Selected Shorts: Bonus – Etgar Keret and Ira Glass

Symphony Space, December 11, 2025
Host: Meg Wolitzer
Guests: Etgar Keret (Israeli writer), Ira Glass (host of This American Life)

Episode Overview

In this special bonus episode of Selected Shorts, long-time friends Etgar Keret and Ira Glass engage in a frank, playful, and sometimes profoundly dark conversation about Etgar's new short story collection, Autocorrect, and the challenges of living and creating in turbulent times. The exchange is a lively blend of humor, intimacy, and deep reflection on grief, storytelling, world politics, and the relevance of art and personal action in today's hyper-connected yet powerless-feeling society.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meeting, Friendship, and Security Stories

Timestamps: 01:41–03:36

• Ira Glass recounts a humorous, tense exit from Israel where airport security required proof he truly knew Etgar Keret, highlighting both Keret's fame and the intensity of Israeli security.
  • Memorable quote:
    • “He said, ‘Let me see your phone.’ And he made me find Edgar’s phone number in my phone and then I was allowed to leave the country.” – Ira Glass (02:41)
• Etgar shares a parallel anecdote from New York, when a cashier didn’t believe he was buying his own book until checking out.
  • “And I'm one of them. And so he looked at me and he said, that would be $42.” – Etgar Keret (03:28)

2. Autocorrect: Darkness and Hopelessness in the Stories

Timestamps: 03:36–07:38

• Ira observes the new collection is unusually dark and grim, with an abundance of disconnected characters and unhappy endings.
  • “Every time you have a happy couple in the book... you murder each of them.” – Ira Glass (04:02)
• Etgar attributes the book’s tone to profound personal loss (the death of his mother), the stress of COVID, and political upheaval in Israel, compounded by the October 7th attacks.
  • “After my mother died, I lost 28 pounds and herniated my back. And I said, oh, how about I write a book about life?... The starting point wasn't very good.” – Etgar Keret (05:09)
• Despite the darkness, Etgar insists on maintaining humanity and a wry sense of hope:
  • “The world ends, but people can still crack a joke… You find a woman you love and you both die, but in the afterlife she teaches you how to play backgammon.” – Etgar Keret (06:32)

3. The Aftermath of October 7th and the Struggle to Write

Timestamps: 07:38–12:04

• Keret reflects on the immediate chaos after October 7th—the sense of urgent action in Israeli society, his role in supporting affected families, and the challenge of storytelling in a world turned upside down.
  • “People were missing... So they would want me to call my students, you know, to send the students to the morgue to check if the loved ones are kidnapped or dead.” – Etgar Keret (08:08)
• He describes the disorientation, the sense that no stories quite make sense when catastrophe is ongoing, illustrated by a moving story about holding an orphaned baby during relief work:
  • “She held the baby in her hand... And then you say, no, no, no, you didn't get it. Like, nothing is sane. Nobody is protected. And it takes you some time to regain your footing to know up from down...” – Etgar Keret (11:45)

4. On Optimism, Reality, and the ‘Ant’ Metaphor

Timestamps: 12:04–17:21

• Despite grim observations, Etgar claims optimism, albeit with acerbic humor:
  • “Objectively, we’re going down. So being an optimist, I really think we should start there.” – Etgar Keret (12:15)
• He likens modern engagement to being an ant witnessing human tragedies:
  • “I think it would be helpful to know that you're an ant. ...you're an ant. And I think that we have this kind of... existence where all the time we arguing fiercely about stuff that we can't affect at all.” – Etgar Keret (13:36)
• Story: Taxi driver argument, highlighting how people’s sense of control is outstripped by their media consumption.
  • “All the things that brings you happiness are an arm away... but instead... you get depressed by free entities that you don’t know that they really exist.” – Etgar Keret (15:08)

5. Powerlessness, Protests, and the Loss of Agency

Timestamps: 17:21–22:59

• Discussion of protests in Israel’s political climate and feelings of futility. Ira suggests this hopelessness may be especially Israeli; Etgar counters it’s global.
  • “I really feel that, first of all, as a storyteller, I think that the world is losing its story.” – Etgar Keret (18:11)
• Keret suggests the modern world has traded active, purposeful decisions for passivity orchestrated by algorithms (social media), contrasting today’s activism with a mythologized, more direct past:
  • “The things we outsourced was our decisions... The word right now is like a person watching Instagram... The idea of being in an active stance... is something we very rarely do.” – Etgar Keret (19:34–20:42)
• Ira pushes back, suggesting Keret over-romanticizes the past, prompting funny and poignant reflection:
  • “Today, people's dogs starve because they're busy fighting with somebody on Twitter.” – Etgar Keret (23:22)

