Short Cuts

Secret languages, loving acts of translation and musical instruments with an unrecognised power - Josie Long presents new documentaries about translation.From the man who introduced a poet to Iran through a tender act of love for his father, to a debate about breaching the peace.The Stash Featuring Lou Savelli Music by the Cabinet of Living Cinema Produced by Sarah CuddonBe Myself Featuring Joe Benjamin Produced by Tayo PopoolaDays of Razors, Nights Full of Rats Featuring Sahand and Ali Sahebdivani Produced by Maartje DuinSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2017.

Escape artists, losing control of your body and losing yourself in water - Josie Long takes a twilight stroll across Hampstead Heath while she presents stories of movement.Pond Featuring Jessica J LeeMovement Featuring Ian Waterman Produced by Rachel Simpson Original interview recorded for the Empathy MuseumLake Featuring Jessica J LeeEinstein Produced by Rikke HoudSea Featuring Jessica J LeeSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2017.

A disembodied voice, digital ghosts and the contraptions we build that alter our humanity - Josie Long presents new short documentaries about machines.We hear from the voice of Siri in the UK about losing control of what you say. Also - the story of a digital version of yourself outliving you and our relationship to the tools we build and the scars they leave.Daniel Produced by Andrea RangecroftReplika Produced by Charles Maynes and Mika Golubovsky15 Years Produced by Shereen Ashman, Michelle Macklem and Daniel GuillemetteSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2017.

Josie Long hears stories of heartbreak. Difficult love, women encoded in music and rebuilding yourself after you've been broken.Laura Barton offers a tender exploration of complex, enduring love, Natalie Kestecher rebuilds herself after a sudden shock and we dive into the sound of heartache.Tough Love Featuring Laura BartonTwenty-Three Produced by Alan HallKintsugi Dog Produced by Natalie Kestecher Mix by Steven TilleySeries Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

Josie Long hears stories of duets, the perfect conversational dance and gatecrashing honeymoons. She also talks to the other half of her long-running comedy partnership - Robin Ince.The poet John Osborne delves into late night radio phone in conversations, the artist Duncan Speakman invites the listener to engage in a duet and Phil Smith intrudes on a romantic moment.Towards Produced by Phil SmithA Duet for Here and There Written and produced by Duncan Speakman With conceptual development by Tineke De MeyerLate Night Radio Phone In Written by John OsborneSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2017.

A memory caught in a childhood drawing and a repeat encounter which offers hope at a point of despair - Josie Long explores the afterimage left by moments that touch us.We hear from Sion Jair who climbs mountains as a way to cope with disappearing memories. Sophie Townsend finds an image from her daughter's childhood, which captures a difficult moment from their past. And Dylan Park, five years after his first deployment to Iraq, finds an unexpected reminder of his first tour in Arizona.Brahim Featuring Dylan ParkMr Fix-It Produced by Sophie TownsendMountains Featuring Sion Jair Produced by Andrea RangecroftSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2017.

Josie Long hears stories of bearing witness - from glimpsing the moment a parent changes to escaping a violent storm.Witness Featuring Lois Gibson Produced by Andrea RangecroftTornado Featuring David Walker, Lindsay Martindale and Tobey Walker Produced by Ibby Caputo Music SFX from theming, digifishmusic, wjoojoo, davethetech, fridobeck, InspectorJ and Robinhood76Scaffold Featuring Mark Thomas Produced by Sarah CuddonSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2017.

Josie Long hears stories of our desire to pause - from dismantling a house which seems stopped in time to the difficulties of watching your child grow up.The House by the Creek Produced by Sophie TownsendPony Produced by Ibby CaputoPrivate Black Motherhood and Public White Protest Originally made for the Hope Chest podcast https://stacialbrown.com/tag/hope-chest-podcast/ Produced by Stacia BrownSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2017.

Defiantly staring down neo-Nazis, unwanted family portraits and a photographer searching for his subject years later - Josie Long presents new short documentaries inspired by images.Woman in the Photo Produced by Andrea RangecroftResistance Featuring Tess Asplund Produced by Andrea RangecroftFamily Portrait Featuring Chimene Suleyman and Recep Süleyman ŞehitoğluSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2017.(Photo credit: Nathan Edwards/News Corp Australia)

Josie Long presents documentaries where reality takes on a magical aspect - tales of snake-filled American towns, a visit to a shaman and of crashing back down to earth.The Curve of the Earth Produced by Stephanie Rowden http://www.stephanierowden.comThe Shaman Produced by Rikke HoudSnake Pit, Waurika Produced by Sarah GeisMagical Realism Produced by Phil SmithSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2017.

Personality tests, tests of character and knowing how to cheat. Josie Long presents stories of people testing their mettle.The writers Ross Sutherland and Joe Dunthorne examine the Sutherland-Dunthorne luck index to see why one's success seems to mean the other's failure. James Acaster embarks on a quest in search of connection and oversized novelty letters, and we hear the story of two men who knew how to deceive the people examining them.The Wow Scenario Featuring James AcasterProject Alpha Featuring Mike Edwards Produced by Claire CroftonThe Sutherland-Dunthorne Inverse Proportional Luck Index Featuring Joe Dunthorne and Ross SutherlandSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2017.

