Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works in which characters have unusual friends who change their lives—whether they like it nor not. In “Unicorn Me,” by Elizabeth Crane, a magical box delivers a unicorn who offers ambiguous advice. Miriam Shor performs.A sentient cockroach intrigues and alarms a woman in “The Double Life of the Cockroach’s Wife,” by Helen Phillips.It’s performed by Sarah Steele. And the latest iPhone knows everything about you in Weike Wang’s “iPhoneSE,” performed by Dawn Akemi Saito. All three stories were commissions for SELECTED SHORTS’ anthology Small Odysseys.

Writer Deirdre Coyle’s fiction and essays have appeared in Electric Literature, Lit Hub, The New Republic, The Texas Observer, Hobart Pulp, and elsewhere. This story, "Stakes," was performed at a show at the Getty Center in L.A., at a show produced in conjunction with the online literary collective, Belletrist Book Club. If you don't know Belletrist, it was founded by committed friends and readers Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss. They recommend new works by an incredible collection of writers, host online conversations and foster a community of like-minded readers. Emma Roberts reads this story, and we feature an interview between host Aparna Nancherla and Karah Preiss in this episode.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two imaginative stories about different ways of thinking about coming together and what we celebrate when we do. In “On the Sudden Increase in Changeling Stock: A Report,” Daniel Lavery applies a statistical model where you would not expect to find one, with zany results.It’s read by Jin Ha. In our second work, master storyteller Ray Bradbury wildly reimagines the idea of “Homecoming,” in a story that first captivated reader Neil Gaiman when he was seven years old.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works about idealized lives, and ideas about what constitutes an “ideal” life. “Boy Meets Girl” is Jen Kim’s humorous version of a Hollywood love story. It’s read by Tony Hale. In the John Cheever classic “The Worm in the Apple” a couple have the perfect life—but no one can believe it. It’s read by Anne Meara. And a harried mother fantasizes about a brand new life in Vanessa Cuti’s “Our Children,” performed by Claire Danes, followed by an interview with Danes.

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