Selected Shorts: Funny Business (Selected Shorts: Let Us Tell You a Story)

From wild and wacky to knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud fun, these humorous tales represent some of the best of recent seasons of the hit public radio series Selected Shorts. Comedian Wyatt Cenac gives a killer performance of Simon Rich’s hilarious tale of woe from the point of view of a condom in a young man’s wallet. Alec Baldwin gives a delightful over-the-top performance of James Thurber’s wonderfully silly classic tale of the day everybody in a small Ohio town thought the dam broke. Joe Meno’s playful and poignant “People Are Becoming Clouds,” slyly performed by Criminal Minds’ Kirsten Vangsness, tells the story of a wife who simply laughs and turns into a puff of soft white vapor every time her husband tries to kiss her. David Rakoff reads Dave Eggers’ sweet, good-humored story in which a father recounts to his son, while making dinner, how his parents saved the world together. Selected Shorts’ founding host Isaiah Sheffer recounts two tales: New Yorker contributor Ian Frazier’s wacky suggestion for young men today in “Dating Your Mom,” and David Schickler’s raucous tale of a family catering company’s crazy and delicious escapades in “Wes Amerigo’s Giant Fear.” With stories that cover all types of humor, this assorted collection of memorable stories is sure to leave listeners grinning.

Symphony Space is a performing arts center based in New York City that fosters artistically and culturally diverse performing arts, literary, and film programs that bring artists and audiences together in an atmosphere of exploration and intimacy.