Writer Sam Lipsyte‘s pitch-black comedies – like the acclaimed 2010 novel “The Ask” – are filled with lovable lowlifes and schemers. His new short story collection “The Fun Parts” carries on the tradition – with punchlines and gut-punches flying fast and furious. Today we overhear an excerpt from the story “The Republic of Empathy” about the joys of parenting. (It has been edited for time.)
On the "Mortified" podcast, brave adults read aloud the most embarrassing moments from their childhood journals. The show's inspired a new book called "My Mortified Life.” Listen to this favorite from the show, perfect for Halloween, about a middle school girl who desperately wanted to be a vampire in the 1990s.
David Litt penned some of former President Obama's most memorable speeches, including his comic turns at White House Correspondents' Dinners. The stories behind those speeches are the stuff of his new memoir, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years." Listen as he shares a tale that didn't make it into the book… maybe because it involves him stealing.