6. Writing Stories Out of Anger—Humanizing the Enemy

Timestamps: 24:22–27:01

• Keret describes writing stories from the point of view of people he’s angry at (including politicians), as a way of understanding and defusing anger:
  • “Whenever I have anger, my way to vent is by writing a story from the point of view of the person I'm angry at.” – Etgar Keret (24:22)
• He tells a story of transforming rage into empathy—even with Benjamin Netanyahu or his own sister—and how that process leads to self-realization:
  • “There was a moment where I realized that I'm the guy who's praying... if you assume there's somebody out there and you tell him what you want, in the end you know what you want. …You should pray more or write stories.” – Etgar Keret (29:14–29:57)

7. The Point of Arguing, the Power and Futility of Online Debate

Timestamps: 31:05–33:19

• Ira recounts a failed idea for a collaborative radio segment with a conservative friend on climate change, arriving at the conclusion that most beliefs are tribal, not evidence-based.
  • “We would just admit to each other that we really just believe this because of our tribal associations.” – Ira Glass (31:27)
• Keret circles back to the futility and narcissism in most arguments:
  • “What’s important is what’s happening, you know, on the ground… the carpet is burning. Somebody step on it or put some water. Come on, Ira, please.” – Etgar Keret (33:13)

8. Crafting Stories: On Details and Character

Timestamps: 33:19–35:32

• Ira highlights a striking, seemingly superfluous paragraph in the story “Gondola”, prompting Etgar to explain his intention: showcasing a character’s independent mind and resistance to social scripting.
  • “Whenever somebody's able not to answer the answer, but give something authentic... which I think is real.” – Etgar Keret (34:47)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Exchanges

• Ira Glass (on the new book's tone):
  “Every time you have a happy couple in the book... you murder each of them.” (04:02)
• Etgar Keret (on compromise and life):
  “Spoiler, the world is going to end. All the people you know are going to die, and you need to make some compromises. That's life, you know, it's not something I made up.” (04:10)
• Etgar Keret (on optimism):
  “Objectively, we’re going down.” (12:15)
• Etgar Keret (on modern activism):
  “Today, people's dogs Starve because they're busy fighting with somebody on Twitter.” (23:22)
• Etgar Keret (on empathy and storytelling):
  “Whenever I have anger, my way to vent is by writing a story from the point of view of the person I'm angry at.” (24:22)
• Etgar Keret (on authenticity):
  “Whenever somebody’s able not to answer the answer, but give something authentic … I think is real.” (34:47)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:41]–[03:36] — Opening banter, airport/NY anecdotes
• [03:36]–[07:38] — Book themes: darkness, death, hopelessness
• [07:38]–[12:04] — Post-October 7th: Action vs. storytelling, disorientation
• [12:04]–[17:21] — Metaphors for futility, ant on the pavement, protest
• [17:21]–[22:59] — Loss of agency in the algorithm era
• [24:22]–[27:01] — Writing empathy through anger, Netanyahu, family
• [31:05]–[33:19] — The futility of debate, tribal beliefs
• [33:19]–[35:32] — Crafting character through detail (“Gondola” story)

Tone and Dynamic

The conversation is open, candid, and threaded with wit and self-deprecation. Etgar Keret’s humor tempers the existential gloom, while Ira Glass acts as both an inquisitive reader and friendly provocateur, challenging Keret’s worldviews and probing the intent behind his fiction. Their long-standing friendship allows for both pointed challenges and moments of heartfelt vulnerability.

Closing Thoughts

This episode offers an intimate portrait of two creative minds wrestling with the darkness of modern existence, the purpose of art, and the daily struggle to be both hopeful and human. Through laughter, argument, and storytelling, Etgar and Ira give listeners a profound exploration of personal loss, collective despair, and the enduring, if battered, spark of connection and meaning.

“You don’t need to give up on that. You don’t need to be automated, to become completely passive. You can fight that.” – Etgar Keret (06:42)