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, including a mother-daughter bond that transcends death and the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild.

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
  • Zadie Smith
  • Richard Bausch
  • stories
  • relationships
  • death
  • history

Mentioned in this episode

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

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