Selected Shorts – "Generation Gap" (October 16, 2025)

Host: Meg Wolitzer
Featuring: Colman Domingo, Phillipa Soo, Tavi Gevinson

Overview: Exploring the Generation Gap

In this episode, Selected Shorts brings together three distinct short stories exploring the theme of the "generation gap." With humor, poignancy, and irony, the episode delves into relationships between parents and children, the silent shifts of familial roles, and the chasms (and unexpected bridges) between social class and age. Host Meg Wolitzer connects the stories—read live by celebrated actors—to illuminate how generations find both friction and common ground.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdowns

1. Host Introduction and Framing the Theme

Meg Wolitzer opens by reflecting on her own “boomer” identity and the cyclical nature of generational disconnects—today’s TikTok is yesterday’s Tamagotchi (04:00–05:00).
- “Generations may never see eye to eye, but...they find common ground.”
The central concept: Generation gaps often conjure up outdated social values, parental disapproval, and confusion over “how things used to be.” Yet, beneath the surface-level differences, there’s a shared ride through time.

2. Story One: "Trash Kites" by Justin Torres

Read by: Colman Domingo
Segment: 05:05–11:50

Synopsis & Themes

Three brothers—Manny, Joel, and the narrator—sneak out for a night of kite-flying using “trash kites” made from plastic bags and twine. Their playful, youthful escape is interrupted by the arrival of their father, Pabst, who metes out a harsh punishment, particularly for the oldest, Manny.
The narrative explores freedom, the brutality of authority, hope, and the search for transcendence amid tough circumstances.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

The boys' laughter while their kites soar:
- Colman Domingo (05:58): “We got up, ran, choked ourselves half to death with laughter…our trash kites soared.”
The abrupt violence and pain of their father’s anger:
- Colman Domingo (08:03): “He screamed at our father, but no one was dead...‘Me,’ he said. ‘Me.’”
Manny’s late-night confessions of lost hope and dreams:
- Colman Domingo (09:47): “I used to believe we could escape...God scattered all the clean amongst the dirty. You and me and Joel were nothing more than a fistful of seed that God tossed into the mud and horsesh…We’re on our own.”
Imaginative transcendence:
- Colman Domingo (11:32): “What we gotta do is…figure out a way to reverse gravity so that we all fall upward through the clouds and sky, all the way to heaven.”

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (11:50): “Simple as this story seems, it tests the boundaries of all the characters, creating…the possibility of limitlessness.”

3. Story Two: "The World With My Mother Still In It" by Kathryn Chetkovich

Read by: Phillipa Soo
Segment: 12:44–27:51

Synopsis & Themes

A grown woman visits her aging parents, navigating small talk, memories, and the subtle shifts in their family dynamic. The story traces her feelings of nostalgia and loss: old boyfriends, the question of having children, and the ways in which her mother—robust, loving, independent—is starting to fade.
The narrative captures the aches of transition: adulthood shadowed by lingering childhood, the role reversal as parents age, and the unspoken histories that bind families.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On old relationships:
- Phillipa Soo (14:26): “My mother has the unnerving habit of keeping in touch with my old boyfriends…”
Lingering parental roles (father offering money for gas):
- Phillipa Soo (16:56): “Here, he says, holding them toward me. For gas. Dad, you don’t need to do that…but he holds the money there, pointed at my heart, and I take it.”
Estrangement and memory:
- Phillipa Soo (17:52): “I have trouble for a second, recognizing this as the life I have chosen, but then Stephen moves over to make room for me on the couch.”
The physical and emotional navigation of aging and shifting roles:
- Phillipa Soo (25:47): “Mom. I hurry toward her. I can see her start to smile at the sound of my voice…”

Notable Scene

The narrator helps her disoriented mother in the mall, hand-in-hand through the parking lot—tenderly highlighting the changing tides of dependence and care.

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (27:51): “There’s something about stories about adults who are still someone’s children that really get to me…You always keep one foot or even a toe in childhood if a parent is still in your life.”

