Radio Atlas

We breathe every second of our lives without thinking about it. And yet it is so difficult to remember. By Judith Geffert for THE ECCO (2025) Judith Geffert is a radio documentary maker from Magdeburg, now based in Berlin. In their work, they like to explore the thin lines between journalism, art and academia. They … Continue reading "Breathing Exercise"

A tender and complex family portrait, as a sister traces the fractures left by her brother’s experiences with mental illness. By Rislane Hakym (2024) Originally from northern France, Rislane Hakym places social issues at the heart of her practice. She has been a jury member at international festivals. With a background in audiovisual and journalism, … Continue reading "Schizophonies"

Seasons shift, as the songs of distant whales are swallowed by the fog. Henriette Rasmussen explores the brittle and tender edges of masculinity in her community. By Henriette Rasmussen for RANA / Radiophonic Narration (2009) Born in 1950, Henriette Rasmussen lived in Nuuk, Greenland. She worked at KNR (Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation) in the 1970’s before … Continue reading "A Circle of Men"

Life and death at the Plitvice Lakes. By Čedo Prica, Zvonimir Bajsić and Maksim Jurjević for Radio Zagreb (1975) “What I do is writing with a microphone. Our lexicon is the sound material we shape. We use speech, not language. All these terms: documentary radio drama, radio feature, acoustic film—are not quite appropriate. It is, … Continue reading "Old Lika Pathetic Symphony"

Memories entangle with the trees as we wander into the forest By Marta Medvešek for Radio Slovenija (2023) Rest, peace and silence, but also sawing, creaking and crying; an elegant spruce and a beech with dense rustling leaves; harsh winters and a deer roaring in the moonlight. In the conflicting juxtaposition of safety and danger, … Continue reading "Forest Is"

Documentary recordings of laughter musically interweave in this imagined scene By Stéphane Borrel (2024) Les Anciens (The Elders) is part of a larger electroacoustic (acousmatic) work by Stéphane Borrel called Laughing Tonalities. The work uses as its essential sound material the laughter from recordings of three hundred invited participants. Stéphane writes, “The musical writing – … Continue reading "The Elders"

Dreamscapes submerged in rising water By Yevhenii Poliakov (2025) Dreams calm down our worries. We overcome extreme experiences with the flood of feelings that our mind reworks each night. During the first months of the full-scale Russian invasion, water flowed through Ukrainian dreams. Recurring rains, floods and images of the seaside from the audio archive … Continue reading "Worried Waters of the War: Ukrainian Dreamscapes of 2022"

A conversation grows from a chance encounter on a train By Mattias Wallenius (2024) “I met Lisa on a train in the summer of 2023. She sat down next to me and introduced herself (which is very uncommon on a public train in Sweden (and probably many places in the world)). I was going to … Continue reading "He Called Me His Typhoon"

A tender love story, lived in private, across five decades. By Rūta Dambravaitė and Inga Janiulytė-Temporin for LRT (2024) Vitalius and Albinas have been together for 52 years. As they grow old and Albinas’ memory slowly fades, Vitalius is tired of hiding and decides to tell their life story publicly for the first time. This … Continue reading "Coming Out"

A child plays in the snow By Joyce de Badts (2025) On a cold January day, Tirza conjures a snow ghost. Joyce de Badts is a teacher and radio producer based in Antwerp, Belgium

Lost loved ones gather at the dinner table By Daniel Semo (2024) Karina Alanís Martínez is a cocinera tradicional (traditional cook) from the state of Michoacán in Mexico. Traditional cooks are respected members of their regional communities entrusted with passing down the culinary heritage of the local cuisine. In this documentary fragment, Karina reflects on cooking … Continue reading "Night of the Dead"

A granddaughter and grandmother talk across time. By Qing Hu (2024) ‘Have you eaten?’ is a common Chinese greeting, like asking ‘how are you?’ in English. In this short feature, Qing Hu uses the phrase to redraw a line of connection between her current home in New York and her grandmother. Qing Hu is an audio … Continue reading "Have You Eaten?"

