

Short Cuts
BBC Radio 4
Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 10, 2024 • 29min
Lost Futures
Time capsules and yesterday's dreams of tomorrow, Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures exploring lost futures.That’s Merely an Adjective
Produced by Zara KarschayTime Play by Chelsea Kigano, Lily Sloane, Lilia Vega, and Emily Shaw
Originally made as part of The 24-Hour Radio Race from KCRW's Independent Producer Project
Music and sound design by Lily Sloane, with Time Ain't Gonna Make Me Stay by Ed Andrews
Special thanks to David LeeLetters
Produced by Mika Golubovsky and Sasha Borzenko
Featuring Zehnya Feldman and Natasha ZotovaHigher Ground
Produced by Leila Goldstein
Featuring Winda Safitri, Yoppi and Naya Hidayatul AlialnaCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 3, 2024 • 30min
Into the Night
Siren song, lunar eavesdroppers and the gathering dark - Josie Long presents short documentaries about venturing into the night.Siren Song
Featuring melancholydi
Produced by Kalli AndersonLunar Eavesdroppers
An extract from Space Ham, first broadcast in BBC Radio 3's Between the Ears
Produced by Rose de Larrabeiti and Caroline Devine
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 3Beneath
Produced by Sami El-EnanyBrücke
Featuring Stephen Jenkinson
Produced by Phil SmithCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 24, 2024 • 30min
The Forest
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures that venture into the forest.Searching for Eden
Written, performed and composed by Nyokabi Kariũki
Drums - Chris O'Leary
Field Recordings taken in Mũrang'a, KenyaThe Final Breath
Featuring Robin Elms
Produced by Kendra Hanna and Max JungreisEl Manglar
Featuring Paolo Realpe, founder of Muisne Desde Adentro
Special thanks to Dr. Pilar Egüez Guevara, co-founder and director of Comidas que Curan (Foods that Heal)
Produced by Mickal AranhaCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 17, 2024 • 29min
A Word
Wishes, wonders, and wisdom. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures uncovering the power of words.mother-house by produced by Catherine Boulle.
Inspired by the guided visualisations accompanying the book 'Motherhood: Is it for me?' by Denise L. Carlini & Ann Davidman.Weird World Whimsy produced and composed by Suzie McCarthy.
Featuring actor, teacher and director, Mary Lou Rosato.
Interview recording by audio producer Donelle Wederburn in New York City.
The piece featured a canoe trip on the Tapiskwan Sipi, which runs through Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok territory in the unceded province of Quebec.
Special thanks to Nina Garthwaite, Tom Todoroff, Emily Moulton, Katherina Lindekens and Emma Lehman from Noise Club.Buranbur: a comfort in words by audio maker and producer Suhaar Ali.
Featuring the first Somali woman elected to the cabinet, Fadumo Aalin, who talks about her mother and poet Hawo Jibril.Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 10, 2024 • 29min
Sound Waves
Trying to capture a lost homeland on tape, reclaiming urban landscapes through the sound of skateboarding, and the noise that is one of the great equalisers of the world. Short documentaries that ripple through space - presented by Josie Long.Sonic Skateboarding
Produced by Alice Boyd and Tom Critchley
Featuring Ben Dixon, Tom Critchley, Hannah, Zip and Bleu
Music composed by Ben DixonNat’s Apartment
Written and produced by Emma-Lee Moss
Music by Emma-Lee Moss and Nata Lee HahnLove in the Time of Flatulence
Featuring Alison Downham Moore, Noam Osband, Zebulon Osband and Dahlia Osband
Written and produced by Noam OsbandProduced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 3, 2024 • 29min
In Time
Josie Long presents short documentaries against the clock in an episode around time and timing.Dad's Secret Life of Matchmaking
Produced by Josephine Anderson
Additional sound recording by Christopher AndersonLoose Ends
Produced by Jon TjhiaThere's Always a Next Time
Produced by Steve UrquhartCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 27, 2024 • 30min
Constellation
Star maps, messages from Earth to the moon and reaching out across distance as Josie Long presents short documentaries about constellations.Star Map
Featuring Ferdinand Hauge Leth
Music by Kirstine Lindemann
Captured by Trawl Hz
Produced by Nanna Hauge KristensenNews to the Moon and Back
Recordings courtesy of the NASA archive
Produced by Mika GolubovskyThe Complaints Department
Featuring Evan Gregg and letters from www.dearmisterward.com
Produced by Inge Oosterhoff Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 20, 2024 • 28min
In Colour
A black and white film transformed, searching the sunset for the green flash and a reimagining of red. Josie Long presents a kaleidoscopic collection of short documentaries.Autism Plays Itself
Adapted for radio by Jodie Taylor and Janet Harbord
Based on the short film directed by Janet Harbord, produced by Whalebone Films and sound designed by Action PyramidGreen Flash
Written by Joe DunthorneRed of Visibility
Produced by Phoebe McIndoe
With thanks to THE ECCO founded by Jasmin Bauomy, where a version of this documentary was first createdCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jun 4, 2024 • 29min
The Invisible
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures which emerge from dreams, hidden places and the afterlife.The Dreams (Extract)
From Inventions for Radio by Barry Bermange and Delia Derbyshire
Originally broadcast on the BBC in 1964Zero Fixation Points
Produced by Nada Smiljanic
Location production by Avi Varma
Archive courtesy of Rowan Farrell
Featuring Professor Bridget Anderson and Dr Travis Van Isacker from the University of BristolThe Quiet Violence of Dreams
Produced by Kagiso MnisiFragments
Produced by Eleanor McDowallCurated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

May 28, 2024 • 29min
Lost
Evaporating answers, mysterious music and disappearing dialects - Josie Long presents short documentaries about things in danger of becoming lost.Pot-8-Toes
Featuring Billy Butler and Wally Scott
Originally broadcast in Hold Your Plums on Radio MerseysideA Corner Seat in a Smoker, Facing the Engine
Produced by Robin the FogEchoes of Cockney
Produced by James TricePanchiko
Produced by Tom WhalleyCurated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4