4. Story Three: "Ancient Rome" by Kyle McCarthy

Read by: Tavi Gevinson
Segment: 32:12–57:42

Synopsis & Themes

A young private tutor narrates her visit to a wealthy Upper East Side family, coaching 13-year-old Isabel through a daunting history assignment about gender and class in ancient Rome. The story juxtaposes the privilege and naiveté of her charge with her own introspective, slightly resentful position as an outsider.
Woven throughout are flashbacks to the tutor’s own adolescence, navigating coming-of-age, feminism, and class. The piece interrogates the role of privilege, the awkwardness of growing up, and the ways girls are shaped by both historical forces and contemporary expectations.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On privilege and class:
- Tavi Gevinson (32:18): “Let’s begin with the homes…the condos, the townhouses, the penthouses…the servants that cook and clean them, though servant is not the term used.”
The student’s inability to imagine the humanity of slaves:
- Dialogue (34:10): Isabel: “Slaves don’t have homes…they’re slaves. How can you have a home if you’re a slave?”
On her own entry to Harvard:
- Tavi Gevinson (36:28): “Angular…A freak who is freakishly good at one random thing? Admissions people love them.”
On feminism, womanhood, and self-knowledge:
- Tavi Gevinson (46:45): “I belonged to the generation who hit puberty just as Reviving Ophelia hit the bookshelves…At once female adolescence went from a time of transition to a time of doom…”
The story’s climax: adolescence, longing for affirmation, and the confusion of feminism:
- Isabel: “Are you a feminist?”
  Tutor: “Yes. Are you?”
  Isabel: “Yes…but I don’t do any feminist work.”
- Tutor: “Me neither, and we grin at each other like two housewives who’ve just admitted they don’t iron the sheets.” (55:40)

Notable Moment

Isabel’s realization:
- Tavi Gevinson (49:10): “Can you imagine if you were Beyoncé? …If you actually were her…”
- The awe and disbelief at celebrity, something even the extremely privileged cannot buy.

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (57:42): “The small, beautifully controlled present relationship is freighted with the past of the teacher and the unknown future of the girl. It seems that both may be in need of rescuing—one from disappointment and uncertainty, the other from a kind of gilded cage.”

Notable Quotes by Segment

"I used to believe we could escape...God scattered all the clean amongst the dirty."
— Colman Domingo as Manny, "Trash Kites" (09:47)
"My father still can’t quite believe I married a man with a job."
— Phillipa Soo as the narrator, "The World With My Mother Still In It" (17:20)
"All 13-year-old girls want to be 17 unless they want to be 10 again. No 13-year-old wants to be 13."
— Tavi Gevinson as the tutor, "Ancient Rome" (44:18)
"Are you a feminist? Yes...but I don’t do any feminist work. Me neither."
— Tavi Gevinson & “Isabel,” "Ancient Rome" (55:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Framing and intro to "Generation Gap": 04:00–05:00
"Trash Kites": 05:05–11:50
"The World With My Mother Still In It": 12:44–27:51
"Ancient Rome": 32:12–57:42
Meg Wolitzer’s closing reflections: 57:42–end

Conclusion: Bridging the Gap

Meg Wolitzer concludes that the generation gap is more than dated references and bewilderment—it’s a continual negotiation between hope, disappointment, care, and distance. Each story in this episode “tests the phrase in a different context,” making the familiar unfamiliar, and vice versa.

“Thanks for closing the gap and joining me for Selected Shorts.” (57:57)

Summary prepared for listeners who want the emotional arc, humor, and depth of the literary journeys—and a sense of the actors’ vibrant performances—but may not have caught every word.

Selected Shorts – "Generation Gap" (October 16, 2025)

Host: Meg Wolitzer
Featuring: Colman Domingo, Phillipa Soo, Tavi Gevinson

Overview: Exploring the Generation Gap

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdowns

1. Host Introduction and Framing the Theme

Meg Wolitzer opens by reflecting on her own “boomer” identity and the cyclical nature of generational disconnects—today’s TikTok is yesterday’s Tamagotchi (04:00–05:00).
- “Generations may never see eye to eye, but...they find common ground.”
The central concept: Generation gaps often conjure up outdated social values, parental disapproval, and confusion over “how things used to be.” Yet, beneath the surface-level differences, there’s a shared ride through time.

2. Story One: "Trash Kites" by Justin Torres

Read by: Colman Domingo
Segment: 05:05–11:50

Synopsis & Themes

Three brothers—Manny, Joel, and the narrator—sneak out for a night of kite-flying using “trash kites” made from plastic bags and twine. Their playful, youthful escape is interrupted by the arrival of their father, Pabst, who metes out a harsh punishment, particularly for the oldest, Manny.
The narrative explores freedom, the brutality of authority, hope, and the search for transcendence amid tough circumstances.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

The boys' laughter while their kites soar:
- Colman Domingo (05:58): “We got up, ran, choked ourselves half to death with laughter…our trash kites soared.”
The abrupt violence and pain of their father’s anger:
- Colman Domingo (08:03): “He screamed at our father, but no one was dead...‘Me,’ he said. ‘Me.’”
Manny’s late-night confessions of lost hope and dreams:
- Colman Domingo (09:47): “I used to believe we could escape...God scattered all the clean amongst the dirty. You and me and Joel were nothing more than a fistful of seed that God tossed into the mud and horsesh…We’re on our own.”
Imaginative transcendence:
- Colman Domingo (11:32): “What we gotta do is…figure out a way to reverse gravity so that we all fall upward through the clouds and sky, all the way to heaven.”

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (11:50): “Simple as this story seems, it tests the boundaries of all the characters, creating…the possibility of limitlessness.”

