Shorts.

This week we’re reading Taylor Swift, a piece of flash fiction by Hugh Behm-Steinberg, published by Gulf Coast Mag. In the alternate reality of the story, our narrator buys several Taylor Swift clones, whom they use to deal with their emotions over their next door neighbour and friend Tina. As the story progresses, we ask questions over the extreme commodification of celebrity, and the incomparable power of human connection. Link to story: https://gulfcoastmag.org/journal/28.2/2015-barthelme-prize-winner-taylor-swift/ Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading "Ophelia" by Breanne McIvor. It was published in April 2017 on Adda,  the online literary magazine of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Ophelia is a story about a young man who falls for a woman in the cast of a play he is in. As he prepares for a coffee with her - which could be their first date - he realises the distance between them, and decides he can’t go through with it. This is a story about class, about race, and how to navigate who you are. Link to story: https://www.addastories.org/ophelia/ Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “How To Be An Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore which was first published in 1985. The story is told from the perspective of Charlene, a secretary, who has an affair with a married man. One of the most famous examples of second person narration, How to Be an Other Woman follows Charlene as she navigates her identity from carefree mistress to jealous rival. Link to Story (you need to read both parts!) Part 1 Part 2 Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “The Heart In The House” by Aaron Muller. It was published in 2022 in Cold Signal magazine. Part comedy, part horror, this story is a surrealist dive into a woman’s relationship with the house she recently purchased, which appears to be alive. Link to Story: ⁠"The Heart in the House" by Aaron Muller Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “The Lazy River” by Zadie Smith. It was published in December 2017 in the New Yorker. In this story, a group of British families go on holiday at an all-inclusive resort in Southern Spain. This simple premise belies extraordinary metaphors about life, materialism, and inequality. Link to Story: "The Lazy River" by Zadie Smith Link to the author reading the story: Zadie Smith Reads "The Lazy River" Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

Merry Christmas and Welcome to Season 3 of Shorts! This season, we're kicking it off with our annual Christmas episode, and we're reading, "A Childs Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas. Written and recorded in 1952, this lyrical, alliterative, poem follows a boy's antics through Christmas Day. We recommend reading and listening to this poem, as Dylan's Welsh accent brings it to life. Link to Poem: "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas Link to Recording: "A Child's Christmas in Wales, a Story" X:@shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepod Produced and edited by Alex Crowson

For the Season Finale of Season 2, we are running Shorts a bit differently. We're reading, “The Cheater’s Guide to Love,” by Junot Diaz published in the New Yorker in 2012. It is also the final story in Diaz’s 2012 short story collection, This is How You Lose Her, which was a finalist for the US national book award. However today, we're discussing the relationship between the reader and the writer. Today we will be focusing on the tricky and murky question of: how do the actions of a writer impact your reading of their work? Sources for this episode: Alcantara, Amanda. “Junot and Me (Too)” Latino USA. June 18, 2018. PRX/ Futuro Media Group. National Public Radio. https://www.latinousa.org/2018/06/22/junotdiazandmetoo/ De Leon, Aya. Reconciling Rage and Compassion: the Unfolding #MeToo Moment for Junot Diaz Diaz, Junot. "The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma." The New Yorker. April 16, 2018. Fassler, Joe. “How Junot Diaz Wrote a Sexist Character, but Not a Sexist Book.” The Atlantic. September 11, 2012. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/09/how-junot-diaz-wrote-a-sexist-character-but-not-a-sexist-book/262169/ Gil’Adí, Maia. “I think about you, X—”: Re‐Reading Junot Díaz after “The Silence” Latino Studies (2020) 18:507–530; https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-020-00280-6 Grady, Constance. A month after accusations of sexual misconduct, Junot Díaz is more or less unscathed, by Constance Grady, June 19, 2018.  Vox Heredia, Alejandro. @Heredia_Alej, twitter thread from October 15, 2021 NPR, June 20, 2018 :” MIT Clears Junot Díaz Of Sexual Misconduct Allegations.” https://www.npr.org/2018/06/20/622094905/mit-clears-junot-diaz-of-sexual-misconduct-allegations Shapiro, Lila. “Misogyny is Boring as Hell.” Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/2018/06/misogyny-is-boring-carmen-maria-machado.html

Dear Sophie by Emma Brankin was published in X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine in July 2020. In a brief series of emails, Amy attempts to craft the perfect message to send to her friend Sophie on her wedding day. In this very modern, witty piece, we see Amy grapple with the guilt of missing her friend’s wedding day, the shame and comparison created by social media, and how to congratulate someone you care about when your own life is in shambles. Link to story: Dear Sophie by Emma Brankin Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

