BBC Radio 4

Composed this for a recent BBC Radio 4 Documentary
Written and produced by me.

Young(ish)

A noisy exploration of the world of British Roller Derby. In this documentary we skate alongside the London Roller Girls to catch a glimpse of a dynamic new expression of female identity.

First broadcast in May 2011, BBC Radio 4
Produced by Eleanor McDowall

Photo by Derek Bremner http://www.derekbremner.com/

Roller Girls

Sarfraz Manzoor talks to American students from two different universities who have opted for a racially segregated education, whether black or white.

First broadcast 29th February 2008, BBC Radio 4
Presented by Sarfraz Manzoor
Produced by Alan Hall

A Race Apart

A look at the history and evolution of the radio documentary feature, a hybrid form which can sometimes appear closer to music or poetry than to news reporting.

The list of contributors features some of the finest feature-makers of their generation, including Chris Brookes, Berit Hedemann, Kaye Mortley, Robyn Ravlich, Edwin Brys, Simon Elmes, Mark Burman, Sarah Taylor and Piers Plowright.

First broadcast 28th June 2008 BBC Radio 4
Produced by Alan Hall

The Ballad Of The Radio Feature

Sara Parker's investigation into the phenomenon of Internet Sleuths, amateur detectives - such as Todd Matthews of the Doe Network - who use the web to solve 'cold cases' and help police identify missing persons. 

First broadcast 24th April 2007 BBC Radio 4
Produced by Sara Parker

Internet Sleuths

"And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you..."

Late at night, the writer, audio artist and sleep-deprived parent of a newborn, Ross Sutherland, is staring into infinity...

"Usually, my phone becomes my window into a bigger world. Not just bigger- endless. Unmeasurably vast. You can scroll social media feeds forever and never hit the bottom of the chasm. I know it's objectively bad for me but I can’t stop myself. I'm craving endlessness- I need space! Vast, endless interior space... to compensate for the smallness of my waking days."

Sinking into the infinite scroll of his phone (a web design technique - created to encourage addiction as your webpage never ends...) he weaves a woozy, funny, adventurous audio essay through sonic experiments, illusions and mirror worlds that invite us to reckon with the infinite.

Including archive from ReThinking with Adam Grant 'Aza Raskin on why technology – and democracy– are in an imagination crisis' (courtesy of TED).

Original music composed by Jeremy Warmsley

First broadcast 1st September 2024, BBC Radio 4
Written and produced by Ross Sutherland

Infinite Scroll

We make documentaries and audio art for radio, podcasts and public spaces.

At the heart of what we do is a belief in the imaginative possibilities of radio. Sounds that can reconfigure the world around you, move you through inner landscapes, sink into your dreams.

We are an intentionally small company that considers carefully the creative, social and political aspects of the work we put out into the world.

Falling Tree has two full-time Directors – Eleanor McDowall and Alan Hall – and we work with freelancers across our projects, including the core Short Cuts production team of Alia Cassam, Axel Kacoutié and Andrea Rangecroft.

We are one of the founding signatories of the Equality in Audio pact. 

You can listen to hundreds of our documentaries in the free, online Falling Tree archive.

Infinite Scroll

Falling Tree Productions