In the first one, A.M. Homes’ “Adult Alone,” the married pair arrange, at long last, to have some quality time alone with each other. The kids are dropped off at Grandma’s and there is nothing to prevent them from doing exactly what they want to as much as they want to. In an interview with host Isaiah Sheffer that accompanies this story, Homes says she was interested in how a marriage can self-destruct. The reader is the always delightful Christina Pickles, five-time Emmy winner for St. Elsewhere.

Host Sheffer says he found himself going a little crazy reading “The Knocking,” David Means’ twisting and turning monologue about a man obsessed by his upstairs neighbor’s knocking — or is that what this story is about? Why does a failed marriage keep creeping into the diatribe? LISTEN TO THE SHOW