
Advertise on podcast: Short Cuts
Rating
4.8from
This podcast has
249 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
BBC Radio 4Explicit
No
Date created
2013/05/28
Latest episode
2025/08/27
Average duration
30 min.
Release period
26 days
Description
Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long.
Unlock Short Cuts podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details
Email contact information
Direct podcast contact details

Listeners
Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details
Podcast Insights

Podcast episodes
Check latest episodes from Short Cuts podcast
Someone to Watch Over Me
2025/08/27
In the first programme of this series of Short Cuts, Josie Long presents a selection of short documentaries which peel back the curtain, peer into the darkness and look out at those who are watching us.
By turns delightful and unsettling, today's audio adventures include the secret games teachers play when they're invigilating exams, a photographer whose ambition is to capture 'still lives' of people unawares in their homes at night, and a glimpse of the devices you can buy to spy on those supposedly close to you.
The items featured in the programme are:
Someone to Watch Over Me
Produced by Sara Parker
Stand by Me
Produced by Benjamin Partridge
I Was Bruce Lee
Produced by Leo Hornak
Cracking the Love Code
Produced by Bob Carlson
All Eyes on Us
Produced by Steve Urquhart
She Sees Your Every Move
Produced by Jonathan Mitchell
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Taking Flight
2025/08/27
Josie Long presents a selection of short documentaries in which people hurl themselves into the air with the hope of taking flight.
We glide through the air, fall into the sea and explore grand leaps of the imagination, which cross the border between dreaming and reality.
From comedian Holly Walsh's tale of hurtling off the edge of a pier in a handmade helicopter, through to the story of a trapeze artist balancing on the edge of falling as he casts himself upwards.
The items featured in the programme are:
The Fall
Featuring Charlie Morley
Sky Boy
Produced by Hana Walker-Brown
Falling for Rambo
Featuring Holly Walsh
Produced by Benjamin Partridge
The Dreamers
Featuring Charlie Morley
Looking Up
Originally broadcast in 'Space' from Radiolab
http://www.radiolab.org
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Split
2025/08/27
Josie Long presents a series of delightful and adventurous short documentaries, brief encounters, true stories and found sound.
We examine rips in the fabric of the universe as Josie Long delves into stories of splits, divisions and tears. From broken hearts to divided personalities.
We hear from a woman who was so tired of being in two minds that she surrendered all of her decision making to a piece of string, a mimic who taught herself how to assume alternate personalities and we recover from heartbreak using the 'Automated Relationship Replacement Hotline'.
The items featured in the programme are:
Automated Relationship Replacement Hotline
Originally broadcast in WireTap
http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/
String
Produced by Natalie Kestecher
The full version of this story can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/string/4010328
Split Voices
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
Other Halves
Produced by Dennis Funk
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Lines of Communication
2025/08/27
Josie Long presents a selection of short documentaries about communication - messages that could break your heart, rescue you from a fight or save you from a long stay in jail.
The writer Glenn Patterson explains why sometimes we should ignore the writing on the wall, and musician Tom Robinson describes the unlikely message he sent at a time when he was in a lot of trouble.
Stories of last words, lost love and lights being knocked out.
The items featured in the programme are:
Guess Who
Found sound from the collection of Mark Vernon
http://www.meagreresource.com/
L'Esprit De L'Escalier
Produced by Hana Walker-Brown
Yanto
Featuring Glenn Patterson
Produced by Rachel Hooper
Message from Above
Featuring Tom Robinson
Produced by Alan Hall
Dear Sophie
Produced by Sara Parker
Conversations with Nic
Featuring Esther Baker
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Lost and Found
2025/08/27
Josie Long presents a selection of short documentaries with stories of loss and discovery.
From being lost in the music to lost love - Josie delves into tales of forgotten cassette tapes, voices rediscovered and teenage rebellion.
Hide and Seek
Feat. Steve Colgan
Lost in Music
Produced by Steve Urquhart
I am Luther Blissett
Produced by Rosanna Arbon
Fluctuations
Produced by Phil Smith
Lost Voices
Feat. Jude Rogers
Looking for Layla
Produced by Hana Walker-Brown
Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
Escape
2025/08/27
Josie Long presents a showcase for delightful and adventurous short documentaries and makes her escape as we hear stories of running away, flight and car chases.
From breaking away to disappearing into escapism - we hear the tale of a narrow escape as three young Australian men desperately try to manoeuvre themselves out of trouble, alongside the story of a 93 year old wing walker getting lost in the clouds.
The items featured in the programme are:
Swimming in Snafu
Produced by Meagan Perry
River Guard
Feat. Laura Barton
Drive for Portugal
Produced by Leo Hornak
Head in the Clouds
Produced by Sara Parker
Road Warriors
Produced by Bob Carlson
Originally featured in Unfictional
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/uf/uf111202the_road_warriors
