When’s the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft.

You can read Rebecca Makkai’s Substack post that inspired this show here. 

Here is the story that is discussed in the final segment, “How I Became a Vet” by Rivka Galchen. 

As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations:
Rebecca Makkai: “The Dinner Party” by Joshua Ferris
George Saunders: “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, “The Conventional Wisdom” by Stanley Elkin
Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak” by Jamil Jan Kochai
Amy Bloom: “The Dead” by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby
Irene Papoulis: “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer
Brian Slattery: “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang
Colin McEnroe: “The Hole on the Corner” and “What’s the Name of That Town?” by R.A. Lafferty

GUESTS: 
Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist The Great Believers, among other books; her newest book is I Have Some Questions For You, and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago
George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is Liberation Day, a collection of short stories
Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for The New Yorker and the host of their Fiction Podcast
Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir In Love
Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. 

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

When’s the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft.
You can read <a href="https://rebeccamakkai.substack.com/p/why-you-arent-reading-short-stories">Rebecca Makkai’s Substack post that inspired this show here</a>. 
<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/13/how-i-became-a-vet">Here is the story that is discussed in the final segment, “How I Became a Vet” by Rivka Galchen</a>. 
As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations:
<ul>
<li>Rebecca Makkai: “The Dinner Party” by Joshua Ferris</li>
<li>George Saunders: “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, “The Conventional Wisdom” by Stanley Elkin</li>
<li>Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak” by Jamil Jan Kochai</li>
<li>Amy Bloom: “The Dead” by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby</li>
<li>Irene Papoulis: “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer</li>
<li>Brian Slattery: “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang</li>
<li>Colin McEnroe: “The Hole on the Corner” and “What’s the Name of That Town?” by R.A. Lafferty</li>
</ul>
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist <a href="https://rebeccamakkai.com/work/the-great-believers/">The Great Believers</a>, among other books; her newest book is <a href="https://rebeccamakkai.com/work/i-have-some-questions-for-you/">I Have Some Questions For You</a>, and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago</li>
<li>George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564990/liberation-day-by-george-saunders/">Liberation Day</a>, a collection of short stories</li>
<li>Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/">The New Yorker</a> and the host of their <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/fiction">Fiction Podcast</a></li>
<li>Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/677454/in-love-by-amy-bloom/">In Love</a></li>
<li>Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College</li>
<li>Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the <a href="https://www.newhavenindependent.org/">New Haven Independent</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. 
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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