Selected Shorts: “With A Little Help” Host: Meg Wolitzer
Producer: Symphony Space
Release Date: May 22, 2025

Selected Shorts invites listeners into a world where fiction comes alive through the voices of talented actors. In the episode titled “With A Little Help,” host Meg Wolitzer explores the nuanced ways in which family, friends, and even strangers offer—or withhold—their assistance. This long-form summary delves into the four compelling stories presented, highlighting key discussions, insights, and memorable quotes that illuminate the complexities of seeking and providing help.

1. How to Take Dad to the Doctor

Author: Jenny Allen
Reader: Jennifer Mudge
Performance Timestamp: [00:39 - 12:24]

Jenny Allen's narrative, performed by Jennifer Mudge, portrays the fraught yet tender relationship between a daughter and her aging father. The daughter grapples with the challenges of ensuring her father attends medical appointments while navigating his declining independence and increasing frustration.

Key Points:

• Elder Care Dynamics: The story vividly captures the tensions inherent in caring for an aging parent, especially when the parent resists assistance.
• Communication Barriers: The daughter's restrained approach contrasts with the father's increasingly salty demeanor, highlighting the difficulties in effective communication.
• Emotional Strain: The daughter's internal struggle is palpable as she balances responsibility with frustration, exemplifying the emotional toll of caregiving.

Notable Quotes:

• Meg Wolitzer: "We sympathize not only with our frustrated narrator, but with dad, who is powerless in the face of widowhood, age, loss of dignity and independence." [12:24]
• Jenny Allen (Dad): "Tell him you are practically old enough to go to a gerontologist yourself." [10:50]

Insight: Allen masterfully illustrates the delicate dance of offering help without overstepping, emphasizing that assistance can sometimes feel like an intrusion when not communicated thoughtfully.

2. Friends

Author: Laura Vandenberg
Reader: Roberta Kolindres
Performance Timestamp: [14:17 - 24:00]

Laura Vandenberg’s Friends, read by Roberta Kolindres, presents a provocative caper exploring the fragility of human connections in a medium-sized city. The protagonist, Sarah, yearns for meaningful friendships but finds herself entangled in mysterious and unsettling circumstances.

Key Points:

• Loneliness in Transition: Sarah’s move to a new city symbolizes the universal search for belonging and the challenges of forming new relationships.
• Unpredictable Help: The emergence of Holly introduces an element of unpredictability, questioning the nature and intentions behind the help offered.
• Narrative Twists: The story takes a dark turn as Sarah’s interactions with Holly reveal underlying tensions and unresolved personal conflicts.

Notable Quotes:

• Meg Wolitzer: "It takes a confident author to create an unsympathetic character." [24:00]
• Roberta Kolindres (Sarah): "Are you kidnapping me? Do you see a gun?" [21:45]

Insight: Vandenberg explores the thin line between support and manipulation, suggesting that not all help is altruistic and that intentions can be obscured by personal agendas.

3. The Little Heidelberg

Author: Isabel Allende
Reader: Kathleen Turner
Performance Timestamp: [27:02 - 47:36]

Isabel Allende’s enchanting tale, brought to life by Kathleen Turner, transports listeners to the Little Heidelberg—a Tyrolean cafe nestled in the Caribbean. This story weaves themes of love, memory, and cultural displacement through the lives of its vibrant characters.

Key Points:

• Atmospheric World-Building: Allende creates a vivid, sensory-rich environment that immerses listeners in the unique setting of the Little Heidelberg.
• Enduring Love: The silent yet profound bond between El Capitan and Nina Eloisa exemplifies a love that transcends words and time.
• Cultural Fusion: The juxtaposition of Tyrolean traditions in a Caribbean locale underscores themes of adaptation and resilience.

Notable Quotes:

• Kathleen Turner (El Capitan): "He has waited 40 years to ask you, and that he could not wait again until someone comes who speak his language." [40:15]
• Meg Wolitzer: "Allende has fashioned a world... to experience it all. And maybe, if we're lucky, to be asked, to dance." [47:36]

Insight: Allende elegantly portrays how spaces and relationships can serve as anchors in times of change, offering both stability and a sense of community amidst cultural dislocation.

4. Injustice

Author: Grace Paley
Reader: Jackie Hoffman
Performance Timestamp: [49:06 - 57:31]

Grace Paley’s Injustice, interpreted by Jackie Hoffman, delves into the innocence of youth intertwined with the harsh realities of societal and familial expectations. The story reflects on Paley’s own experiences within the socialist youth movement and the personal conflicts that arise from parental expectations.

Key Points:

• Childhood Activism: The narrative highlights the idealism and naivety of youth involvement in political movements, juxtaposed with the complexities of adult expectations.
• Parental Influence: The protagonist’s mother represents the conflict between personal aspirations and societal roles, illustrating the tension between individuality and conformity.
• The Power of Music and Expression: Singing becomes a metaphor for self-expression and the struggle to find one’s voice amidst criticism and misunderstanding.

Notable Quotes:

• Jackie Hoffman (Gracie): "I have to go. I have to go. In a half hour. I have two parts." [54:10]
• Meg Wolitzer: "Grace Paley is such a voice based writer... telling things the way she saw them." [57:31]

Insight: Paley captures the frustration of unfulfilled potential and the sting of disapproval, emphasizing the importance of self-expression and the courage to pursue one's own path despite external pressures.

Conclusion

Selected Shorts’ episode “With A Little Help” masterfully interweaves diverse narratives that explore the multifaceted nature of assistance—whether it be familial, platonic, or stranger-based. Through humor, tension, and emotional depth, each story reveals the delicate balance between giving and receiving help, the misunderstandings that often accompany it, and the profound impacts it has on personal relationships.

Final Reflections by Meg Wolitzer:

• Meg Wolitzer: "When you think about it, help is often an evergreen theme for stories, whether that help is being given or being denied... The tensions lie in that need and whether it will be met, as we heard, in such different and distinctive ways in today's show." [57:31]

This episode underscores that help, in all its forms, is integral to the human experience, shaping our relationships and personal growth in unexpected ways.

Notable Quotes:

• "A supportive atmosphere or an unwanted intrusion?” — Meg Wolitzer [00:39]
• "You are a cautionary tale.” — Holly to Sarah [22:30]
• "Don't you think this is a little sudden?” — Nina Eloisa [44:15]

Production Credits:

• Produced by Jennifer Brennan and Sarah Montague
• Team includes Matthew Love, Drew Richardson, Mary Shimkin, Vivienne Woodward, and Magdalene Wrobleski
• Recordings by Myles B. Smith and Phil Richards
• Supported by the Dungannon Foundation and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts

Selected Shorts continues to enchant listeners with its curated selection of short stories, brought to life by exceptional performances. “With A Little Help” is a testament to the show's ability to illuminate the complexities of human relationships through the art of storytelling.