PODCAST · fiction
Shorts.
by Shorts the Podcast
This is Shorts: the 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: @shortsthepodcastTwitter: @shortsthepod
Episodes
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ENCORE: A Visit from Saint Nicholas
Happy Holidays! This year, we're revisting our first ever Christmas Episode from 2021. We are reading the timeless festive poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, more commonly known as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and comparing it with a short story based on the classic narrative, by James…
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Caturday
This week we are reading "Caturday" by Emma Brankin and we are THRILLED to be joined by the author herself to discuss the story, and her brand new collection Attention Seekers, which is available now. Caturday follows the story of Ash as she navigates a complicated relationship with her ex and…
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Taylor Swift
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…
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Ophelia
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...
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How To Be An Other Woman
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…
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The Heart In The House
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…
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Lazy River
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...
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A Child's Christmas in Wales
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...
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The Gift of the Magi
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...
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Who Am I
This is a bitesized edition of Shorts - special bonus episodes where we will be focusing on very short short stories (also known as flash fiction!) Today we are reading "Who am I" by Amanda Olive Amoah which was published in Flash Fiction Ghana in 2015. In this story, our narrator wakes up and...
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The Direction of the Road - with Completely Arbortrary
For this special bonus episode, Lizzie and Jen join Completely Arbortrary, a podcast that deep dives into all things TREE, to discuss The Direction of the Road by Ursula K. Le Guin. This short story is told from the perspective of a single oak tree on the Oregon State Highway, and through its…
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The Cheater's Guide to Love
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...
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Dear Sophie
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...
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Mass Effect
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…
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How To Marry An African President
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…
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Needs
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...
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A Visit From Saint Nicholas
A special Christmas episode! Today we are reading the timeless festive poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, more commonly known as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and comparing it with a short story based on the classic narrative, by James Thurber. Curl up with a cup of mulled wine and enjoy our...
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Light
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...
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Mary When You Follow Her
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…
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As The Last I May Know
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...
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Passage
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…
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The Great Indian Tee and Snakes
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...
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Cat Person
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…
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Introducing: Shorts the Podcast
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.…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is Shorts: the 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: @shortsthepodcastTwitter: @shortsthepod
HOSTED BY
Shorts the Podcast
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Shorts. have?
Shorts. currently has 24 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Shorts. about?
This is Shorts: the 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...
How often does Shorts. release new episodes?
Shorts. has 24 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Shorts.?
You can listen to Shorts. on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Shorts.?
Shorts. is created and hosted by Shorts the Podcast.
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