by Bebe Neuwirth and Richard Masur. Two imaginative cooks reinvent themselves in a new country in Meron Hadero’s “A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times,” read by Chinasa Ogbuagu. And a child imagines an absent parent through her postcards in “Love, Your Only Mother” by David Michael Kaplan, read by Bebe Neuwirth.

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about belonging and sacrifice in two very different kinds of social orders. In Wolitzer’s own “The Summer Reading List” the intensity of youthful bookworms is perfectly captured. It’s performed by Melora Hardin. And Marie-Helene Bertino takes us inside a bat cave for a story of love, longing, and immortality. “Viola in Midwinter” was chosen for the Best American Short Stories 2024 anthology by guest editor Lauren Groff. It’s performed by Rita Wolf.

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about secret spaces and what they represent. In N. K. Jemisin’s speculative fantasy “Elevator Dancer,” a security guard in a totalitarian regime is beguiled by an act of freedom. The reader is Laura Gómez. And Hugh Dancy reads Greg Jackson’s “The Hollow,” about a secret room, a purposeless life, and a guy who can’t stop talking about Vincent Van Gogh.

Host Meg Wolitzer present three stories in which friendly advice is proffered, whether it’s wanted or not. The title of the first, by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler, says it all: “Relationship Advice from Your Aunt Who Has Been Divorced Six Times.” It’s read by Jane Kaczmarek. In Mira Jacob’s “Death by Printer,” a YouTube DIY video seems to have a mind of its own. The reader is Rita Wolf. And a husband dispenses lavish advice at a wedding brimming with his wife’s exes in “The Happiest Day of Your Life,” by Katherine Damm, read by Santino Fontana.

The unique, unquenchable writer and activist Grace Paley would have turned 100 in 2022. On this Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer shares our tribute to the influential and outspoken New Yorker who was a great friend of the series. Paley’s emphasis on friends, family, and doing the right thing are evident in the three stories on this show. In “Wants,” a woman has a chance encounter while returning a lot of overdue library books. It’s read by Adina Verson. Two old friends work their way from childhood to middle age in “Ruthy and Edie,” read by Rita Wolf. And we meet a woman with a wonderfully checkered past in “Goodbye and Good Luck,” read by Joanna Gleason. Featuring commentary from novelist Lauren Groff.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about women whose social boundaries are changed. In “Somebody’s Daughter,” by Amy Silverberg, a young woman flirts with transgression as one way of defining herself. The reader is Hettienne Park. In Julie Otsuka’s “Evacuation Order No. 19,” a wife and mother makes hard decisions during World War II. The reader is Jennifer Ikeda.

On this show, host Meg Wolitzer gets friendly, and shares three stories about friendships of all kinds. Kelly Stout’s zinger “Let’s Get Drinks,” offers up the perils of conducting a social life via hyperbolic texts, which are hilariously performed by Jane Curtin and Jane Kaczmarek. Next, “True Friendship,” by Jorge Hernandez, describes a life-long friend who’s almost too good to be—true. The reader is Michael Urie. And three misfits fit together in Anthony Marra’s “The Last Words of Benito Picone,” performed by John Turturro. A brief interview with Turturro follows the story.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about perfect pairs, and what happens if and when they split up. A friendship unravels in “Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane,” by Dorothy Parker, performed by Mia Dillon and Rita Wolf. Writer Toure feels that there ought to be a corresponding ritual to marriage and commitment celebrations, and has created “The Breakup Ceremony,” performed by Maulik Pancholy. And in “Twins,” by Philip Graham, siblings rediscover one another. It’s performed by Michael Tucker.

