Extended Families

Extended Families

From Selected Shorts by Symphony Space

April 16, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

This episode features two stories that explore unusual family dynamics.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works with unusual family dynamics. In Zadie Smith’s “Grand Union,” the mother-daughter bond transcends death and brings with it a whole family history. The reader is Kaneza Schaal. And Richard Bausch’s “What Feels Like the World,” read by James Naughton, explores the bond between a grandparent and a grandchild.

People in this episode

Host: Meg Wolitzer

Guests: Kaneza Schaal, James Naughton

Topics covered

  • family dynamics
  • mother-daughter bond
  • grandparent-grandchild relationship
  • death
  • family history

Keywords

  • family
  • dynamics
  • mother
  • daughter
  • grandparent
  • grandchild
  • death
  • history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Grand Union, What Feels Like the World

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