3. Story Two: "The World With My Mother Still In It" by Kathryn Chetkovich

Read by: Phillipa Soo
Segment: 12:44–27:51

Synopsis & Themes

A grown woman visits her aging parents, navigating small talk, memories, and the subtle shifts in their family dynamic. The story traces her feelings of nostalgia and loss: old boyfriends, the question of having children, and the ways in which her mother—robust, loving, independent—is starting to fade.
The narrative captures the aches of transition: adulthood shadowed by lingering childhood, the role reversal as parents age, and the unspoken histories that bind families.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On old relationships:
- Phillipa Soo (14:26): “My mother has the unnerving habit of keeping in touch with my old boyfriends…”
Lingering parental roles (father offering money for gas):
- Phillipa Soo (16:56): “Here, he says, holding them toward me. For gas. Dad, you don’t need to do that…but he holds the money there, pointed at my heart, and I take it.”
Estrangement and memory:
- Phillipa Soo (17:52): “I have trouble for a second, recognizing this as the life I have chosen, but then Stephen moves over to make room for me on the couch.”
The physical and emotional navigation of aging and shifting roles:
- Phillipa Soo (25:47): “Mom. I hurry toward her. I can see her start to smile at the sound of my voice…”

Notable Scene

The narrator helps her disoriented mother in the mall, hand-in-hand through the parking lot—tenderly highlighting the changing tides of dependence and care.

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (27:51): “There’s something about stories about adults who are still someone’s children that really get to me…You always keep one foot or even a toe in childhood if a parent is still in your life.”

4. Story Three: "Ancient Rome" by Kyle McCarthy

Read by: Tavi Gevinson
Segment: 32:12–57:42

Synopsis & Themes

A young private tutor narrates her visit to a wealthy Upper East Side family, coaching 13-year-old Isabel through a daunting history assignment about gender and class in ancient Rome. The story juxtaposes the privilege and naiveté of her charge with her own introspective, slightly resentful position as an outsider.
Woven throughout are flashbacks to the tutor’s own adolescence, navigating coming-of-age, feminism, and class. The piece interrogates the role of privilege, the awkwardness of growing up, and the ways girls are shaped by both historical forces and contemporary expectations.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On privilege and class:
- Tavi Gevinson (32:18): “Let’s begin with the homes…the condos, the townhouses, the penthouses…the servants that cook and clean them, though servant is not the term used.”
The student’s inability to imagine the humanity of slaves:
- Dialogue (34:10): Isabel: “Slaves don’t have homes…they’re slaves. How can you have a home if you’re a slave?”
On her own entry to Harvard:
- Tavi Gevinson (36:28): “Angular…A freak who is freakishly good at one random thing? Admissions people love them.”
On feminism, womanhood, and self-knowledge:
- Tavi Gevinson (46:45): “I belonged to the generation who hit puberty just as Reviving Ophelia hit the bookshelves…At once female adolescence went from a time of transition to a time of doom…”
The story’s climax: adolescence, longing for affirmation, and the confusion of feminism:
- Isabel: “Are you a feminist?”
  Tutor: “Yes. Are you?”
  Isabel: “Yes…but I don’t do any feminist work.”
- Tutor: “Me neither, and we grin at each other like two housewives who’ve just admitted they don’t iron the sheets.” (55:40)

Notable Moment

Isabel’s realization:
- Tavi Gevinson (49:10): “Can you imagine if you were Beyoncé? …If you actually were her…”
- The awe and disbelief at celebrity, something even the extremely privileged cannot buy.

Analysis

Meg Wolitzer (57:42): “The small, beautifully controlled present relationship is freighted with the past of the teacher and the unknown future of the girl. It seems that both may be in need of rescuing—one from disappointment and uncertainty, the other from a kind of gilded cage.”

Notable Quotes by Segment

"I used to believe we could escape...God scattered all the clean amongst the dirty."
— Colman Domingo as Manny, "Trash Kites" (09:47)
"My father still can’t quite believe I married a man with a job."
— Phillipa Soo as the narrator, "The World With My Mother Still In It" (17:20)
"All 13-year-old girls want to be 17 unless they want to be 10 again. No 13-year-old wants to be 13."
— Tavi Gevinson as the tutor, "Ancient Rome" (44:18)
"Are you a feminist? Yes...but I don’t do any feminist work. Me neither."
— Tavi Gevinson & “Isabel,” "Ancient Rome" (55:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Framing and intro to "Generation Gap": 04:00–05:00
"Trash Kites": 05:05–11:50
"The World With My Mother Still In It": 12:44–27:51
"Ancient Rome": 32:12–57:42
Meg Wolitzer’s closing reflections: 57:42–end

Conclusion: Bridging the Gap

“Thanks for closing the gap and joining me for Selected Shorts.” (57:57)

Summary prepared for listeners who want the emotional arc, humor, and depth of the literary journeys—and a sense of the actors’ vibrant performances—but may not have caught every word.