Episode
I Contain Multitudes
- Podcast
- Selected Shorts
- Published
- Feb 5, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3521
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/selected-shorts-2124093/episodes/i-contain-multitudes/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/selected-shorts-2124093/i-contain-multitudes.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that demonstrate the ways in which characters—like all of us—can play many different roles in one another's lives, and in the world around us. Cherline Bazile’s “Tender,” which guest editor Min Jin Lee included in Best American Short Stories 2023, reflects the contradictory nature of friendship. It’s read by Anna Uzele. And our second story, Grace Paley’s “The Contest,” reflects the contradictory nature of courtship, as the bewildered narrator is alternatively flattered and bullied by a girl with way more on the ball than he has. He tells us so himself, in the voice of actor Justin Bartha.