Selected Shorts: Best American Short Stories

Episode Date: March 26, 2026
Host: Meg Wolitzer
Readers: Cynthia Nixon, Ivan Hernandez
Featured Authors: Jessica Treadway, Julian Robles
Theme: Celebrating the 2025 volume of Best American Short Stories, edited by Celeste Ng—two standout stories that explore empathy and shifting realities, performed by acclaimed actors.

Episode Overview

This annual “Best American Short Stories” episode of Selected Shorts is a celebration of contemporary fiction’s power to reflect, complicate, and illuminate real life. Hosted by Meg Wolitzer with guest reader Cynthia Nixon, the show highlights the selection process behind the prestigious anthology, led this year by guest editor Celeste Ng, and features two standout stories from the 2025 volume:

“An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway, read by Cynthia Nixon
“Third Room” by Julian Robles, read by Ivan Hernandez

Both stories explore how lives can be thrown into uncertainty—suddenly within families, or slowly through obsession—fulfilling Ng’s stated aim for fiction that offers “a jolt of wonder” and builds empathy.

The Best American Short Stories 2025: Editor’s Criteria

[01:08–05:23]

Selection and Criteria

Meg Wolitzer introduces the show’s tradition of collaborating with the Best American Short Stories series, spotlighting new literary voices each year.
Nicole Lammy (series editor) explains her process:

"I read more than 3,000 stories this year, so I don't get out much, but the stories I read have been excellent company, as has Celeste Ng." [02:36]
Celeste Ng’s criteria for selection (as read by Lammy and later by Nixon):
1. Immediate “chemistry”—the story must grab the reader (“It's a lot like falling in love. You either have chemistry or you don't.”)
2. A sense of completeness, even if the story leaves mysteries.
3. Language that “startles or surprises” (“sentences that took my breath away with their absolute rightness”).
4. Heft: stories must feel necessary to the writer (“the story was following them like a ghost...demanding to be told”).
Empathy and Insight: Ng believes fiction creates distance that can help us see reality more clearly and invites “the willing reader to step into another’s world.”

"Stories build our empathy by asking us to imagine what it's like to be in someone else's position..." – Cynthia Nixon reading Ng [05:50]

Story One: “An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway

[08:36–27:47]
Reader: Cynthia Nixon

Plot Summary

A moving exploration of “aunthood” and family dynamics. The narrator, Kim, recounts a tradition of New York trips with her niece Tanya, nephew Henry, and sister. Now grown, Tanya asks Kim for a secret visit, revealing her brother is facing expulsion for hacking (at a girl’s manipulative request), and asks Kim to use her legal expertise and “second mother” status to help.

Key Themes:

The complexity of maternal identity beyond motherhood
Family bonds and boundaries, especially between aunts and nieces
The pain of having to say “no” for the right reasons, and the shifting power dynamic as children become adults
The ache of losing closeness and the struggle to let go

Notable Quotes and Moments

On maternal longing:

"I liked to read quotes from successful women about not having children, like Jennifer Aniston, who said, you may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn't mean you're not mothering." – Cynthia Nixon as Kim [10:52]
On painful honesty:

"Hacking into someone else's database and changing the data is absolutely a crime." [14:55]
"Ah, those words. A second mother. They're meant to be a compliment, one of the highest. But the person so named, understands all too well how far the second mother falls short of the first." [18:25]
On losing connection:

“I hugged her, not wanting to let go, even though I knew she'd already slipped away from me to a place I'd not be allowed to enter, even if I did ever manage to find it again.” [22:51]
The train scene with the stranger’s child underscores the final realization of the limitations of “passing” as a mother:

“I realized that of course I hadn't fooled the boy as I had his mother. Didn't I understand children better than that? He'd smiled at me, not because I'd charmed him, but to let me know he recognized a liar when he saw one.” [26:10]

Host’s Commentary

Meg Wolitzer [27:47–29:17]:

Praises the story’s focus on “aunthood” rather than motherhood—uncommon in fiction.
Highlights the story’s ambivalence and surprises, especially as Kim must redefine her place in the family.
Notes how Treadway continues the story beyond the expected “ending,” into a fleeting, complicated moment with a stranger.