Mass Effect is the story of Eddie and Ivan, two long-term boyfriends grappling with Ivan’s sudden diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. The story begins and ends during a getaway the two take to a cabin, with Eddie’s perspective leading us through the history of their relationship, the struggles and pain, the inside jokes and play, and his powerlessness as he watches his partner deteriorate. Mass Effect was shortlisted for the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Link to story: Mass Effect by Joshua Wales Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

"It Ends With A Kiss" by Riddhi Dastidar is a coming-of-age story set in a dystopian world ravaged by an unknown toxin. The story follows Kajri, a sixteen year old girl, who falls for Tara, who lives in the same "colony" as her. Through their story, we come to learn more about Kajri's family, their lives before the world changed, and begin to understand the pain, loss and fear in the society that surrounds her. The story was shortlisted for the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Link to story: It Ends With A Kiss by Riddhi Dastidar Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This week we're reading "How To Marry An African President" by Erica Sugo Anyadike. This story follows the relationship between a secretary and the President of an unnamed African country from the beginning of their courtship. Through a second person narrative, we see their relationship develop and their power corrupt. The story was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing prize and the AKO Caine Prize for African writing. Link to story: How To Marry An African President by Erica Sugo Anyadike Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

Welcome to Season Two! Today we are reading, "Needs" by Karen Brown, published in the Atlantic. Set in the 1960's in the USA, "Needs" is told from the perspective of a housewife whose neighbor is mysteriously murdered one afternoon. It's a fun, dark, edge of your seat mystery with an ending that will surprise even the most seasoned reader.  Link to story: Needs by Karen Brown Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

In our last episode of Season 1 we discuss Light by Lesley Nneka Arimah. In this story we follow a Nigerian father and daughter and explore the fragility of their bond amidst the complex reality of raising a girl today. Arimah asks us to question what expectations and limitations we put on girls and young women, and how parents fight to navigate this in the best interests of their child. This story won the 2015 Regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa. Link to story: Light by Lesley Nneka Arimah Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This week, we are discussing Carmen Maria Machado's, "Mary When You Follow Her." This 2018 flash fiction follows Maria, a young girl navigating grief, loss, and growing up amidst the disappearance of other young women in her town. This story is breathtaking, written in a single sentence, and pushes us to think critically about whose stories are told.  Link to story: Mary When You Follow Her by Carmen Maria Machado.  Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This week we are reading As The Last I May Know by S.L. Huang, the 2020 Hugo Award winner for Best Short Story. In this story, we are faced with a different reality - one in which the decision over whether to release weapons of mass destruction requires the President to kill a child with his own hand before they can order the devastation. Through this extraordinary short story, we are presented with a huge question: are the safeguards in place for our most heinous decisions strong enough? Or, whatever the cost, must we humanise the choices we make in order to save lives? Link to story: As The Last I May Know by S.L. Huang Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

In episode 3 we discuss Passage by Kevin Jared Hosein. In this story, a man follows in the footsteps of his friend to find an adventure in the mountains of Trinidad, but what he discovers instead changes the course of many lives. Subverting the expectations of a typical hero’s journey, Passage was the winner of the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Link to story: Passage by Kevin Jared Hosein Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This week we are reading and discussing “The Great Indian Tee and Snakes” by Kritika Pandey, which won the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. It tells the story of a forbidden love during a time of state sanctioned violence and oppression. Using a single perspective of one young women in her father’s tea shack, Pandey allows the reader to glimpse the larger, complex identity of India today. Link to story: The Great Indian Tee and Snakes by Kritika Pandey Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

In Week 1 of Shorts, we're reading and discussing "Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian. This story went viral when the New Yorker published it in 2017, sparking controversy over its portrayal of modern dating, gender roles and consent. Read this story before you listen and reach out to us via Twitter or Instagram to let us know what you think! Link to Story: Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian Vox, "The Uproar over the New Yorker Story 'Cat Person' Explained." Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This is Shorts: a new podcast where we talk about contemporary short stories.  We’re two long distanced friends who want to talk about what we’re reading.  We think that short stories can contain all the richness and excitement of a novel, and can show the world through different perspectives. Before each episode, we invite you to read a story and then we’ll talk about it together. Click the link in the show notes to download our reading list and get started today! https://shortsthepodcast.com/  Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Twitter: @shortsthepod

A special Christmas episode! For the second year in a row, we're reading a Christmas classic. This year, we dive into, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, first published in December 1905. The Gift of the Magi tells the story of the young married couple Della and Jim, and their struggle to find meaningful Christmas gifts for each other when money is tight and time is short.  Link to story: "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Alex Crowson