{"podcast":{"title":"Selected Shorts","slug":"selected-shorts-2124093","podcast_index_feed_id":2124093,"rss_url":"https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:84350815/sounds.rss","website_url":"https://itunes.com/selectedshorts","image_url":"https://i1.sndcdn.com/avatars-yCn4mB9PGy6HGkGm-yV7Yag-original.jpg","author":"Symphony Space","episode_count":265,"summary":"Spellbinding short stories by established and eme…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-31T06:17:23.000607+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/selected-shorts-2124093"},"episode":{"title":"Reality Checks","slug":"reality-checks","published_at":"2026-03-05T18:00:36+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/selected-shorts-2124093/reality-checks","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/selected-shorts-2124093","url":"https://soundcloud.com/selectedshorts/reality-checks-3","audio_url":"http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2277339506-selectedshorts-reality-checks-3.mp3","summary":"Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which reality contrasts with the dreams, perceptions, and actions of the characters. In “The Leap,” by Louise Erdrich, a mother’s unusual skill set changes the outcome of events. The reader is Elizabeth Reaser. In “Death and the Lady,” by Ben Loory, even the Grim Reaper harbors illusions. And his parents’ damaged marriage haunts an adult child in Delmore Schwartz’s “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities.” Both the Loory and the Schwartz are read by multi-talented actor Denis O’Hare, and Wolitzer talks to him about his craft.","meta_description":"Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which reality contrasts with the dreams, perceptions, and actions of the characters. In “The Leap,” by Louise…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3545,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/selected-shorts-2124093/episodes/reality-checks/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/selected-shorts-2124093/reality-checks.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}