Short Cuts BBC Radio 4

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
Created by Zara Zimbardo and Lily Sloane
With editorial support from Keisha "TK" Dutes and sound consultation from Adriene Lilly
Finding Freedom in the Water: Gaza’s Swimming Teacher
A version of this story first aired on BBC World Service's Outlook in March 2023 ('My Life in Seven Swimming Pools') and in an updated version in April 2024 ('Finding Freedom in the Water: Gaza's Swimming Teacher) presented by Jo Fidgen
Sound design by Joel Cox
Interpreter Youssef Taha
Producer Louise Morris
Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

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
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

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 Amber Devereux
With Dr Matthew Temple, Research Fellow,
Universidad Diego Portales
Additional voices by Lou Sutcliffe and Alessa Catterall
Featuring quotes from De Profundus by Oscar Wilde, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and In A Queer Time And Place by Jack Halberstam
Interjections on the future: There is not currently any obvious path to reconstructing a popular faith in political, economic and even some social institutions but while it might not always feel like it today, the unwinding of colonial modernity is underway and accelerating.
Produced by composer and researcher, Sara Rahman.
Featuring psychiatrist Isabel Valli and writers and artists Fer Boyd and Maedeline Stack.
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

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): https://www.earthkeptwarm.com
Additional mixing by Maitreya
Produced by HJ Radia
The Back Rooms
Produced by Mae-Li Evans
The Bello Tolls for Thee
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

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 their two children, aged 12 and 8.
Reclaiming The Rose
Produced, narrated and music by Lucinda Chua
Chinese Narration by XiaoQiao
Poetry in English and Chinese by He Sun
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

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 and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4