Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long - available to download as a podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mk3f8/episodes/downloads

Short Cuts

⁂ Charles Parker Prize 2015 — Silver Award ⁂

Two men come to terms with loss —  in an open, honest confrontation of memory and grief.

A programme about death as a part of living, about pain in remembering but also in forgetting. We are but passing clouds — in the vastness of the experiences we call life. 

From The Mourning Diary by Roland Barthes: 

“There is a time when death is an event, an adventure, and as such mobilizes, interests, activates, tetanizes. And then one day it is no longer an event, it is another duration, compressed, insignificant, not narrated, grim, without recourse: true mourning not susceptible to any narrative dialectic.” 

“How strange: her voice which I knew so well, and which is said to be the very texture of memory ('the dear inflection...'). I no longer hear. Like a localized deafness..”  

WITH
Stephen H.
Andrew Parr (Hypnotherapist)

ADDITIONAL MUSIC
audiography005 by sonicbrat 
audiography012 by sonicbrat 
E R 	by Sylvain Chauveau

The Trace of a Cloud in a Chest / Produced by Weidong Lin

An obscured target, a lost letter, a missed connection? This is a little audio poem for pleasure. Or something.

An Aquarian Request

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 performed by Vassily Primakov from the Free Music Archive

Piano in the Woods
Written and produced by Ross Sutherland
Featuring performances from the project Piano in the Woods by the improviser, artist and curator Sam Bailey. You can learn more about the project at pianointhewoods.com

Two, Three, Hup
Produced by Steve Urquhart
Featuring piano performances by Steve Urquhart

First broadcast 30th April 2024, BBC Radio 4
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall

S38: Short Cuts: A Piano 1/6

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 and Sasha Borzenko
Featuring Zehnya Feldman and Natasha Zotova

Higher Ground
Produced by Leila Goldstein
Featuring Winda Safitri, Yoppi and Naya Hidayatul Alialna

First broadcast 10th December 2024, BBC Radio 4
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié

S40: Short Cuts: Lost Futures 2/6

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

First broadcast 17th December 2024, BBC Radio 4
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

S40: Short Cuts: Feast 3/6

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

First broadcast 29th December 2024, BBC Radio 4
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft

S40: Short Cuts: Earth 5/6

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
Produced by Luke Green

Santa Calls
Featuring Matt Storrs
Produced by Talia Augustidis

First broadcast 24th December 2024, BBC Radio 4
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

S40: Short Cuts: Merry Christmas 4/6

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 Disarmament
With thanks to the British Library Sound Archive, and the family of John Hasted
Produced by Jonny Matfin

Perhaps at Midnight, When All Boundaries Are Lost
Produced by the Shortwave Collective

Good Company
Featuring Jesse Lawson, Izzy Yon and Femi Oriogun-Williams
Produced by Jesse Lawson

First broadcast 7th January 2025, BBC Radio 4
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Mix by Mike Woolley
Executive Producer: Alan Hall

S40: Short Cuts: Midnight 6/6

This was a finely crafted piece of imaginative radio, with a gentle, Zen-like contemplative quality.  Two men discuss death, and specifically the recent deaths of their mothers, in a piece that mixed amusing and sharply observed anecdotes with more mystical thought. “Very moving, slightly hypnotic, innovative and imaginative”, said one judge, while another observed that the maker “brings an oriental sensitivity and originality to the production, transforming the dialogue by subtle use of gongs and bells, drones JORDYand audio overlays.” The judges also praised “a great piece of straight interviewing given how much the man opened up.  A minor critique from the judges was that the title was rather too puzzling for its own good!

The Trace Of A Cloud In A Chest By Weidong Lin SILVER 2015

The sleeper train is a magic thing.
Here a bunk, there a bunk,
everywhere a folding table...

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Sounds from a trip to Ukraine...

/// TRACKLIST \\\

Phil Smith - Overnight Train, Odessa to Lviv (2017-06-26)
Zac Gvi - The Aftermath (reprise)
Phil Smith - Distant Train Station, Morning, Lviv (2017-06-24)
Mare Nostrum - Monteverdi: Si Dolce È Il Tormento (live bootleg)
Phil Smith - Thunder, Morning, Ivano Frankivsky (2017-06-23)
Phil Smith - Overnight Train, Snoring, Lviv to Odessa (2017-06-25)
Christina Pluhar / Philippe Jaroussky - Monteverdi: Si Dolce È Il Tormento
Phil Smith - Train, Lviv to Ivano Frankivsk (2017-06-21)
Troyka - Rest
Phil Smith - Train, Lviv to Ivano Frankivsk (2017-06-21)
José James - Bird of Space
Phil Smith - Rain on the Windscreen, Ivano Frankivsk To Lviv (2017-06-23)
Phil Smith - Brücke
Phil Smith - Train Station, Odessa (2017-06-26)
Naftule's Dream - Sitting in Some Train Watching the Tuscan Landscape Go Speeding Backward
Phil Smith - Overnight Train, Odessa to Lviv (2017-06-26)

NTS: Phil's Jazz Dis-junction [2017]

Jazz Dis-junction - Sleeper Train [NTS Radio, 2017-07-16]

This is a proof-of-concept pilot episode that was procedurally generated for county 1515459035. Sheldon County is a generative podcast about life a simulated American county that inhabits your listening device. It is a project of SHELDON, a computer program written by James Ryan (www.jamesryan.world). Music by Lee Rosevere. Coming 2019.

Seed #1515459035

Episode 1: A Nothing Place

A young teacher's daily struggles provide the backdrop for this harrowing reflection on the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In a move from journalism to drama, George departs with the documentary-style narration of previous episodes to deliver a heart-wrenching story of resilience and neglect in London's inner city. Enlisting the help of rising star Jade Alleyne, poet Sophia Thakur as well as his own brothers, Freddie, Michael and Kenny Mpanga, George introduces a small universe of characters whose witty exchanges offer insight into their respective environments. 

Featured songs:
Chika Dole - Touch
Abi Ocia - Running

Written by George the Poet
Produced by Benbrick and George The Poet
Original score by Benbrick

#HaveYouHeardGeorgesPodcast Episode 3 A Grenfell Story

Hope Chest returns with a new essay written at SPACE on Ryder Farm's Family Residency in July 2018. A week-long artist's residency for parents and their children, SPACE on Ryder Farm affords families that ever-elusive commodity that's so difficult for many artists to find, post-parenting: time. While there, Stacia writes to Story about how the culmination of her academic and professional decisions to date have led her to face some harsh realities of late.

Ep. 6 The Art of Knowing When to Retreat

Prix Italia, Jury Special Mention. Eliot Weinberger's long and continuing prose poem draws on reports, newspapers, official utterances and eye-witness accounts to paint a terrifying picture of the war in Iraq. Sound design / mix: Jon Nicholls.

What I Heard About Iraq

It's the first time I've gone into this much depth exploring who I am in front of a mic and I hope you find a bit of yourself in my little (re)discoveries.

FULL EPISODE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0007wvz?fbclid=IwAR2HuSUbv7eEI3GPFo6vHG687gRFW7NBggFcKRHzLAYrulDRF4Bp_B28i44

Full Episode

Short Cuts: How to Remember by Axel Kacoutié

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.

S38: Short Cuts: A Piano 1/6

Falling Tree Productions

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