A story is about games and game playing. This piece is by writer Maeve Dunigan and read by Susie Essman, the longtime stand-up comic who spent many years yelling at Larry David while playing Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Plus, host Aparna Nancherla talks to writer Meg Wolitzer about her love of word games.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in that look at some of the ways we “keep score” in life even though we know it’s not a game. Simon Rich explores the game as intergenerational competition in “The Tribal Rite of the Strombergs,” read by John Hodgman. In Dylan Marron’s “Some News,” a man carefully tracks an old friend on social media, while eyeing his own accomplishments. Marron is the reader. And Joanne Harris’ “Fule’s Gold,” a teacher tries to put himself on the board—by stealing points from an unwitting student. The reader is Gildart Jackson.

Guest host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories in which games are featured. Brian Agler’s “The Rules of this Board Game Are Long, But Also Complicated” speaks for itself as the unnamed host of game night makes it clear there is no way to win this one. Meg Wolitzer is the reader. In John Updike’s “Still of Some Use,” a family clears its attic of old games; memories and emotions surface, along with battered boards and random game pieces. The reader is James Naughton. In Susan Perabo’s “Some Say the World,” a fragile young woman holds the world at bay with Parcheesi. The reader is Colby Minifie.

On this week’s SELECTED SHORTS, Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that offer unpredictable life lessons, from characters who are adolescent, and those who love them—a little eccentrically. In “The Facts of Life,” by Anthony Marra, a preteen learns about the birds and the bees from an icon of ’90s masculinity. The reader is Santino Fontana. In “Leave Me in St. Louis,” by Tania James, sisters tap their way into a new life. The reader is Rita Wolf. And in Elizabeth McKenzie’s “Hope Ranch,” a granddaughter discovers that her grandmother is a road warrior. The reader is Mia Dillon.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories that reflect on the beauty and vulnerability of the natural world. In “Joyas Voladoras,” by Brian Doyle, we hear the many different heartbeats of the natural kingdom. The reader is Becca Blackwell. And a talking fox has a lot to tell us about reading aloud, shopping malls, and fried chicken “Fox 8,” a darkly funny fable by George Saunders read by John Cameron Mitchell. And we’re joined by the mother/daughter book club we’ve featured on a couple of earlier episodes, which discusses “Fox 8,” at the end of the show.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents works that reflect on the loss of love, creatively imagined by a quartet of thoughtful writers. In “The Space,” by Christopher Boucher, a lost love is replaced by—her absence. The reader is Rob Yang. In Wendi Kaufman’s “Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street,” the loss is the backstory, as a lively ‘tween, voiced by Donna Lynne Champlin, finds ways to deflect the emotional fallout from her father’s absence. Sharon Olds’ wrenching poem, “Last Look,” read by Jane Kaczmarek, is our palette clearer before we close with a Raymond Carver classic, “Why Don’t You Dance?” The couple idly roving a lawn sale don’t realize they are walking through the detritus of lost relationship. The reader is Corey Stoll.

Since political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics, it’s a good time for today’s story. And what makes it “too hot?” Well, some people find politics to be the dirtiest word of all. The author of the story is Carlos Greaves. The reader is Jon Cameron Mitchell. The episode is hosted by Aparna Nancherla.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two stories about objects of love, and feelings that can’t be returned, for very different reasons. In “A Love Letter” by Greg Ames, a boy falls head over heels in a crosswalk. Actor and Young Adult author Maulik Pancholy really captures teen ardor and angst in his reading. And in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Sugar Babies,” another teenager learns about adult responsibility from an everyday pantry staple. The reader is Sonia Manzano.

Meg Wolitzer presents four works drawn from an evening of satirical stories about American political history, hosted by Andy Borowitz. Nothing is sacred. First, Joe Yan imagines Abraham Lincoln, huckster, in “I’m Abraham Lincoln and I Beg Of You, Please Commemorate My Birthday With Mattress Sales,” read by Ikechukwu Ufomadu. In “Running for Governor,” Mark Twain imagines himself in the political horse race. The reader is John Cameron Mitchell. John and Abigail Adams had a famously happy marriage, despite often being apart, and why not imagine them taking advantage of the 18th century version of modern media options? That’s the premise of Alexandra Petri’s “John and Abigail Adams Try Sexting,” read by Ophira Eisenberg and Ikechukwu Ufomadu. And the show wraps with a piece by Borowitz himself, “A Very Nixon Halloween,” inspired by a photograph of Nixon as an awkward civilian after he left office. The reader is Caroline Aaron.