Host Meg Wolitzer hands off to stage and film actor Teagle F. Bougere, our guest host for a show that celebrates the protean literary master and social activist Langston Hughes (1901-1967). It features three of his most striking works. In “Passing” Hughes reflects on a difficult aspect of the Black experience—the need some felt to “pass” as white. Program host Teagle F. Bougere is the reader. Pauletta Pearson Washington reads the humorous and much anthologized “Thank You, M’am. And Joe Morton performs one of Hughes’ most celebrated works, “The Blues I’m Playing,” which charts the long and complex relationship between a brilliant young Black pianist and her white patron. All three stories reflect Hughes’ explorations of questions of race, identity, and personal destiny.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories from a live evening at Symphony Space celebrating the prolific writer Stephen King. It was hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead. The program presents King in two different modes: the legendary scare-master who entered the horror genre with Carrie, and the author of stories that draw on memory and family like “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” An excerpt from Carrie is read by Carrie Coon, and “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is read by John Benjamin Hickey. Colson Whitehead speaks briefly from the stage.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories in which some things are saved and some are left behind. In Haruki Murakami’s “Lederhosen,” performed by Aasif Mandvi, the traditional German shorts become a singular obsession for one half of a married couple. In Elizabeth McCracken’s “Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark,” a couple and their son find themselves in over their heads. Mike Doyle is the reader.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories that were presented as part of an evening with the writer Judy Blume that explored the issues around book banning, and featured works by two authors whose works have been banned. (Blume’s works have also frequently been banned.). First, Xu Mason’s witty “Finally a Book that Cannot be Banned,” imagines what it would take to write a work that could escape all censure. It’s read by Troy Iwata. Celebrated children’s author Roald Dahl cooks up the perfect murder in “Lamb to the Slaughter,” read by Catherine O’Hara. And David Sedaris recounts a challenging encounter with a young man in “Bruised,” read by Maulik Pancholy. Some of Blume’s onstage remarks are included.

On this Selected Shorts program, host Meg Wolitzer presents stories about journeys—physical and emotional—that end in unexpected places. In “A Woman Driving Alone,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, the main character travels s long way to see a friend, but seems also to be escaping a challenging moment in her life. The piece was commissioned for Selected Shorts’ anthology Small Odysseys, and is read by Amber Tamblyn. In Tom Perrotta’s “Nine Inches”, a teacher drives only across town, to chaperone a middle school dance, but almost gets into trouble himself. The story is performed by Santino Fontana.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in that look at some of the ways we “keep score” in life even though we know it’s not a game. Simon Rich explores the game as intergenerational competition in “The Tribal Rite of the Strombergs,” read by John Hodgman. In Dylan Marron’s “Some News,” a man carefully tracks an old friend on social media, while eyeing his own accomplishments. Marron is the reader. And Joanne Harris’ “Fule’s Gold,” a teacher tries to put himself on the board—by stealing points from an unwitting student. The reader is Gildart Jackson.

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents our holiday show--two stories about being home for the holidays and how you can count on your Mom to be there for you—and possibly to complicate things. First, memoirist Augusten Burroughs recalls a disastrous—and hilarious—childhood cooking project. Reader Michael Cerveris relishes every bite. And in “Live Wires” by Thomas Beller, a young man invites his girlfriend to his mother’s annual Hanukkah party. The reader is Jane Curtin.

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which games are featured. Brian Agler’s “The Rules of this Board Game Are Long, But Also Complicated” speaks for itself as the unnamed host of game night makes it clear there is no way to win this one. Meg Wolitzer is the reader. In John Updike’s “Still of Some Use,” a family clears its attic of old games; memories and emotions surface, along with battered boards and random game pieces. The reader is James Naughton. In Susan Perabo’s “Some Say the World,” a fragile young woman holds the world at bay with Parcheesi. The reader is Colby Minifie.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents stories of inspiration small and large. In these tales, writers investigate moments in which art inspires life, or life inspires art, especially in a visual medium. In Elizabeth Crane’s “Blue Girl,” read by Valorie Curry, a young woman's secret life is given an unusual public forum. In Jai Chakrabarti’s “Lessons with Father,” commissioned for our Small Odysseys anthology, a middle-aged child tries to connect with her late father through brushstrokes. The reader is Purva Bedi. And in William Boyd’s “Varengeville,” read by Dan Stevens, a young man strays from his famous family as he discovers himself on canvas.

