Short Cuts

Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures as the clock slips closer to midnight. In the last Short Cuts on BBC Radio 4, 13 years after the broadcast of our first ever episode 'Misadventures', we listen to radio waves after dark with the Shortwave Collective, tumble into a radio poem alongside a sleeping child, tune into a late night pirate radio station from the early 1960s, and...

A friendship forged working the land, memories of volcanic eruptions from 800,000 years ago frozen in Antarctica’s ice cores, and the importance of wild, patient gardens. Short documentaries presented by Josie Long that rise up from the earth. Wintering Music by Jules Bradley Produced by Jules Bradley Melt Tones Featuring Dr Dieter Tetzner Produced by Anton Spice Sue’s Garden Featuring Sue Trolle...

A criminal defence lawyer finds a surprising new job foisted upon him and a son attempts to recover his joyfulness on a family holiday. Josie Long presents short festive documentaries and merry sonic adventures. Family Yoga Produced by Kit Callin A Conversation with my Mum at Christmas Featuring Rhik Samadder A version of this story first appeared in Rhik Samadder's memoir, I Never Said I Loved Yo...

Feeding the birds, sharing meals and chaotic menus - Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about eating together. Bird Feeder Produced by Stella Sims And to Start... Produced by Mae-Li Evans Foodhall Produced by Nadia Mehdi Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

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Merely an Adjective Produced by Zara Karschay Time Play by Chelsea Kigano, Lily Sloane, Lilia Vega, and Emily Shaw Originally made as part of The 24-Hour Radio Race from KCRW's Independent Producer Project Music and sound design by Lily Sloane, with Time Ain...

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 Anderson Lunar 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 3 Beneath Produced by S...

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, Kenya The Final Breath Featuring Robin Elms Produced by Kendra Hanna and Max Jungreis El Manglar Featuring Paolo Realpe, founder of Muisne Desde Adentro Special thanks to Dr. Pilar...

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...

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 Dixon Nat’s Apar...

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 Anderson Loose Ends Produced by Jon Tjhia There's Always a Next Time Produced by Steve Urquhart Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A F...

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 Kristensen News to the Moon and Back Recordings courtesy of the NASA archive Produced by Mika Golubovsky The Complaints Department Featuring Evan...

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 Pyramid Green Flash Written by Joe Dunthorne R...

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 1964 Zero Fixation Points Produced by Nada Smiljanic Location production by Avi Varma Archive courtesy of Rowan Farrell Featuring Professor Bridget Anderson an...

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 Merseyside A Corner Seat in a Smoker, Facing the Engine Produced by Robin the Fog Echoes of Cockney Produced by James Trice Panchiko Produced by Tom Whall...

Life and love. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures exploring the language of care. Life or Death By Marc Kalani Featuring Cessie Alfonso and Carmeta Albarus author of The Making of Lee Boyd Malvo: The D.C. Sniper. Buzz By Luca Evans (they/them) Featuring Joules Huang Duze (they/them) and Smokey Black (he/they) Additional recording by Aisha Lomax (she/her). Joules is a part...

In water, on wheels or explained over the phone - Josie Long presents short documentaries about moving our bodies. Field Notes Featuring Hannah Kezema Produced by Jess Shane and Kristine White Instructions for Returning to My Body Gamelan music courtesy of Nusantara Produced by Kia Miakka Natisse The Pink Flamingo Featuring Peter Prijdekker Sound Recording by Edd Kentish Produced by Hunter Charlto...

Two men on different continents share a love of butterflies, a swimming instructor seeks solace in the water and we dive inside an inner landscape. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures that emerge from the earth, water and sky. Psalm Featuring Emil Blicher Bjerregaard and Mudar Salimeh Inspired by the poem Psalm written by Wisława Szymborska Music by Simon don Eriksen and G...

A grand piano slowly climbs the stairs in Glasgow, a man in Brighton keeps finding his upright pianos going missing, a piano decays slowly in the woods while a grandson finds himself thrust into the role of a ship's pianist. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures with a piano at their heart. Pianos Aren't His Forte Featuring Mark Campbell Produced by Phil Smith Including pian...

Chrononormativity, duppies and post-colonial thought. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures exploring beyond the past, present and futures. Language in the Land of Duppies: Exploring the origins of Jamaican folklore as a gateway to understanding the legacy of slavery on the island. Produced by Laura Carty Special thanks to Alexander Powell, Carmen Johnson, Natalia Downer, Ka...

Word spirits, back rooms and a reply all-pocalypse - Josie Long presents short documentaries that emerge from the internet. Word Spirits With thanks to Caroline Hesse, Donovan McGrath, Mary Dolejsi, Nicole Reinsch, Nalini Kumari, Zen Priest & Buddhist Scholar John Stevens (for permission to include his Classical Aikido Kototama Chant), and Critical Sound Explorer & Artist Matt Parker (for...

Josie Long presents short documentaries that go back to the start. The musician Lucinda Chua traces the journey of a rose, a connection is forged between a young woman now and a trapeze artist on New Year's Eve 1942, and a touching personal archive illuminates the journey of a word. Muscles and Mysteries Produced by Teresa Kristoffersson First Words Produced by Kalli Anderson Featuring the voices...

A couple looks for each other in their dreams, a research facility delves into the otherworldly, and a philosopher imagines a flow of time set to the rhythm of our rivers - Josie Long presents short documentaries that emerge from the dreams of others. River Time Featuring Jonathon Keats Produced by Nadia Mehdi Haunted Featuring Linda Fleishman Produced by Elizabeth Friend Darling, Are You Dreaming...

A pamphlet from the 1980s illuminates the world we live in now, a musical invitation for your domestic space, and some dazzling canine choreography for your ears. Josie Long presents short documentaries based around instructions. How to Listen... including How Not To, How You Ought To, and How You Won't (Extract) Written by Stephen Potter and Joyce Grenfell Produced by Stephen Potter Originally br...

The moment of time before a camera shutter closes, a symphony of ums reveals a partner's untruths, and two women linked by a phantom thread reflect on their changing bodies. Josie Long presents even shorter short documentaries. Is This An Image? Produced by Jon Tjhia Death from Above Written and read by Joe Dunthorne Body of Work Featuring the voices of writer Marleen Kruithof and cinematographer...

Liminal prose and cryptic hotlines. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures navigating our relationship and imaginations to history collecting. The Flight of Sankofa Produced by Weyland Mckenzie-Witter Featuring Lisa Anderson, the Director of the Black Cultural Archives, Dr Etienne Jospeh of Decolonising the Archive and Christopher West the inaugural curator for the Black dias...