
Short Cuts
Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long.
Latest episodes

Oct 3, 2023 • 30min
Echoes
A simple object offers comfort and connection to a grandmother and a long line of Indian women; a wife uncovers the fingerprints her husband left on their world and with them, the microscopic details of grief; and an Urdu language lesson between a father and daughter reveals cultural loss and the father's longing to belong. Josie Long presents short documentaries that reverberate through time.Silver Cup: A Female Grammar
Written and produced by HJ Radia
With thanks to Laura Barton
In loving memory of J.K Dave (1956-2023)Fingerprints and Lightbulbs
Written and produced by Amanda Priestley22 Words
Featuring Safwat Saleem and his daughter
Produced by Safwat SaleemProduced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 26, 2023 • 29min
The Tipping Point
A small boy accidentally creates a vast new lizard population in his hometown, a sonic storm gathers and a writer takes his family on a precarious family boat trip. Josie Long presents short documentaries about situations tumbling out of control.Eight Go To Treasure Island
Written and read by Joe DunthorneA Mirror
Featuring Steve Urquhart
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
Featuring cellos by incidentalnoise
With thanks to Rosalind Jana for pointing out the poetry of the Beaufort ScaleLazarus Lizards
Narrated by Addie
Produced by Jennifer McCord and Carrie Ann WelshSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Sep 19, 2023 • 30min
Signal to Noise
Dr Theresa Marschall and Lizzy Dening discuss the unsettling experience of hallucinated sounds. Liza Yeager explores witchcraft and healing incantations in a German village. The speakers delve into their experiences with time and personal space. They also discuss grief, art, and overcoming death. Lastly, they explore rituals and sound art in nature.

Jul 25, 2023 • 29min
New Word Order
Made up, mixed or invented. Josie Long presents not-so-long-radio sound paintings melting how we use words to make space for who we want to be.A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening
Produced by Darragh Amelia
Featuring June Katz, Patricia Hirsch, poet Xiao Yue Shan, photographer Anna Francesca Jennings and historian Alma Simba.The Magic of Waves
Produced by Ève-Marie BouchéRemember There Is More
Produced by Tej Adeleye
Featuring activist Ngozi Alston, creator of the term Neuroexpansive; Dr Nick Walker, creator of Neuroqueer theory; Dr Ned Hallowell; Dr Keri Opai; Matana Roberts; Aiyanna Goodfellow, founder of Neuromancers and “a darling spook, writer, ghost whisperer, and friend".Produced by Axel Kacoutié
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 18, 2023 • 30min
Art
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures rediscovering the contexts that give cause to communities and their art. An Image Interrupted
Produced by Danny Greenwald
Featuring the voice of Taha Heydariàlá lo lá (You Dreamed a Dream)
Produced by Tobi Adebajo
Poems: In a Dream, Agbegbe T’ala, Safari Ya Siri
Sound Design by Tobi Adebajo
Music by Akin Euba, Nabalayo, petals and Tobi AdebajoBanned in America
Produced by Lucy Evans (they/them), also known as the drag king Sir Cum Sized (he/him).
Featuring interviews with:
Angelique Young-Cavalier (she/her), a Trans, Equal rights activist, Motivational Speaker and Drag Queen Entertainer Based in Tampa, Florida.
Jackie Rosebutch (they/them), a non-binary drag Goddex and environmental science enthusiast based in Missoula, Montana.
Maxi Glamour (they/them) @maxiglamour, a multidisciplinary artist at the intersection of high fantasy and social critique. Known as the Demon Queen of Polka and Baklava, Maxi Glamour uses demonological imagery as an allegory for how marginalised people are demonised by society, and wit and magic to examine the structural harm of oppression.
Bella DuBalle (she/her), a Show Director and Host at Atomic Rose in Memphis Tennessee, and also a licensed minister who has performed many weddings. Bella created and hosts “the Mid-South’s local RuPauls’s Drag Race", a competition called War of the Roses.
Bobby Pudrido (he/him), a Texas-based drag king and show producer who uses drag as a way to explore, blend, and showcase his queerness and Latine culture. In his drag show productions, Pudrido prioritises trans, gender diverse, black and brown drag kings and their accomplices as a way to push back against the erasure of these identities in mainstream culture.
Special thanks to Samara Slaughter (she/her), JD Miller (they/them), Butch Mermaid (they/them), Sam Bam Thankyoumaam (they/he), Hugh Mann Race (he/they), Puppi Love (she/they), Dick TransDyke (they/he), Problem Child (she/they), Luxury Bones (he/they) and Andie Sleaze (they/he) from New York the chorus of resistance heard at the beginning.Produced by Axel Kacoutié,
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

