Listener Favorites
Give the people what they want! Greatest hits. Most requested. Doesn't matter what you call it, these are 8, handpicked stories you told us you wanted to hear again. And again. And again.
“Audio Tour,” by Patricia Marxperformed by Anna Chlumsky
Our guide, Debby, is taking us on an “Audio Tour,” of her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. (“You are standing in Todd Niesle’s foyer. The faux faux-marble table on your right is attributed to Todd Niesle’s mother, circa last Christmas. It’s a fine example of a piece that I, Debby, do not like.”)
“The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury,” by Neil Gaiman
performed by Denis O’Hare
Neil Gaiman’s touching and unsettling tribute to a sci-fi master, the story was a 90th birthday present for Bradbury, who was a friend of Gaiman’s.
"Ambition" by Jonathan Franzen
performed by Edie Falco
A wealthy couple’s marriage of convenience unravels. After years of overlooking each other’s failings (he’s loutish and avaricious; she’s vain and lazy) and insulated from the world by luxury each starts wanting more, and that is their undoing.
"A Mad Tea Party,” by Lewis Carroll
performed by Christopher Lloyd
The tale of a proper—but not timid—English schoolgirl falling down a rabbit hole into a fantastical world of talking creatures and inverted logic has been a mainstay of children’s literature since its publication in 1865, and is equally popular with adults as a source of fantastical language and prankish social satire. All are in evidence in the excerpt heard here: Chapter 7: A Mad Tea Party. In it, Alice encounters the Mad Hatter and his eccentric dining companions the March Hare and the Dormouse.
"Magic and Dread" by Jenny Offill
performed by Kaneza Schaal
A new mother is exhausted and exhilarated by the life she has brought into the world, and what she learns about herself as she adapts to motherhood.
"Indulgence" performed by Susan Perabo
performed by Hope Davis
A touching and funny mother-daughter story based on their love of cigarettes.
"Jubilation Florida" by N.M. Kelby
performed by Amy Ryan
A comic story of finding love when and where you least expect it. These lovers are gently used, a little cynical, and married to other people, but at least for one night, they seem to be destined for each other while together at a business conference.
performed by Campbell Scott
A young man struggles to protect a loving but alcoholic father.
