Selected Shorts
By Public Radio International
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Podcast Description
It's story time for adults with PRI's award-winning series of short fiction read by the stars of stage and screen. Recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in NYC and on tour. A co-production of Symphony Space and WNYC, New York Public Radio.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
CleanMiracles Can Happen | This program includes two stories featuring improbable events. The first, Joyce Johnson’s “The Fall of Texas” chronicles a pivotal moment in the 1960s, when both the terrestrial world and the personal life of the heroine seemed about to collapse. “Sex in the City” star Cynthia Nixon reads. Next, in Percival Everett’s “The Fix,” read by host Isaiah Sheffer, the story’s central character can fix anything—anything: toasters, heartaches, lives. Who is he? | 5/20/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
CleanA Literary Mix Tape | We think of this program as a literary “mix tape,” featuring two stories mingling with the music that inspired, or played a role in them. “Milestones,” by Miles Davis was the inspiration for Hannah Tinti’s story of the same name, read here by the performance artist Laurie Anderson. Next, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Number 12 is featured in Carson McCullers’ touching “Wunderkind.” It is read by the prodigious musical theatre star Kelli O’Hara. | 5/13/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
CleanAll Modern Conveniences | In Krista MacGruder’s “Not Quite Home Alone,” a solitary woman is surprised by an intruder. The reader is Jacqueline Kim. In the second story, Miranda July’s “The Shared Patio,” a woman takes her right to share a patio with her neighbors to extremes. The reader is Kirsten Vangsness. A hypochondriac beholds a monster in Poe’s “The Sphinx,” read by Kathleen Widdoes. Finally, in Richard Ford’s “Privacy,” a novelist becomes obsessed with watching a neighbor. The reader is René Auberjonois. | 5/6/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
CleanWhat Is Real? | First, James Lasdun’s “A Woman at the Window,” is a cautionary tale for men who want to rescue damsels in distress. The reader is Leenya Rideout. Next, the late Ukranian-born writer Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky has invented a substance that expands apartments, and wreaks havoc on the life of his main character. “This American Life” commentator David Rakoff provides the nicely melancholy reading. Finally, Leenya Rideout returns for “Flight,” in which a scatter-brained, lonely woman “borrows” her addled neighbor. | 4/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Cleanennessee, Edna, and Flannery | Each of the three works on this program, by masters Tennessee Williams, Edna O’Brien, and Flannery O’Connor, offers us intense and provocative close-ups of its main characters. First, “Life Story,” a short prose poem about pillow talk by a very young Williams, read by Mia Dillon. Sex is the theme of the second work as well: in Edna O’Brien’s inner monologue, “Violets,” a woman waits for a potential lover. The reader is Fionnula Flanagan. Finally, Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” features a mother, daughter, and tramp, each wishing for something different. Lois Smith reads. | 4/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 5 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
It's about time!!!!!
I'm a dork---whatever, I love this program. Famous actors reading short stories by famous authors. The storytellers paint portraits with acrylic words penned by the writer. Like sitting in a comfortable chair listening to an eloquent and wise relative recount a tale of happiness, desire, loss of innocence, joy, tragedy and truth. Afterwards, you walk away feeling like you've somehow come to understand your own life and experiences a little better and now you are at peace with yourself. Bring more episodes to podcast...please. We need them!
At last!
I have been chained to my radio at the socially crippling 8PM Saturday night for years because of this incomparable program. Finally, I can resocialize! Thank you!
A Worthwhile Podcast
An hour of worthwhile short stories read by actors worthy of reading them. For a short-story enthusiast, this podcast isn't far from nirvana. Thank you, NPR. I look forward to more downloads like this one.
