Selected Shorts

Host Meg Wolitzerpresents four works in which nature and the out-of-doors drive both plots and character.  Humorist Jenny Allen does battle with her stubborn plants in “Garden Growing Pains,” read by Kirsten Vangsness.  The majestic Canadian border separates an Indigenous family in Thomas King’s “Borders,” read by Kimberly Guerrero.  A housewife masters one of the elements in “Flying,” by Alyce Miller. The reader is Kirsten Vansgness again.And a sudden storm creates a sense of abandon in the Kate Chopin classic “The Storm,” read by Jane Curtin.  “Garden Growing Pains,” “Borders,” and “Flying,” were presented in cooperation with CacheArts and Utah Public Radio, KUSU-FM.

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Host Meg Wolitzercelebrates Jane Austen’s 250th with works by, and inspired by, the enduring romance novelist.  Ann Harada performs an early Austen piece, “Edgar and Emma;” Sophie Carmen-Jones reads a letter from Austen to a mentor, James Stanier Clarke.  Then things get playful in the T.C. Boyle parody “I Dated Jane Austen,” performed by Wyatt Cenac.  And Hugh Dancy reads from an Austen classic, “Persuasion.”

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents the Explain Like I'm 5 podcast, a show that takes the questions you always wanted to ask and talks about them in a way that is easy to understand. Some times we want simple answers to complex questions! We here at Selected Shorts have become big fans and hope you enjoy it too!

In a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, the two authors sit down to discuss journalism, the #MeToo movement, the Supreme Court, and what it takes to tell a good story. Jodi Kantor is a best-selling author and prize-winning investigative reporter whose work reveals hidden truths about power, law, gender, technology and culture. She is the bestselling co-author of She Said, the book that details the story of decades of sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. She specializes in stories on power, gender, and technology, including workplace investigations into Amazon and Starbucks, and recent coverage of the Supreme Court. 

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works with unusual family dynamics. In Zadie Smith’s “Grand Union,” the mother-daughter bond transcends death and brings with it a whole family history. The reader is Kaneza Schaal. And Richard Bausch’s “What Feels Like the World,” read by James Naughton, explores the bond between a grandparent and a grandchild.

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