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 raise a parting glass. At Least Featuring Xelis de Toro Produced by Phil Smith Voice of Nuclear Dis...
Jan 07, 2025•35 min
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 Music by Sóley Produced by Rikke Houd Produced by Andrea Rangecroft Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleano...
Dec 29, 2024•28 min
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 You Music by The Enchanted Cinema Produced by Sarah Cuddon Miracle on the George Washington Bridge Pro...
Dec 24, 2024•31 min
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
Dec 17, 2024•29 min
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Merely an Adjective Produced by Zara Karschay Time Play by Chelsea Kigano, Lily Sloane, Lilia Vega, and Emily Shaw Originally made as part of The 24-Hour Radio Race from KCRW's Independent Producer Project Music and sound design by Lily Sloane, with Time Ain't Gonna Make Me Stay by Ed Andrews Special thanks to David Lee Letters Produced by Mika Golubovsky ...
Dec 10, 2024•29 min
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 Sami El-Enany Brücke Featuring Stephen Jenkinson Produced by Phil Smith Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Ele...
Dec 03, 2024•30 min
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 Egüez Guevara, co-founder and director of Comidas que Curan (Foods that Heal) Produced by Mickal Ara...
Sep 24, 2024•30 min
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 feat...
Sep 17, 2024•29 min
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 Apartment Written and produced by Emma-Lee Moss Music by Emma-Lee Moss and Nata Lee Hahn Love in the Tim...
Sep 10, 2024•29 min
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 Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Sep 03, 2024•29 min
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 Gregg and letters from www.dearmisterward.com Produced by Inge Oosterhoff Curated by Axel Kacoutié, ...
Aug 27, 2024•30 min
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 Red of Visibility Produced by Phoebe McIndoe With thanks to THE ECCO founded by Jasmin Bauomy, where ...
Aug 20, 2024•28 min
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 and Dr Travis Van Isacker from the University of Bristol The Quiet Violence of Dreams Produced by Kagi...
Jun 04, 2024•29 min
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 Whalley Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree pr...
May 28, 2024•29 min
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-time organiser with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and The LUNAR Collective, a volunteer with...
May 21, 2024•29 min
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 Charlton and Vicki Carter Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall A...
May 14, 2024•29 min
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 Gregor Quendel Mix by Lærke Soedring Nielsen Produced by Nanna Hauge Kristensen My Body is of Earth C...
May 07, 2024•29 min
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 piano performances from Mark Campbell and Songs Without Words composed by Felix Mendelssohn and performe...
Apr 30, 2024•29 min
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, Kandice Thompson and Jean Smart. All my friends are turning into Stars Written and performed by David ...
Feb 13, 2024•29 min
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 permission to include excerpts from The People's Cloud / Field Recordings of Internet Data Centres):...
Feb 06, 2024•29 min
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 of Kalli's parents, Kathy Hunt and Lance Anderson, as well as Kalli's husband, Zack Finkelstein, and...
Jan 30, 2024•29 min
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? Featuring Jules and Vital Produced by Eloise Stevens Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall an...
Jan 23, 2024•29 min
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 broadcast on BBC Third Programme in 1946 Hot Dogs! Presented by Alan Smith Produced by Steve Urquhart ...
Jan 16, 2024•29 min
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 Babette Mangolte Music by Nicola Mecca Produced by Georgia Walker What's in an Um? Produced by Talia...
Jan 09, 2024•30 min
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 diaspora, John Hay Library, Brown University, who recently curated an exhibition using Brown University’...
Nov 14, 2023•29 min
Getting lost in childhood longings, the search for the home we carry inside ourselves and exploring true sexual desire in a world shaped by media and societal pressures. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures that explore our desires. American Glove Cafe Featuring Conor O’Toole and Fán Written and produced by Conor O’Toole Are We There Yet? Featuring Angeliki Androutsopoulos, Garth Davis, Amira and Danita, plus recordings by Mary Hufford for The Library of Congress. Produce...
Nov 07, 2023•29 min
From a creature that leaps in the darkness of your basement to a fish that drains the life force of its partner - Josie Long presents creature features and creepy crawly short documentaries for Halloween. In Spirit Featuring James Maclaine, Senior Curator of Fish, at the Natural History Museum, London Produced and sound designed by Meera Kumar The Seventh Sense Thanks to Emma Rathbone, Gaye Williams, Ben Pagac, Mary Jane Epps, and everybody who shared a camel cricket story Music by Cue Shop, Big...
Oct 31, 2023•29 min
A remnant from the Cold War becomes an accidental haven for wildlife, a poet and a tree surgeon search for the roots of a metaphor, and a musician searches for an anchor to home. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about the ground beneath your feet. Always Moving Cello performed by Joe Reynolds Engineered by Yuri Shibuichi Composed and produced by Tendertwin (Bilge Nur Yilmaz) Memorial Landscape Featuring Kai Frobel Translator Jana Kosok Produced by Tom Phillips Poet / ...
Oct 24, 2023•30 min
Visions and out of body experiences during birth and a name that stretches back through time - Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about the experience of coming into the world. Transition Produced by Kalli Anderson and apè Aliermo Featuring excerpts from SIMULA, an 8.2-channel sound installation by apè Aliermo and mixed and mastered by Rose Bolton. This composition includes sound recorded during three anonymous births and electromagnetic sound recorded in a hospital dur...
Oct 17, 2023•29 min
Notes to Self and Sonic Symmetry. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures exploring what it looks like coming back to yourself. The News Produced by Jess Shane Featuring Jennifer Mills Drawn Onward Produced by Alan Goffinski and Sarita Bhatt Music, Mix and Sound Design by Alan Goffinski Man to Boy Produced by Christina Hardinge and Jack Miguel Featuring Jacob Kelly Music by Samuel Mumford Produced by Axel Kacoutié Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecr...
Oct 10, 2023•30 min