The worlds of a vermin exterminator in Paris, young people living in the city and a disturbing public declaration from a police union blur together. By Ka-Young Park and Dimitris Roidis (2023) Nuisibles (Pests) is a sonic study in the process of dehumanisation. Touching on themes of police violence and systemic racism. Created by Ka-Young … Continue reading "Nuisibles"

“The whole world disappears with language…” By Hrvoje Korbar and Marija Pečnik Kvesić (2023) We easily recall the images, smells and tastes that have marked our lives, but what about the sounds? What about the voices of those who are no longer with us? What ultimately stands the test of time? An intimate acoustic work … Continue reading "The Ship Sails On"

Lingering in a dream, as a new day dawns. By Kato Vanackere (2020) A woman in her thirties struggles to get out of bed, to face herself in the mirror, and to muster the will to head to work. She’d much rather turn back and go for a swim. “Nu Dan” is a concept album … Continue reading "If I Could Choose"

A sonic conjuring By Eve-Marie Bouché (August 2022) “I discovered that I had magical powers, the powers to transform the world’s soundtrack, to make it a better place to live…” Winner of Best Short at Grand Prix Nova (2023) and Third Prize at the UK International Radio Drama festival (2023) Eve-Marie Bouché (Paris, France) At … Continue reading "The Magic of Waves"

After 72 years living in Iceland, a man visits Reykjavík for the first time in his life. By Rúnar Snær Reynisson for RÚV (2017) First created for the Rás 1 (Channel 1) summer program Sumarmál, played at the 2023 International Features Conference.

Emptiness, dust all around, everything’s in disorder… from an empty, dilapidated church Piotr speaks about the harm done to him by a priest. By agnieszka czyżewska jacquemet for Polish Radio Lublin (2021) In search of justice – a whisper can be louder than a shout; it stays in the heart and mind forever. This programme explores … Continue reading "Less and Less Soul"

An unsettling portrait of snipers in the midst of the war in Bosnia in 1992. By Stephen Schwartz for DR (19th December 1992) Familiar surroundings transform and friends and acquaintances turn into enemies. Contains content that listeners may find distressing. Sniper was the winner of the 1993 Prix Italia for Documentary. In the transcript for … Continue reading "Sniper"

An organist opens up the sound of silence. By Phoebe McIndoe and Marta Medvešek (2023) Made in 1929 to accompany silent movies, with 913 pipes and 66 registers, it was the biggest cinema organ in Germany. But the organ’s grandeur wasn’t celebrated for long. Soon after its construction, sound film took over and the Babylon’s … Continue reading "Kinoorgel Babylon"

A prelude into a world where language and magic are one. By Axel Kacoutié (2023) This was created as part of the audio artist Axel Kacoutié’s live In The Dark event – an evening of magical audio, conjuring aural visions to transport you through time, and space, returning you back to yourself and the world. It … Continue reading "A Mother Tongue (Magic Prelude)"

Three children care for their mother as her words start to fall away. By Aurélia Balboni (2015) ‘My Mother’s Words’ (‘Les Mots de Ma Mère’) tells the everyday life of a woman who loses her words. By her side, her three children, each in their own way, watch over her, set the tempo and organise … Continue reading "My Mother’s Words"

A grandfather and granddaughter explore a silence in their family history. By Max-Lena Vanden Eynde (2022) Max-Lena Vanden Eynde’s grandfather grew up in a family of fifteen children. In 1940, the two eldest sons – Pol and Louis – were called up as reserve recruits. Only one of the two brothers returned home after the … Continue reading "At the Foot of the Bed"

A homage to the Giallo film genre, set within the True Crime podcasting scene. By Ross Sutherland for Imaginary Advice (2022) Story by Ross Sutherland Translated by Cristina Marras (cristinamarras.com) Performed by Cristina Marras and Ross Sutherland Additional voice acting by Andrea de’Cesco, Gianfranco Bitti, Fausta Laddomada Original music by Jeremy Warmsley (jeremywarmsley.com) Produced by … Continue reading "The True Crime of Your Frozen Death"

An audio feature for the animal world By Saška Rakef, Tina Kozin, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Matjaž Miklič and Pia Brezavšcek (2021) Plunge into the sonic landscape of the jackal, as they stalk around a human settlement. Listen as voices from the Anthropocene emerge from busted radios, talking into the night. Directed by Saška Rakef Script … Continue reading "The Voice of Jackal"

A vision from beneath the waves By Caroline Sascha Cogez (2021) Winner of the Københavns Radiobiograf Shortdox 2021 With Andreas Skovby Hansen Interview, edit and sound design by Caroline Sascha Cogez For a longer Danish version of Andreas’ story click here.