On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that offer unpredictable life lessons, from characters who are adolescent, and those who love them—a little eccentrically. In “The Facts of Life,” by Anthony Marra, a preteen learns about the birds and the bees from an icon of ’90s masculinity. The reader is Santino Fontana. In “Leave Me in St. Louis,” by Tania James, sisters tap their way into a new life. The reader is Rita Wolf. And in Elizabeth McKenzie’s “Hope Ranch,” a granddaughter discovers that her grandmother is a road warrior. The reader is Mia Dillon.

On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, we're going to hear stories about students and schools that abandon the usual rules to follow their own, unusual, codes of behavior. In "Singin' in the Acid Rain," by Patricia Marx, performed by Katrina Lenk, it’s recess at a post-apocalyptic school. Marx talks with Meg Wolitzer about the story and her unique brand of humor after the read. The class in “The School,” by Donald Barthelme, performed by Laura Esterman, is facing a difficult test; and young love is framed by larger issues in "Melvin in the Sixth Grade," by Dana Johnson, performed by Nikki M. James. We hear from James about this nuanced rite-of-passage story.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that reflect on the beauty and vulnerability of the natural world. In “Joyas Voladoras,” by Brian Doyle, we hear the many different heartbeats of the natural kingdom. The reader is Becca Blackwell. And a talking fox has a lot to tell us about reading aloud, shopping malls, and fried chicken “Fox 8,” a darkly funny fable by George Saunders read by John Cameron Mitchell. And we’re joined by the mother/daughter book club we’ve featured on a couple of earlier episodes, which discusses “Fox 8,” at the end of the show.

A routine that never changes can get old. So this week on Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that shake up domestic life, teaching the characters something new about themselves and their circumstances. In “Scaffolding Man” by Jenny Allen, performed by Patricia Kalember, a woman in a drab marriage is intrigued by a “hot” stranger. In "Myrna's Dad" by Cyn Vargas, a father’s changing occupations hide a family secret. The reader is Krystina Alabado. And in “Overtime” by Hilma Wolitzer (Meg’s mom), read by Becky Ann Baker, a happy couple gets a jolt when the man’s ex moves into their apartment. After the story, Meg interviews Hilma about what gave her the idea and her writing in general.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents works that reflect on the loss of love, creatively imagined by a quartet of thoughtful writers. In “The Space,” by Christopher Boucher, a lost love is replaced by—her absence. The reader is Rob Yang. In Wendi Kaufman’s “Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street,” the loss is the backstory, as a lively ‘tween, voiced by Donna Lynne Champlin, finds ways to deflect the emotional fallout from her father’s absence. Sharon Olds’ wrenching poem, “Last Look,” read by Jane Kaczmarek, is our palette clearer before we close with a Raymond Carver classic, “Why Don’t You Dance?” The couple idly roving a lawn sale don’t realize they are walking through the detritus of lost relationship. The reader is Corey Stoll.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about objects of love, and feelings that can't be returned, for very different reasons. In “A Love Letter” by Greg Ames, a boy falls head over heels in a crosswalk. Actor and Young Adult author Maulik Pancholy really captures teen ardor and angst in his reading. And in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Sugar Babies,” another teenager learns about adult responsibility from an everyday pantry staple. The reader is Sonia Manzano.

Meg Wolitzer presents four works drawn from an evening of satirical stories about American political history, hosted by Andy Borowitz. Nothing is sacred. First, Joe Yan imagines Abraham Lincoln, huckster, in “I’m Abraham Lincoln and I Beg Of You, Please Commemorate My Birthday With Mattress Sales,” read by Ikechukwu Ufomadu. In “Running for Governor,” Mark Twain imagines himself in the political horse race. The reader is John Cameron Mitchell. John and Abigail Adams had a famously happy marriage, despite often being apart, and why not imagine them taking advantage of the 18th century version of modern media options? That’s the premise of Alexandra Petri’s “John and Abigail Adams Try Sexting,” read by Ophira Eisenberg and Ikechukwu Ufomadu. And the show wraps with a piece by Borowitz himself, “A Very Nixon Halloween,” inspired by a photograph of Nixon as an awkward civilian after he left office. The reader is Caroline Aaron.

