Short Cuts

Josie Long presents a series of short documentaries and audio adventures inspired by the work of the Oulipo, a loose collective of writers and mathematicians who use playful constraints in their work to spark new ideas. The Oulipo's name - Ouvroir de littérature potentielle - roughly translates as 'the workshop of potential literature'. They have produced works such as Georges Perec's La Dispariti...

Falling space debris sparks an adventure across continents - and underpants dangling from a tree push a woman into a downward spiral. Josie Long presents short documentaries and adventures in sound about The Descent. The King and I Produced by Natalie Kestecher Skylab Featuring Stan Thornton Produced by Hannah Dean Seven Miles Deep Featuring Don Walsh Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer:...

Josie Long presents fragmentary short documentaries about lost memories. Searching for a half-remembered past, shape-shifting, elusive personal histories, forgetting yourself and a story of societal forgetting. Mother of Memory Produced by Nanna Hauge Kristensen Seven Magic Mountains Featuring Laura Barton The Trace of A Cloud In A Chest (extract) You can listen to the feature in full here: https:...

Josie Long presents short documentaries about people or places who become known for a single thing. From the contested title of Britain's most haunted village to a tender reflection on an actor defined by their most famous role. Most Haunted Produced by Ross Sutherland Babi Featuring Rosalind Jana The Bystander Featuring William Genovese Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer: Eleanor McDow...

Josie Long presents short Christmas-themed documentaries and adventures in sound. We hear from a long time resident of Santa Claus, Indiana, the comedian Mark Thomas offers a tender reflection on Away in a Manger, and Karolyn Grimes - the woman who played Zuzu Bailey in the festive classic It's a Wonderful Life - explores how it's interwoven with her life. The Chief Elf of Santa Claus, Indiana Fea...

Josie Long presents new short documentaries on searching for hope in the gathering darkness. John McCarthy and Brian Keenan look back on a single act of human kindness that glows amid much darker memories, a late night conversation explores the hope bound up in playing the lottery, and we hear as voices fade in a Danish hospice. The Gloaming Featuring John McCarthy and Brian Keenan Produced by Geo...

Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio adventures tied to the changing of the seasons. Laura Barton offers an ode to the sticky heat of summer, we hear the beat of hummingbird wings in autumn and a love story tied to cold British winters and Colombia's 'spring city'. On Music Overheard Produced by Phil Smith Heat Featuring Laura Barton Tiny Jalopy Produced by Michelle Macklem Olga P...

Navigating the technological nightmare of the afterlife, the feeling of weightlessness during a late night drive and finding yourself adrift at sea - Josie Long presents short documentaries and mini works of fiction about finding yourself untethered to the world around you. Please Hold (Extract) Originally made for the podcast 'Imaginary Advice'. Featured in the episode 'After This' Produced by Ro...

Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio essays about intertwining with another person. A father and son stare out to sea and talk about a lost love, a woman writes a letter to her young daughter unpicking the complex intersections between motherhood, art, selfhood and capitalism, and a widow finds an unusual spirit guide for her grieving. Victoria, My Spirit Widow Produced by Sophie...

Josie Long presents short documentaries about food - from congee on a mountaintop to the nightmarish consequences of a family dinner. The writer Jessica J Lee tries to recreate a vivid sensory experience and Australian audio-maker Mike Williams shares a visceral story of a Christmas Eve meal. Mutual Mastication Produced by Steve Urquhart The Nightmare Before Christmas Produced by Mike Williams Con...

Josie Long hears stories of crossing over to the other side - from radio waves permeating political barriers to the migratory routes of eels. Radio 100 Featuring Leslie Rosin, Cornelia Saxe and Gregor Schuster Produced by Leo Hornak The Other Side Featuring Laura Barton The Last Night Featuring Anny Shaw Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production for...

The lust to escape your life, gifts that make you feel misunderstood and a mystery with an elusive man at it's centre - Josie Long unfurls stories of mistaken identity. The writer Nikesh Shukla and his friends, Nick Hearne and Robbie Lingham, talk about the frustrating mysterious character who entered their lives after they sent a lamb chop into space. The Australian producer Natalie Kestecher is...

Josie Long hears stories of observation - from glimpsing who you might become to an artist who secretly surveilled her father. Rosalind Jana explores the crackle of possibility and hope in a love story observed across a crowded room, Johanna Heldebro talks about her art project - To Come Within Reach of You - in which she followed and photographed her father, and Sarah Algashgari talks about worki...