An elderly couple tumble into a dialogue with the frogs in their pond. By Ruben Nachtergaele and Eva De Groote (2021) For ‘City of Fables’ six people were scouted in the city of Bruges, each of them with a remarkable story about an encounter with an animal. These interviews were the starting point for six … Continue reading "Heralds of Rain"

Two lives intersect at a country’s edge. By Sigita Vegytė for LRT (2021) In the summer of 2021, dozens, and later hundreds, of people started illegally crossing the Lithuanian border from Belarus every day. As a result, Lithuania reinforced its border protection, building a metal fence and a barbed-wire barrier and assigning troops to help … Continue reading "I Remember His Look"

Radio as a lifeline, a trembling nerve, to the rest of the world. By Christina B. Kjeldsen (2020) A seemingly quiet existence makes far-reaching connections across the airwaves. Winner of the Københavns Radiobiograf Shortdox 2020 Click here for more of Christina’s work Arne’s HAM-radio name: OZ7MA

A musical evocation of landscape, language and tender attention to the ground beneath your feet. By Nyokabi Kariũki (2021) “In December 2020, my family and I were able to visit my Cũcũ (Grandmother) in her home in Githũnguri, Kenya. We walked around the farm — just as we always do when we visit — but … Continue reading "A Walk Through My Cũcũ’s Farm"

A poet folds time, capturing her life in audio recordings. By Giorgia Cadeddu and Vittoria Soddu for STUDIOLANDA (2021) Sardinian poet and ecologist, Orlanda Sassu, devoted her entire life to recording audio as an archive for the memory of her village and of the language she was afraid to lose. Writing poems and mutetus (a … Continue reading "Iolanda They Call Me By My Name"

A story of home By Heloiza Barbosa for Faxina (2021) The story of a Brazilian woman who borrowed money from a ‘coiote’ to flee Brazil, leaving behind her two-year-old son, and crossed the border between Mexico and the USA on foot to escape death at the hands of her husband. Domestic violence against women in … Continue reading "Between Four Walls"

A story flies away from the truth. By Marta Medvešek (2020) 28 years ago, a man found an injured baby stork. Shot in the wing, she couldn’t fly. She was predestined to die. But the man changed her destiny. Did he know that she would change his destiny just as much? To keep her safe, … Continue reading "Fly or Die"

Love and deliverance. By Nanna Hauge Kristensen for Radio24syv (2019) Jørgen is 95 years old and has lived two lives. One as a husband and father, and one where he could be himself. After fifty-two years of marriage, he comes out, aged 80 years old. Produced by Nanna Hauge Kristensen Edit and mix: Ole Fugl … Continue reading "A Late Blooming"

On memory and forgetting. By Elena Dikomitis (2021) ‘Stew with Za’atar’ talks about coping with post-traumatic stress through Elena Dikomitis’ personal recount of the devastating August 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. In conversation with a psychologist, Dikomitis engages with her own memories to eventually take control over them. Elena Dikomitis won the 2021 Korte Golf … Continue reading "Stew with Za’atar"

The sound of a mysterious piano echoes in the silence of the night. By Sofia Saldanha for Centro de Dramaturgia e Argumento (CeDA) and Antena 2 (2021) Translated by Sofia Saldanha and Amanda Booth Sofia Saldanha is an award winning audio producer. She started her radio adventure in Portugal at Rádio Universitária do Minho, has … Continue reading "The Piano"

Fredrik Ramel realises he’s not the only Fredrik Ramel out there. By Fredrik Ramel (2019) This short documentary was the winner of Tempo Documentary Festival‘s Short Dox Radio award in 2019. Fredrik Ramel is a radio journalist and graduate from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. Currently producer and host for the podcast P3 Dystopia for Sveriges … Continue reading "My Namesake is the King of Italodisco"

A sonic reflection on a moment of uncertainty. By Las Raras (2020) Made in April 2020, Las Raras recorded this episode in their apartment in Santiago de Chile during the mandatory quarantine to prevent Covid-19. This episode features soundscapes recorded in Barra de Valizas, Uruguay, in Robinson Crusoe Island and in Coihueco, Chile. Las Raras … Continue reading "Echoes of Our Confinement"