Story Two: “Third Room” by Julian Robles

[31:36–57:58]
Reader: Ivan Hernandez

Plot Summary

A Kafkaesque, darkly comic meditation on isolation, obsession, and reality. A Mexican academic, subletting an apartment in Mexico, discovers a mysterious man living quietly in a “third room”—a leftover maid’s quarters—and cannot decide what to do, even as more people (including the landlord, a writer, his own girlfriend, and then the police) are inexorably drawn into the room, slowly vanishing from his life and the world.

Key Themes:

The porous boundary between observation and lived experience
The existential need for connection, even as others slip away
The expansion of private obsession to a mass phenomenon; the crisis of the “disappeared” in Mexico as surreal tragedy
Literary self-consciousness: the writer as spy, as voyeur, as possible object of someone else’s story

Notable Quotes and Moments

The narrator on dealing with the mysterious inhabitant:

“I can't say for certain when the man arrived. One week the room was empty, the next he was seated at the desk, his hand moving from left to right, apparently writing.” [36:25]
On his own inaction and displacement:

“I was opposed, at least ideologically, to the existence of landlords in general and did not want to appear allied with her by suggesting that the man at the desk was adding to the electrical bill.” [37:09]
Conversations with the New York writer:

"Could I reasonably argue that the man was doing any harm? His presence unnerved me...In material terms, I didn't use a third bedroom. The man had no effect on my daily life." [40:47] “Have you tried sitting the man down and telling him about yourself?...The man in the third room could make for an interesting audience. I've been exploring monologues in my work lately.” [41:02]
Dream sequence:

“His face was simple and familiar. It was the face of any person in a crowd, anonymous and inoffensive...the papers were covered in Ulipo nonsense words continuously reorganized in adherence to the dream's fickle logic.” [46:18–46:56]
As the “third room” fills with people, the story veers into surreal social critique and metaphor:

"Since that day, the number of people in the third room has increased far past a point permissible by the fiscal bounds of the space. First, more police arrived, and eventually government officials and members of the military. This attracted protesters and counter protesters whose disappearances hastened and the arrival of volunteer organizations devoted to searching for Mexico's missing." [55:09–56:17]
On the final inability to resolve the mystery or escape his own inertia:

“The man has disappeared from sight, but I can never be certain of his definitive departure. His writing task has become gargantuan, perhaps impossible. For the time being, I have holed up in this, the apartment's second room, to focus on drafting my report for the committee.” [57:08]

Host’s Commentary

Meg Wolitzer [57:58]:

Compares “Third Room” to Kafka and celebrates its “Mary Poppins bag type of elasticity” in considering reality and the writer’s task.
Observes that both stories dramatize abrupt or corrosive alterations of what once seemed certain in their worlds.

Thematic Links & Concluding Reflections

[57:58–end]

Both stories start with everyday certainties—family traditions, apartments, relationships—and then methodically unravel them, forcing characters and listeners to reckon with ambiguity, loss, and the (in)sufficiency of empathy.
Celeste Ng’s editorial vision is echoed: fiction as a space to understand the world and each other by inhabiting unfamiliar perspectives and uncertainties.

Timestamps of Key Segments

[01:08–05:23]: Nicole Lammy on working with Celeste Ng & Ng’s editorial criteria
[05:50–08:36]: Cynthia Nixon reads from Celeste Ng’s introduction
[08:56–27:47]: “An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway, read by Cynthia Nixon
[27:47–31:36]: Meg Wolitzer’s reflection on story one and transition
[32:54–57:58]: “Third Room” by Julian Robles, read by Ivan Hernandez
[57:58–end]: Meg Wolitzer’s commentary and episode conclusion

Memorable Quotes

Celeste Ng (via Nixon) on fiction and empathy:

"Stories build our empathy by asking us to imagine what it's like to be in someone else's position, thinking their thoughts and feeling their feelings. Unlike disinformation, a short story tells you up front that it is fiction, and when you know it's all just pretend, you're often more willing to play along." [05:50]
Narrator (Treadway) on losing closeness to her niece:

“I hugged her, not wanting to let go, even though I knew she'd already slipped away from me to a place I'd not be allowed to enter...” [22:51]
Robles’s narrator on the surreal growth of the third room:

"The number of people in the third room has increased far past a point permissible by the fiscal bounds of the space." [55:15]

Summary Takeaways

This episode of Selected Shorts is an invitation to see the world through the lens of carefully-chosen fiction, where boundaries of self and certainty dissolve. With standout performances from Cynthia Nixon and Ivan Hernandez, listeners experience the necessary discomfort, laughter, and wonder that Celeste Ng and the Best American Short Stories prize in new storytelling. Whether you’re interested in the shifting shape of family or the elasticity of reality, these stories offer a weekend trip, as Ng writes, “to a place you've never been.”

For more readings, archives, and news on future volumes: [Visit Selected Shorts / Symphony Space website]

Selected Shorts: Best American Short Stories

Episode Overview

“An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway, read by Cynthia Nixon
“Third Room” by Julian Robles, read by Ivan Hernandez

The Best American Short Stories 2025: Editor’s Criteria

[01:08–05:23]

Selection and Criteria

Meg Wolitzer introduces the show’s tradition of collaborating with the Best American Short Stories series, spotlighting new literary voices each year.
Nicole Lammy (series editor) explains her process:

"I read more than 3,000 stories this year, so I don't get out much, but the stories I read have been excellent company, as has Celeste Ng." [02:36]
Celeste Ng’s criteria for selection (as read by Lammy and later by Nixon):
1. Immediate “chemistry”—the story must grab the reader (“It's a lot like falling in love. You either have chemistry or you don't.”)
2. A sense of completeness, even if the story leaves mysteries.
3. Language that “startles or surprises” (“sentences that took my breath away with their absolute rightness”).
4. Heft: stories must feel necessary to the writer (“the story was following them like a ghost...demanding to be told”).
Empathy and Insight: Ng believes fiction creates distance that can help us see reality more clearly and invites “the willing reader to step into another’s world.”

"Stories build our empathy by asking us to imagine what it's like to be in someone else's position..." – Cynthia Nixon reading Ng [05:50]

Story One: “An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway

[08:36–27:47]
Reader: Cynthia Nixon

Plot Summary

Key Themes:

The complexity of maternal identity beyond motherhood
Family bonds and boundaries, especially between aunts and nieces
The pain of having to say “no” for the right reasons, and the shifting power dynamic as children become adults
The ache of losing closeness and the struggle to let go

Notable Quotes and Moments

On maternal longing:

"I liked to read quotes from successful women about not having children, like Jennifer Aniston, who said, you may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn't mean you're not mothering." – Cynthia Nixon as Kim [10:52]
On painful honesty:

"Hacking into someone else's database and changing the data is absolutely a crime." [14:55]
"Ah, those words. A second mother. They're meant to be a compliment, one of the highest. But the person so named, understands all too well how far the second mother falls short of the first." [18:25]
On losing connection:

“I hugged her, not wanting to let go, even though I knew she'd already slipped away from me to a place I'd not be allowed to enter, even if I did ever manage to find it again.” [22:51]
The train scene with the stranger’s child underscores the final realization of the limitations of “passing” as a mother:

“I realized that of course I hadn't fooled the boy as I had his mother. Didn't I understand children better than that? He'd smiled at me, not because I'd charmed him, but to let me know he recognized a liar when he saw one.” [26:10]

Host’s Commentary

Meg Wolitzer [27:47–29:17]:

Praises the story’s focus on “aunthood” rather than motherhood—uncommon in fiction.
Highlights the story’s ambivalence and surprises, especially as Kim must redefine her place in the family.
Notes how Treadway continues the story beyond the expected “ending,” into a fleeting, complicated moment with a stranger.