A porcine presidential campaign, the feeling of freedom in a communal action and a Danish poet who helps you re-imagine the world - Josie Long hears stories of small radical acts. Comedian and activist Mark Thomas talks about the feeling of liberty on a city street flooded with bicycles, we explore how Inger Christensen's words have fed into the imaginations of Danish activists, and we hear about...

Josie Long presents short documentaries about creating something out of nothing, fresh starts and the beginning of the end. From a band that existed before they'd ever met each other to the new beginnings which bring sweet, if painful, endings in a relationship between a mother and daughter. The Dandelion Adventure Produced by Geoff Bird Good Year for the Roses Produced by Sophie Townsend Meteor S...

A dream-like journey, a man trying to prove he hasn't died and a reflection on a eulogy. Josie Long presents documentaries where words linger long after they're uttered. Featuring the voices of the oral historian Studs Terkel, recorded a couple of years before he passed away, and the writer Julia Cooper, finding the words she wished she could offer her younger self. A Taxi Stops Produced by Rikke...

From tree climbing to getting lost in the forest, Josie Long ventures into the woods. Featuring Sook-Yin Lee on the wild forest of her childhood, the musician and radio producer Phil Smith on the love and freedom of clambering amid the branches, and a mother and daughter losing themselves amongst the trees. Climb Featuring Jochen Raiss and Leah Produced by Phil Smith Lost Featuring Rachel and Caro...

Josie Long hears stories drawn from the silver screen. Luke Skywalker helps Joe Dunthorne reckon with his own mortality, the writer Ross Sutherland explores the hidden history of the audience and Amanda Foster offers an insight into the life of a stuntwoman. Luke Deathbringer Featuring Joe Dunthorne Body Double Featuring Amanda Foster Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Hollywood Forever Featuring Ross...

Josie Long presents short documentaries and stories about the quest for resolution. Years spent in search of a solution to Elgar's Enigma, an adult seeks an answer to a childhood letter and a mother records her young son's responses. The Being Sound Produced by Stephanie Rowden Get Pierced Produced by Duncan Cowles Counter Melody Featuring Bob Padgett (who runs the website The Enigma Theme Unmaske...

A quiet walk through an abandoned prison camp in darkness, late night ambient sound in the Maasai Mara - Josie Long listens for sounds in the hush of the night. Silent Night Featuring Carl Cattermole Produced by Thomas Glasser and based on his documentary for National Prison Radio, Sounds Inside Crickets - Night - Maasai Mara Produced by Jonathan Zenti Ambient Sir Featuring Jordan Scott Jordan Sco...

Josie Long presents short documentaries and stories about unearthly happenings - from the myths surrounding Lake Stechlin, which is said to boil whenever a major catastrophic event happens anywhere in the world, to an uneasy evening at a conference for exorcists. Possession Produced by Geoff Bird Psychic Blob Originally made for KCRW's Radio Race Music by The Black Spot Produced by Jeff Entman Lak...

Blue skies, a rainbow of strangers and lipstick shades weave through today's short documentaries about colour. Josie Long explores how it affects the way we experience the world. Blue Featuring Laura Barton Lipstick Featuring Davia Nelson Produced by Benjamen Walker I Know Light Now Featuring Vanessa Potter Produced by Leila Hussain Ring a Rainbow Produced by Dennis Funk Series Producer: Eleanor M...

From an island which resists invasion to a beloved city in which you can't be free - Josie Long presents a series of short documentaries where the landscape becomes a character. Ribbon Gums Produced by Sophie Townsend Resistance Featuring Lars Christian Kofoed Romer and Viola Produced by Rikke Houd Mosul Eye Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production...

Love lost and found, a lingering goodbye and the after image of a loved one - Josie Long presents stories of holding on. From the echoes of a partner that linger after their death to an extraordinary tale of love regained after fifty years apart. Her Name Was Jean Featuring Dennis Vinar, Karen Lehmann Vinar and Jean Voxland Produced by Andrea Rangecroft The Awkward Goodbye Produced by Duncan Cowle...

A two-decade long commitment to writing a new Christmas standard, an Icelandic documentary fairytale and the comedian Mark Thomas feature in Josie Long's festive documentary special. The Night Before the Night Before Christmas Featuring Seymour Sarnoff Song performed by Jennifer Sheehan, arranged by Peter Millrose and written by Seymour Sarnoff Produced by Alex Lewis Solla Decorates for Christmas...