Josie Long presents stories of messages sent across borders. Unsent postcards, a last message and the journey for home.An old handwritten note, in pursuit of a woman who ran away, leads to a town submerged in water; the writer Laura Barton discovers a tranche of muted, unsent missives in a storage box; and we hear the voices of those who are far from home.Dear Martha Produced by Rikke HoudEnvision Yourself a Free Man First made as part of the Restorative Radio project http://www.restorativeradio.org/audio-postcards-2/ Produced by Sylvia RyersonA Very Different Time Produced by Phil SmithUnsent Featuring Laura BartonSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

"We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is."Josie Long presents short documentaries and radio adventures in the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut, shortly before the tenth anniversary of his death - from peculiar travel suggestions to the kindness contained in a library. The writer Joe Dunthorne also engages Vonnegut in a dialogue, inspired by God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian.We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is. Produced by Phil SmithPeculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God Featuring Roger Haworth, Evan Doorbell and Mark Bernay Produced by Cicely FellReporter on the Afterlife Featuring Joe Dunthorne and Kurt VonnegutSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallAFalling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2017.

How do we talk to people we disagree with? How do we learn to listen? Josie Long presents short documentaries and stories about communicating across the divide. From the holocaust survivor who's dedicated her life to talking to those who hurt her to the musician who believes the world can be understood through the medium of counterpoint.Counterpoint Featuring Giovanni Dettori Produced by Rachel SimpsonIsolated Incidents Featuring Nikesh Shukla A version of this story was first published on Burnt Roti. http://www.burntroti.com/blog/isolated-incidentsForgiveness Featuring Eva Kor Produced by Claire CroftonSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2017.

Josie Long hears stories of courage, fresh hope and pinball wizardry - from two lawyers who pursue a sudden courageous career change in middle age to the pursuit of new love after loss.The items in the programme are:Go For It! Featuring Rev. Zenji Nio Produced by Just Be CuzGeis and Geis: Pinball Machine Distributors Featuring Ruth and Jim Geis Produced by Sarah GeisLeap Featuring Laura BartonThe Understudy Produced by Sophie Townsend with Mira Burt-Wintonick and Cristal Duhaime Originally made for the CBC podcast series Love Me http://www.cbc.ca/radio/loveme/episode-7-make-believe-1.3681206Series Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2017.

Josie Long presents documentaries about time and timing. From losing your grasp on the passing hours to a childhood fear of Sundays - how our experience of time gets under our skin.The features in this programme are:Tick Tick Tick Produced by Steve UrquhartEscaping the Present Featuring Sarah Shourd Produced by Andrea RangecroftThe Cymbal Crash Featuring Jim Gordon Produced by Maartje DuinSundays Produced by Shanida ScotlandSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2017..

Josie Long presents stories of those who have pretended to be someone they're not. From an undercover cop to stars of the art world caught in an elaborate fiction.The features in this programme are:The Connor Brothers Featuring James Golding, Mike Snelle and Marion Harris Produced by Jodie TaylorWife of a Terrorist Featuring Miss L A version of this story first appeared in the essay collection, The Good Immigrant.Undercover Featuring Ron Stallworth Produced by Claire CroftonSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2017. .

Josie Long hears stories of hope found amidst the darkness - tales of love letters, hope on the water and the man who has steered 28,000 people safely to shore across treacherous waters from the end of a phone line."I must admit I'm deeply impressed by people who step out and do something and say something... whatever dreaming they would do it. A Mexican farm worker Jessie De La Cruz said, 'we have a saying in Spanish, when things look bleak, esperanzas mueren al ultimo. Hope dies last.'" - Studs TerkelThe features in this programme are:Dear John Produced by Andrea RangecroftBird in the Breath and Other Hopeful Cargo Produced by Stephanie Rowden and Jennifer MetskerSend Me Your Location Produced by Andrea RangecroftSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2017.

Josie Long presents stories on things drawing to a close - from stories captured, bottled and buried over time, to reflections at the end of a life well-lived.The Kajakman Produced by Rikke HoudToo Many Miles Originally produced for the Third Coast International Audio Festival Produced by Stephanie Rowden and Jennifer MetskerHarold Featuring Harold Stevenson Produced by Sarah GeisSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2016.

Josie Long hears stories of dreamers - from the search for utopia to striving to transform into the writer Barbara Cartland.Becoming Barbara Produced by Natalie KestecherUtopia Featuring Michaela Vieser Produced by Tim Hinman and Michaela VieserDear Face at Deer Lake with Deer People Originally made for Third Coast International Audio Festival Produced by Dear Deer Face CollectiveSeries Producer: Eleanor McDowallA Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2016.