This week on SELECTED SHORTS, guest host DeRay Mckesson presents four works that consider the Black experience in America from bold perspectives. Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm recalled her historic victory in her essay “Unbought and Unbossed.” An excerpt is read by Crystal Dickinson. James Baldwin’s powerful letter to his nephew, “My Dungeon Shook,” is read by Christopher Jackson. Poet Sonia Sanchez recalls a life-altering encounter with Malcolm X in “Homegirls on St. Nicholas Avenue,” read by Marsha Stephanie Blake, and Percival Everett turns the tables on Southern racists in “The Appropriation of Cultures,” read by Wren T. Brown.

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This week on SELECTED SHORTS, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about problems without solutions. In Elif Batuman’s “The Board,” read by Cindy Cheung, the protagonist has found the perfect apartment, but he has to satisfy a Kafka-esque co-op committee. Jesse Eisenberg imagines an irritating sibling with problems of global proportions in ““My Little Sister Texts Me with Her Problems,” read by real-life sisters Lacey Lamar and Amber Ruffin. And a patient is drawn to her therapist—but is this a bad thing? in Esther Freud’s “Transference,” read by Claire Danes.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that demonstrate the ways in which characters—like all of us—can play many different roles in one another's lives, and in the world around us. Cherline Bazile’s “Tender,” which guest editor Min Jin Lee included in Best American Short Stories 2023, reflects the contradictory nature of friendship. It’s read by Anna Uzele. And our second story, Grace Paley’s “The Contest,” reflects the contradictory nature of courtship, as the bewildered narrator is alternatively flattered and bullied by a girl with way more on the ball than he has.He tells us so himself, in the voice of actor Justin Bartha.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about therapy—the benefits and perils of sharing your troubles with a stranger. In “Therapy,” by J. Robert Lennon, the patient follows a recursive loop of doubt about the whole process. The reader is Troy Iwata. In “Fable,” by Charles Yu, the issues that arise in therapy sessions morph into a revealing personal fairy tale. The reader is BD Wong. With comments by comedian Gary Gulman, who hosted the live show where these stories were presented.

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Host Meg Wolitzerpresents three stories about characters who try an end run around trouble, sometimes doing more harm than good. In Joe Meno’s “Animal Hospital” a well-meaning father is surprised by his kids response to “let’s play doctor.” The reader is Becky Anne Baker, and an interview with Meno is featured in the show. In “The Silk Handkerchief,” by Sait Faik Abasiyanik, a thief and a night watchman have a moment of rapport. It’s read by Amir Arison. And Margaret Atwood’s recurring couple Tig and Nell try to stave off the inevitable by taking a “First Aid” class. The reader is Maggie Siff.

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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about sudden interventions that change lives. In Stephen King’s “The Fifth Step” a beguiling stranger asks for help. The reader is David Morse. In “Blessed Deliverance,” by Jamel Brinkley, a neighborhood oddball may be its salvation.The reader is Teagle F. Bougere.

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Host Meg Wolitzer helps a great documentarian celebrate a great American author. Cather is the of author of novels like My Antonia and O Pioneers! And Ken Burns hosted a live evening of her shorter works to celebrate her sesquicentennial—her 150th birthday, in 2023. On this program, we feature “The Way of the World,” in which an imaginary town’s young “citizens” are rife with romance and rivalry. The reader is Sonia Manzano. And a weary farmer’s wife recaptures her long-dormant passion for music at “A Wagner Matinee,” read by David Strathairn.

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Written by Carmen Maria Machado, the dark, inventive and sensual writer behind the collection Her Body and Other Parties, and the memoir In the Dream House, this story, “Persephone Rides at the End of Days," was commissioned for the Selected Shorts anthology Small Odysseys. It's about a Greek goddess coming to terms with who and what she is. Is her name, meaning "bringer of death," her fate? Or will she channel the other side of her mythological self? Our reader is Cynthia Nixon, best known for her role on Sex & the City as well as its sequel, And Just Like That. She has also appeared in so many other television series, including The Gilded Age, and is big on Broadway. Aprana Nancherla hosts this episode.

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