Short Cuts

Josie Long presents a series of short documentaries and audio adventures inspired by the work of the Oulipo, a loose collective of writers and mathematicians who use playful constraints in their work to spark new ideas.

The Oulipo's name - Ouvroir de littérature potentielle - roughly translates as 'the workshop of potential literature'. They have produced works such as Georges Perec's La Disparition; A Void in the English translation, in which the letter e never appears; If on a Winter's Night a Traveller..., Italo Calvino's novel which features ten different first chapters of novels; and Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style, in which the same story is retold 99 times in a different style.

Our workshop for potential radio features literary reviews, audio games and new stories from Joe Dunthorne, Jon Tjhia, John-Luke Roberts and Ross Sutherland.

As Far As The I

Peanut Butter

A Void

The Other Ross Sutherland

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2019.

Falling space debris sparks an adventure across continents - and underpants dangling from a tree push a woman into a downward spiral. Josie Long presents short documentaries and adventures in sound about The Descent.

The King and I

Skylab

Seven Miles Deep

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2019.

Josie Long presents fragmentary short documentaries about lost memories. Searching for a half-remembered past, shape-shifting, elusive personal histories, forgetting yourself and a story of societal forgetting.

Mother of Memory

Seven Magic Mountains

The Trace of A Cloud In A Chest (extract)

The Forgotten

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2019.

Josie Long presents short documentaries about people or places who become known for a single thing.

From the contested title of Britain's most haunted village to a tender reflection on an actor defined by their most famous role.

Most Haunted

Babi

The Bystander

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2019.

Josie Long presents short Christmas-themed documentaries and adventures in sound.

We hear from a long time resident of Santa Claus, Indiana, the comedian Mark Thomas offers a tender reflection on Away in a Manger, and Karolyn Grimes - the woman who played Zuzu Bailey in the festive classic It's a Wonderful Life - explores how it's interwoven with her life.

The Chief Elf of Santa Claus, Indiana

Away in a Manger

It's a Wonderful Life

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

Josie Long presents new short documentaries on searching for hope in the gathering darkness.

John McCarthy and Brian Keenan look back on a single act of human kindness that glows amid much darker memories, a late night conversation explores the hope bound up in playing the lottery, and we hear as voices fade in a Danish hospice.

The Gloaming

Fading

The Lottery

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2018.

Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio adventures tied to the changing of the seasons.

Laura Barton offers an ode to the sticky heat of summer, we hear the beat of hummingbird wings in autumn and a love story tied to cold British winters and Colombia's 'spring city'.

On Music Overheard

Heat

Tiny Jalopy

Olga

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall,

A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2018.

Navigating the technological nightmare of the afterlife, the feeling of weightlessness during a late night drive and finding yourself adrift at sea - Josie Long presents short documentaries and mini works of fiction about finding yourself untethered to the world around you.

Please Hold (Extract)

Night Rider

Lauren and Ken

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2018.

Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio essays about intertwining with another person.

A father and son stare out to sea and talk about a lost love, a woman writes a letter to her young daughter unpicking the complex intersections between motherhood, art, selfhood and capitalism, and a widow finds an unusual spirit guide for her grieving.

Victoria, My Spirit Widow

The Art of Knowing When to Retreat

A Friend

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

Josie Long presents short documentaries about food - from congee on a mountaintop to the nightmarish consequences of a family dinner.

The writer Jessica J Lee tries to recreate a vivid sensory experience and Australian audio-maker Mike Williams shares a visceral story of a Christmas Eve meal.

Mutual Mastication

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Congee Dreams

Last Requests

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall