Bryan Washington Reads Yiyun Li
The author joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “A Small Flame,” which was published in The New Yorker in 2017.

January 1, 2026
Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever You Listen
Sign up to receive our weekly Books & Fiction newsletter.

Photograph by Cydney Cosette
Bryan Washington joins Deborah Treisman to read “A Small Flame,” by Yiyun Li, which was published in The New Yorker in 2017. Washington, a winner of the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, is the author of the story collection “Lot” and the novels “Memorial,” “Family Meal,” and “Palaver,” which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2025.
Read More
Under Review
[
The Best Books of 2025
](https://www.newyorker.com/best-books-2025#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The New Yorker’s editors and critics choose this year’s essential reads in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
The Writer’s Voice
[
Nell Zink Reads “The Welfare State”
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-writers-voice/nell-zink-reads-the-welfare-state#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The author reads her story from the December 29, 2025 & January 5, 2026, issue of the magazine.
The Writer’s Voice
[
Andrew Martin Reads “Risk, Discipline”
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-writers-voice/andrew-martin-reads-risk-discipline#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The author reads his story from the December 22, 2025, issue of the magazine.
The Writer’s Voice
[
Camille Bordas Reads “Understanding the Science”
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-writers-voice/camille-bordas-reads-understanding-the-science#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The author reads her story from the December 15, 2025, issue of the magazine.
Press Room
[
The Entire New Yorker Archive Is Now Fully Digitized
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/press-room/the-entire-new-yorker-archive-is-now-fully-digitized#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
For the first time, every cover, article, and issue in the magazine’s hundred-year history can be enjoyed on newyorker.com.
Poetry Podcast
[
Patricia Lockwood Reads Elizabeth Bishop
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/poetry/patricia-lockwood-reads-elizabeth-bishop#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The poet joins Kevin Young to read and discuss “In the Waiting Room,” by Elizabeth Bishop, and her own poem “Love Poem Like We Used to Write It.”
The New Yorker Radio Hour
[
Poetry as a Cistern for Love and Loss
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/poetry-as-a-cistern-for-love-and-loss#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi talks with Kevin Young, The New Yorker’s poetry editor, about their newest collection, “The New Economy,” and poetry’s role in addressing grief.
Puzzles & Games Dept.
[
Going to Press
](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/22/going-to-press#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
Can you make your way through The New Yorker’s labyrinthine offices before our printer shuts down for the holidays?
Critics at Large
[
Does “Hamlet” Need a Backstory?
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large/does-hamlet-need-a-backstory#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
“Hamnet,” a new film directed by Chloé Zhao, is a fictionalized account of how Shakespeare’s famous tragedy came to be. Is it reductive or revelatory?
Shuffalo
[
Shuffalo: Thursday, January 1, 2026
](https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/01/01#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
Can you make a longer word with each new letter?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
[
Chloé Zhao on “Hamnet,” Her Film About the Grief of William Shakespeare
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/chloe-zhao-on-hamnet-her-film-about-the-grief-of-william-shakespeare#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
The director talks with Michael Schulman about her new film, about the death of Shakespeare’s only son.
Mini Crossword
[
The Mini Crossword: Thursday, January 1, 2026
](https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/mini-crossword/2026/01/01#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_8a062542-6a81-4a44-9e5b-d072f5e82587_roberta-similarity1_fallback_text2vec1)
“Take a Chance on Me” band: four letters.