Story Two: “Third Room” by Julian Robles

[31:36–57:58]
Reader: Ivan Hernandez

Plot Summary

Key Themes:

The porous boundary between observation and lived experience
The existential need for connection, even as others slip away
The expansion of private obsession to a mass phenomenon; the crisis of the “disappeared” in Mexico as surreal tragedy
Literary self-consciousness: the writer as spy, as voyeur, as possible object of someone else’s story

Notable Quotes and Moments

The narrator on dealing with the mysterious inhabitant:

“I can't say for certain when the man arrived. One week the room was empty, the next he was seated at the desk, his hand moving from left to right, apparently writing.” [36:25]
On his own inaction and displacement:

“I was opposed, at least ideologically, to the existence of landlords in general and did not want to appear allied with her by suggesting that the man at the desk was adding to the electrical bill.” [37:09]
Conversations with the New York writer:

"Could I reasonably argue that the man was doing any harm? His presence unnerved me...In material terms, I didn't use a third bedroom. The man had no effect on my daily life." [40:47] “Have you tried sitting the man down and telling him about yourself?...The man in the third room could make for an interesting audience. I've been exploring monologues in my work lately.” [41:02]
Dream sequence:

“His face was simple and familiar. It was the face of any person in a crowd, anonymous and inoffensive...the papers were covered in Ulipo nonsense words continuously reorganized in adherence to the dream's fickle logic.” [46:18–46:56]
As the “third room” fills with people, the story veers into surreal social critique and metaphor:

"Since that day, the number of people in the third room has increased far past a point permissible by the fiscal bounds of the space. First, more police arrived, and eventually government officials and members of the military. This attracted protesters and counter protesters whose disappearances hastened and the arrival of volunteer organizations devoted to searching for Mexico's missing." [55:09–56:17]
On the final inability to resolve the mystery or escape his own inertia:

“The man has disappeared from sight, but I can never be certain of his definitive departure. His writing task has become gargantuan, perhaps impossible. For the time being, I have holed up in this, the apartment's second room, to focus on drafting my report for the committee.” [57:08]

Host’s Commentary

Meg Wolitzer [57:58]:

Compares “Third Room” to Kafka and celebrates its “Mary Poppins bag type of elasticity” in considering reality and the writer’s task.
Observes that both stories dramatize abrupt or corrosive alterations of what once seemed certain in their worlds.

Thematic Links & Concluding Reflections

[57:58–end]

Both stories start with everyday certainties—family traditions, apartments, relationships—and then methodically unravel them, forcing characters and listeners to reckon with ambiguity, loss, and the (in)sufficiency of empathy.
Celeste Ng’s editorial vision is echoed: fiction as a space to understand the world and each other by inhabiting unfamiliar perspectives and uncertainties.

Timestamps of Key Segments

[01:08–05:23]: Nicole Lammy on working with Celeste Ng & Ng’s editorial criteria
[05:50–08:36]: Cynthia Nixon reads from Celeste Ng’s introduction
[08:56–27:47]: “An Early Departure” by Jessica Treadway, read by Cynthia Nixon
[27:47–31:36]: Meg Wolitzer’s reflection on story one and transition
[32:54–57:58]: “Third Room” by Julian Robles, read by Ivan Hernandez
[57:58–end]: Meg Wolitzer’s commentary and episode conclusion

Memorable Quotes

Celeste Ng (via Nixon) on fiction and empathy:

"Stories build our empathy by asking us to imagine what it's like to be in someone else's position, thinking their thoughts and feeling their feelings. Unlike disinformation, a short story tells you up front that it is fiction, and when you know it's all just pretend, you're often more willing to play along." [05:50]
Narrator (Treadway) on losing closeness to her niece:

“I hugged her, not wanting to let go, even though I knew she'd already slipped away from me to a place I'd not be allowed to enter...” [22:51]
Robles’s narrator on the surreal growth of the third room:

"The number of people in the third room has increased far past a point permissible by the fiscal bounds of the space." [55:15]

Summary Takeaways

For more readings, archives, and news on future volumes: [Visit Selected Shorts / Symphony Space website]