4 snips
Jul 11, 2023 • 30min
Soundscape
From the texture of silence to sonic disappearances, Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about the soundscapes we inhabit.Omissa Oloisaan
Produced by Miyuki JokirantaA Moonlit Memory
Featuring Salma Ahmed Caller
Sounds from YleArkisto, reinsamba, Benboncan, Julius_galla, Straget, FaireDesVagues and SoundLover16 on freesound.org
Produced by Taqwa SadiqSacha Taki
Featuring Jonathan Grefa, president of the Ancestral Kichwa Population of Kawsak Sacha (PAKKS - https://pakks.org.ec/), Rosa Santi, Education and Health Coordinator of PAKKS, Dr. Paola Moscoso, Director of Voces del Bosque and Graciela Tupay (singer)
With thanks to Amaru Grefa, External communication and media of PAKKS, Pastor Inmunda, ex-president of PAKKS, Didier Lacaze, Director of Sacha Warmi.
Rosa Canelos, Sacha Warmi, Dr. Alice Eldridge, University of Sussex, Gustavo Chiriboga, Voces del Bosque, Sozapato
With recordings from Voces del Bosque
https://www.vocesdelbosque.com/?lang=en
Produced by Mickal AranhaCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 4, 2023 • 29min
Memory
An in-patient in a spinal injuries unit reconnects with herself by learning to cook again after a life-changing injury, friends remember the musician Joe Scurfield and the archive of folk music he left behind, and a radio cantata in memory of 12 civilians killed by US forces in Iraq in 2007. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about remembering, relearning and commemorating. Canto I, Crazy Horse One-Eight
Produced and performed by Gregory Whitehead
Commissioned by Magz Hall for the 2014 Radio Dreamlands projectFeast
Produced by Bronwen LivingstoneThe Tunebank
Featuring Tim Dalling and Pete Challoner
Produced by Rowan Rheingans
Music performed by Joe Scurfield, Tim Dalling, Pete Challoner and Rowan RheingansProduced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jun 27, 2023 • 30min
Flow
From professional news watchers who speak each word aloud to melting ice, Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about the flow of stories through and around people.Melting
Produced by Jules BradleyCirculation
Field Recordings from InspectorJ, Zimbot, Dobroide, Tosha73 on freesound.org
Produced by Son HansonBikes Up Ben Nevis
Featuring Iain Lynn
Violin by Eloise Kenny-Ryder
Produced and composed by Calum PerrinCurated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jun 20, 2023 • 29min
Geographies
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures centred on a specific point on the map. An Arctic voyage that veers off track and echoes for years in the minds of its passengers, a baking hot summer evening in Suffolk, and an audio essay exploring the effect of environmental racism on memories of the West London town of Southall.At Sea
Featuring Dr Carol Cotterill, Liam Frost, Dan Harvey and the ship’s crew
Produced and read by Vicky Long8pm, rural village garden, Suffolk, UK on 19th July 2022
Produced by Melissa Harrison
Originally featured on the Field Recordings podcastThe Personal is Political
Written and read by Daljeet Kaur JutlaProduced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Jun 13, 2023 • 29min
Movement
The podcast explores the speaker's love for movement and its integration into their daily life, including dancing with their children. It also features snippets of conversations about shopping and attending the springy dance. The narrator reflects on the themes of movement and stillness, personal experiences with stillness, and the impact of an injury. The chapter delves into packing tips, childhood memories, and a journey of identity and multiculturalism.
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