They keep writing American history so we have to keep reducing it! Playwrights Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor discuss how they've updated The Complete History of America (abridged), which they wrote with Adam Long back in 1993. Reed and Austin share how Dee Ryan's recent one-hour production of the script was so helpful; how Reed discovered who the most pivotal figure in American history has been for the last 30 years; the challenges of keeping up just the last two weeks of American history; how the "Special Election Edition" that the RSC performs differs from the published version of the script; why Reed’s heavy teaching schedule prevents him from joining us on the road; and how adjunct professors are doing the Lord’s work (without the benefits). (Length 18:18)

Actor and comedian Stephnie Weir (Mad TV, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) discusses the origins of her one-woman show The West Texas Weirs, which she performs this weekend at Chicago's IO Theater. Stephnie shares how she grew up on a used car lot; how dealing with a complicated father made her the person she is today; the trick of navigating unconventional relationships with reality; how family vacations were planned around repossessing cars; the potentially NSFW origin of terms like "hunty” and "askholes;” how vowels are expensive; and how a comedic exorcism can help process our feelings about complicated men. (Length 18:06)

Novelist Louis Bayard’s new book The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts, depicts the fateful weekend in 1892 that spawned not only the comedy of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest but the tragic downfall of Oscar’s family. Bayard reveals how he walked that tonal line; how he's been in touch with Wilde’s still-living grandson; how he combined the historical romance of Courting Mr. Lincoln with the suspense and intrigue of The Pale Blue Eye; how it’s easier to depict famous characters through the eyes of their contemporaries; and how Constance Wilde finally glimpsed the flamboyant public persona of her otherwise devoted husband and father. (Length 19:31)