Show #241 on April 5, 2020…In which Mr. Bear continues to read from “Dear David,” Yael van der Wouden’s inspiring advice column at Longleaf Review. Dealing with rejection? Living in a global pandemic? This installment offers hope and compassion in its words of counsel.

Show #240 on March 29, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads from “Dear David,” Yael van der Wouden’s marvelous advice column at Longleaf Review. Let Sir David Attenborough soothe you with animal facts—did you know that rats laugh when tickled?—and life insights that manage to be profound, cryptic, and healing.

Show #239 on March 15, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads the haunting work of Claire Polders. The weight—both anchoring and smothering—of mundane routines, the things and people fences keep in and out, the repercussions of killing a moth, a mother’s grief, a last meal: these stories examine the fragility and resilience of life, the uncertainty of our human existence.

Show #238 on March 8, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads two more fairy tales: “The Bird of Truth” and “The Frog and the Lion Fairy.”

Show #237 on March 1, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads two fairy tales, “The Nettle Spinner” and “The Girl-Fish.”

Show #236 on February 23, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads tenderly riveting work by Nikoletta Gjoni. The life of a “good girl” and the longing called forth by a piano, one man’s attempt to flee an Albanian prison camp, a new take on Lady Godiva, and the memories held in a cup of tea: these works explore freedom, family, friendship, folklore, and more.

Show #235 on February 16, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads haunting work by Morgan Talty. Cigarettes and coffee, rivers that will drown you, bridges to nowhere, cycles of pain, ghosts that won’t leave—these stories explore the weight of family secrets and sadness and trauma that crosses generations.

Show #234 on February 9, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads the mesmerizing work of Kelsey Ipsen—stories populated by aliens, dead foxes, bird-humans, wild girls, dangerous forests, and the dark heart of hope.

Show #233 on January 26, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads from Jayne Martin’s “Tender Cuts,” a series of tiny flashes with big feelings populated by beauty queens, BFFs, parental ghosts, liberated women, sexy lobsters, and more.

Show #232 on January 19, 2020…In which Mr. Bear reads selections by Dallas Lore Sharp on the “large, free, strong, fierce, wild soul of Winter.” Birds’ nests, tracks in the snow, tree skeletons, the microscopic world of snowflakes, life beneath the ice, blustery north winds, the hush of soft white falling, and more—here is a poetic mini-guide to exploring the season.