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4
Rpt
Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
Midnight
2025/01/07
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
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Mix by Mike Woolley
Executive Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Earth
2024/12/29
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
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Merry Christmas
2024/12/24
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
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Feast
2024/12/17
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
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Lost Futures
2024/12/10
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
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Into the Night
2024/12/03
Siren song, lunar eavesdroppers and the gathering dark - Josie Long presents short documentaries about venturing into the night.
Siren Song
Featuring melancholydi
Produced by Kalli Anderson
Lunar Eavesdroppers
An extract from Space Ham, first broadcast in BBC Radio 3's Between the Ears
Produced by Rose de Larrabeiti and Caroline Devine
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 3
Beneath
Produced by Sami El-Enany
Brücke
Featuring Stephen Jenkinson
Produced by Phil Smith
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
The Forest
2024/09/24
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures that venture into the forest.
Searching for Eden
Written, performed and composed by Nyokabi Kariũki
Drums - Chris O'Leary
Field Recordings taken in Mũrang'a, Kenya
The Final Breath
Featuring Robin Elms
Produced by Kendra Hanna and Max Jungreis
El Manglar
Featuring Paolo Realpe, founder of Muisne Desde Adentro
Special thanks to Dr. Pilar Egüez Guevara, co-founder and director of Comidas que Curan (Foods that Heal)
Produced by Mickal Aranha
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
A Word
2024/09/17
Wishes, wonders, and wisdom. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures uncovering the power of words.
mother-house by produced by Catherine Boulle.
Inspired by the guided visualisations accompanying the book 'Motherhood: Is it for me?' by Denise L. Carlini & Ann Davidman.
Weird World Whimsy produced and composed by Suzie McCarthy.
Featuring actor, teacher and director, Mary Lou Rosato.
Interview recording by audio producer Donelle Wederburn in New York City.
The piece featured a canoe trip on the Tapiskwan Sipi, which runs through Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok territory in the unceded province of Quebec.
Special thanks to Nina Garthwaite, Tom Todoroff, Emily Moulton, Katherina Lindekens and Emma Lehman from Noise Club.
Buranbur: a comfort in words by audio maker and producer Suhaar Ali.
Featuring the first Somali woman elected to the cabinet, Fadumo Aalin, who talks about her mother and poet Hawo Jibril.
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Sound Waves
2024/09/10
Trying to capture a lost homeland on tape, reclaiming urban landscapes through the sound of skateboarding, and the noise that is one of the great equalisers of the world. Short documentaries that ripple through space - presented by Josie Long.
Sonic Skateboarding
Produced by Alice Boyd and Tom Critchley
Featuring Ben Dixon, Tom Critchley, Hannah, Zip and Bleu
Music composed by Ben Dixon
Nat’s Apartment
Written and produced by Emma-Lee Moss
Music by Emma-Lee Moss and Nata Lee Hahn
Love in the Time of Flatulence
Featuring Alison Downham Moore, Noam Osband, Zebulon Osband and Dahlia Osband
Written and produced by Noam Osband
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
Podcast reviews
Read Short Cuts podcast reviews
Hope and resolve 2025/09/02
Substance and light
I cried when the host announced in January the last episode of this beautifully curated series of human stories. So grateful to see a few more episode...
V-Spain 2025/01/08
The best
I was always immersed, always delighted and surprised—lovely, lovely, lovely…
UW44 2024/11/23
perfect audio poems
so fresh, engaging, and immersive. love this show
TH3audienc3 2024/04/02
like a whole place
run don’t walk to this
dnsfnk 2023/10/26
Beauti…
…ful
AnimatedMeatSack 2023/04/13
More like….Short Crap.
I’m totally kidding. This has actually become one of my all-time favorite podcasts. Josie is great. She’s quirky and cute as the day is long. All of ...
mspassell 2023/03/29
3775676 stars!!!
I wish I could bottle Short Cuts up, spray it all over my body, and wear it all around.
Foshou 2022/04/08
Where have I been?
Great host and wonderful short documentaries that are varied and so engaging. I can’t believe I only just learned about it.
querbles 2022/01/02
Listened to every episode multiple times, never tired of it
Short cuts are beautifully curated shorts. Close your eyes, listening to each short is completely immersive. Josie Long is fabulous.
frustratedddfddddddd 2021/08/23
Divine
This podcast is a work of art. I could listen to Josie forever!
Podcast sponsorship advertising
Start advertising on Short Cuts relevant audience podcasts
You may also like to advertise on these Podcasts

4.8231263
Black Like Me
Alex Gee

4.7203120
F1 Explains
Formula 1

42332000
The Maggie and Perloff Show
Audacy

516777
Music For Programming
Datassette

4.995298
The Create & Thrive Podcast
Jess Van Den

4.642223
Delving Into Islam
Wa2el

520026
Transforming the Church with Dr. Derwin L Gray
Transformation Church

4.4171173
Status: Pending
Scott Fuller

4.9207146
The Radiology Review Podcast
Matt Covington

44100
They Mostly Come Out At Night Podcast.
W&A