Rarely do we devote one show to just one writer, but on this Selected Shorts, we turn the show over to universally beloved author George Saunders. Saunders somehow finds the good, or at any rate the imperfectly human, in his characters. The result is a catalog as funny as it is moving, as devastating as it is hopeful. On this program, two stories that perfectly illustrate this. “Love Letter” is from Saunders’ latest collection Liberation Day. In it, an anxious grandfather who is ambivalent about the state of the world counsels an older grandchild. “Love Letter” is read by Stephen Colbert. And a favorite from our archives, “The Falls,” shows us two flawed men given a chance to do the right thing. René Auberjonois reads. The show also includes a conversation between host Meg Wolitzer and Saunders.

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about the tricky subject of envy that question whether the grass is in fact always greener somewhere else. In Alexandra Petri’s “Seneca Falls for You,” feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton almost gets trapped in a romance novel. The reader is Ophira Eisenberg. Ben Phillipe’s sly fairy tale, “The Luck of Others,” read by Joanna Gleason, reminds us to beware of what we wish for. And a small town charity auction surfaces envy and confusion in George Saunders’ “Al Roosten,” read by Tony Hale.

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories with surprises the characters didn’t anticipate. A smart Mom defies expectations in “Agouti,” by Brenda Williams, performed by Laurine Towler. And a smart house has unexpected features in a classic by sci-fi master Ray Bradbury. Stephen Colbert reads “The Veldt.”

Meg Wolitzer presents two favorite Selected Shorts works in which food and nourishment figure both literally and symbolically. The narrator of Haruki Murakami’s “The Year of Spaghetti” seems to be just sharing pasta recipes, but it’s the recipe for assuaging loneliness that may elude him. The reader is Sopranos alum, Michael Imperioli. And unusual family dynamics shape Amy Bloom’s “Love is Not a Pie,” performed by Hope Davis. We also share a discussion of this work by the mother-daughter book club organized by our frequent reader Rita Wolf and her daughter Anjeli.

Meg Wolitzer presents a show of stories about replacements and stand-ins. While we tend to crave the original, sometimes a substitute can bring more happiness than the “real” thing. In Steve Almond’s “A Happy Dream,” read by Phil LaMarr, a young man assumes a new identity in pursuit of love. In “A Brief Note on the Translation of Winter Women, Written by the Collective Dead, Translated by Amal Ruth,” a writer speaks for those who have passed. The “real” author is Rivers Solomon, and the reader is TL Thompson. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” by Alexander Weinstein, a robot child and its human family learn about love all at once. The reader is Tony Hale.

Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about unexpected guests. In Carlos Greaves’ “A Visit from the Tune Squad,” a procrastinating writer gets a surprise intervention, in performances by Santino Fontana, Dylan Marron, and Sarah Messanotte. In our second story, Willa Cather delivers a moving tale of sin and redemption. Patricia Clarkson reads “The Burglar’s Christmas.”

Meg Wolitzer presents a show of stories about our need to have “proof of love”—some demonstration by those nearest and dearest of exactly how much they care. A lot, in Etgar Keret’s sweetly improbable “Almost Everything,” in which a husband looks for the perfect gift for a demanding wife. It’s read by Liev Schreiber. In Jacob Guajardo’s “Conquistadors, on Fairchild,” read by Michael Hartney, old flames reconnect, but it’s not clear where they are headed. And in a classic from our archives, Haruki Murakami’s “Ice Man,” a shy woman marries a man who carries winter within and without. Jane Curtin is the reader.

Fitting In by Symphony Space

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which plans go awry, or alter completely. In Ben Loory’s “Dandelions,” read by Wyatt Cenac, a suburb is invaded, and experiences a change of heart. Edwidge Danticat imagines an ultimate act and its consequences in “Cane and Roses,” read by Anika Noni Rose. And a romance with comic underpinnings changes course in Ray Bradbury’s “The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair,” read by Tate Donovan.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works that reassess and redefine our ideas of “the West.” It’s both a landscape of awesome beauty, and the scene of cultural appropriation, and we’ve got two masters sharing and shaping our experience. In Louise Erdrich’s “The Hollow Children” a natural disaster tests family ties. It’s read by Tate Donovan. And writer and environmental activist Rick Bass stress tests the West, and his main character, in “Fires,” read by John Benjamin Hickey. We also reprise part of an interview with Louise Erdrich from earlier in the year. In it, she mentions a new novel in progress, which has now been published: The Mighty Red: A Novel.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works in which characters are out of their element. This is quite literally the case in Robert Coover’s witty reworking of the fable “The Frog Prince,” who finds human life exhausting despite the enthusiasm of his suburban love interest. Parker Posey reads. In Cristina Henríquez’s “Chasing Birds” a married couple share an exotic holiday locale, but not much else. It’s voiced by Maryann Plunkett, who also comments on the story at the end of her read, and introduced by novelist Amy Tan, a bird lover and illustrator.

SELECTED SHORTS host Meg Wolitzer presents four works that were presented as part of our live evening with WNYC’s Radiolab and hosts Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. The theme was flight in many imaginative manifestations. Randa Jarrar’s “The Lunatics’ Eclipse” is a fable-like story of romance and interstellar travel, read by Abubakr Ali. Our second story is “Roy Spivey,” by Miranda July, and is a sly and gentle probing of celebrity culture. It’s read by Molly Bernard. Don Shea’s “Jumper Down” bares the vulnerability and resilience of a rescue worker. it’s read by Becca Blackwell. And our last story, “My Life as a Bat,” shares the secret life a mysterious creature in fact and fable. It’s by Canadian fiction master Margaret Atwood and is read by Zach Grenier.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about change. Yalcin Tosun’s “Muzaffer and Bananas” explores the awkward rites of passage of two teenaged boys. It’s performed by Arian Moayed. In Anya DeNiro’s “Take Pills and Wait for Hips,” performed by Pooya Mohseni, a trans woman reflects on her life before and after the change. And a former couple rehearse the disintegration of their relationship—on a street corner—in A.M. Homes’ “Goodbye to the Road Not Taken” performed by Jane Kaczmarek and Tony Shaloub.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works in which characters have unusual friends who change their lives—whether they like it nor not. In “Unicorn Me,” by Elizabeth Crane, a magical box delivers a unicorn who offers ambiguous advice. Miriam Shor performs. A sentient cockroach intrigues and alarms a woman in “The Double Life of the Cockroach’s Wife,” by Helen Phillips. It’s performed by Sarah Steele. And the latest iPhone knows everything about you in Weike Wang’s “iPhoneSE,” performed by Dawn Akemi Saito. All three stories were commissions for SELECTED SHORTS’ anthology Small Odysseys.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works of speculative fiction curated by best-selling author N.K. Jemisin. In John Scalzi’s “When the Yogurt Took Over” a popular breakfast staple decides it’s good for everyone. The reader is Jin Ha. Chatbots and A.I. can be helpful––but sometimes too helpful––as we hear in Alexandra Chang’s “Me and My Algo,” read by Catherine Cohen. And Jemisin herself reworks a classic by Ursula K. Le Guin in “The Ones Who Stay and Fight,” read by Teagle F. Bougere. Excerpts from Jemisin’s onstage comments are included in this show.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about growth helped along by some sort of fantastical assistance. The characters in these pieces are stuck—and consciously or not, they're looking for something to give them just a little push. And that nudge comes in the form of magic. In “Isabella’s Garden,” by Naomi Kritzer, a backyard nature site presents a young family with a new world of fertility. The reader is Jane Kaczmarek. In “My Dear You,” by Rachel Khong, performed by Annie Q, the afterlife provides a perfect platform for questions about love, commitment, and the meaning of forever. After the reading, Wolitzer talks to Khong about the story and her writing process.