Radio Prague International dedicated a podcast to a short story by Karel Čapek titled “On the Decline of the Times.” Čapek’s Apocryphal Tales (1932) is a collection of short pieces such as this that he composed in the 1920s and early 1930s. The translation is by Vít Pohanka, who reads the story, and is followed by some details on Čapek’s life and work.

It deals with the recurring belief that “times aren’t what they used to be” — the idea that the present is somehow worse than the past. … A little teaser: you’ll meet old caveman Janeček and his sharp-tongued wife, sitting outside their cave one sunny October day. The hunters are away, the women are gathering berries, and the children are — as always — getting into trouble somewhere nearby. As the couple chats, their complaints tumble out: the younger generation doesn’t know how to make a proper spear, they rush through scraping hides, they waste time drawing bison on cave walls, and worst of all, they’ve picked up strange new habits from “foreigners.”

As Pohanka notes, Čapek’s humor is perfect for a lighthearted summer read (or in this case, listen). The article can be found here and listened to at their website, downloaded, or played in one of the many formats listed at the bottom of the article.