Language shifts over time and context in this exploration of dryness and heat. By Bartosz Panek for Constellations (2020) During the drought the road is dry features the voices of Jan Gola (Poręby village), Magda Maksimiuk (film critic), Paulina Mirowska and Ola Czerniawska (activists from Earth Strike), Anna Andrzejewska (hydrologist, Kampinoski National Park), Wiktor Kotowski … Continue reading "During the Drought the Road is Dry"

Sighs and desires. By Laura Canabrava (2020) ‘What is your greatest desire? It’s a question I asked the women who were present on the day of the recording. Along with their answers, I recorded their breath. Our willpower and our desires are what make us breathe, what moves us, what keeps us alive.’ ‘Will’ was … Continue reading "Will"

A dreamlike tumble into insomnia By Suvi Tuuli Kataja for Nordic Shortdox (2019) The radio documentary “When you’re sleeping, I’m awake” (Kun nukut, minä valvon) explores the darkness and temporary insanity of sleepless nights. The documentary is the winner of the 2019 Finnish Shortdox competition and Nordic Shortdox competition. The piece won the jury as … Continue reading "When You’re Sleeping, I’m Awake"

A daughter writes an audio letter to her father as she unfurls a story of his life. By Amelia Umuhire for Deutschlandfunk Kultur (2018)   “There’s a picture from a time when you are wearing a short-sleeved striped shirt and with a plastic cup in your hand are toasting with a friend. You’re smiling and … Continue reading "Fatherland"

Visit a Tehran that blossoms in language, fable and collective imagination. By Arif Mirbaghi for Constellations (2020) Pointing At Canopus was composed by Arif Mirbaghi and edited by Michelle Macklem and Jess Shane. It was made with the voices of over a dozen friends. Special thanks to Michael Eckert for his pedal steel improvisation and … Continue reading "Pointing at Canopus"

A woman tells the story of her own birth. By Mrs Kaika Burton and Caddie Brain (2019) Mrs Kaika Burton was born deep in the desert of Central Australia. Her mother travelled hundreds of miles barefoot before giving birth alone at a massive desert mesa called Atila – a place which became her spiritual country. … Continue reading "When I Touched the Ground"

A night watchman walks alone through an Anatomic Institute. By Stephen Schwartz for DR (1971) A lonely walk in the dark, skeletons and floating body parts caught in the beam of a flashlight… in the ‘The Night Watchman’, Detroit-born Stephen Schwartz pioneers his landmark interview technique known as the ‘moments interview’ or the ‘full Schwartz’. … Continue reading "The Night Watchman"

A series about unspoken secrets. By Zoha Zokaei (2019) Price of Secrecy is a fictionalised podcast series that addresses some of the legal, social, cultural and familial constraints that contribute to the silence around the issue of child sexual abuse in Iran. At the heart of the series is the question – ‘why, as members … Continue reading "Price of Secrecy"

A woman tries to meet someone. By Lotta Erikson for Sveriges Radio (1996) Recorded in the pre-internet dating days, Lotta Erikson searches for a partner through telephone contact agencies. Lotta Erikson has been a freelance for the Swedish radio (SR) and Swedish national television (SVT) in various forms since 1992, making around 15 radio documentaries … Continue reading "Can He Have a Dog?"

A power struggle in the domestic space. By Eva Lammelová for Czech Radio (2018) According to numerous statistics, Czechs are a nation of dog-lovers. On average, there is a dog in every second household in the Czech Republic, resulting in the most hounds per capita in all of Europe. In Eva’s house there’s Tonča. Tonča … Continue reading "Man: A Dog’s Best Friend"

How (not) to build a home away from home… By Martina Castro, for the Museum of Migration in Montevideo (2015) Sometimes immigrants want to stay super connected to their home countries because they feel that connection slipping away. And well, they can go overboard. At least, that’s what Eduardo Bolioli noticed. This story was produced … Continue reading "What They Don’t Tell You"

A box containing treasured keepsakes opens up painful memories of the past. By Sofia Saldanha for HearSay International Audio Arts Festival (2019) The Box (A Caixa) was shortlisted for both the ‘Create’ and ‘Create GanBéarla’ awards at the 2019 HearSay International Audio Arts Festival. Sofia Saldanha is an award winning audio producer. She started her … Continue reading "The Box"