Lights Out

“Somewhere between the narrow entry of Who I am and What I seem to be, lies a vast and nameless place.” In this transmission, Axel Kacoutié discovers a new sense of self in the cosmologies, concepts and realities of queer and indigenous folks. What are the links between gender expression and our relationship with the Earth? How does it destabilise colonial and capitalist imaginations of what we’re told a gender binary is meant to be? Featuring the voices of: Opaskwayak Cree Nation Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr Alex Wilson Artist Buitumelo Kotekwa Afro-Taino Two-Spirit change-maker Cleopatra Tatabele Scholar and Research Assistant, Karyn De Freitas Transmasculine, non-binary scholar and Founder of the Free Black University, Melz Owusu. Development Producer: Eleanor McDowall Assistant Producer: CA Davis Additional Recording: Heidi Chang and Israel Ramjohn Sound Design, Music and Mixing Production: Axel Kacoutié Produced by Axel Kacoutié A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Four people recount their involvement with “county lines” - gangs that exploit children and vulnerable adults to sell drugs around the UK. Underneath their stories lies a series of unspoken, unanswered questions. Who gets to decide the boundary between criminal and victim? Why do we view 'county lines' through the lens of crime and punishment? And how well does the system support individuals and families devastated by the impact of 'county lines'? With thanks to St Giles Trust SOS Project, Not In Our Community, Escape Line and Eski Media Produced by Phoebe McIndoe and Redzi Bernard A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Four

Having devoted decades of their lives to fighting for a better world, three activists in their 70s reflect on keeping going, hope and despair as the year turns - while a retired clergyman and his wife explore what’s drawn them to activism in their 60s. Featuring Leila Hassan Howe, Angie Zelter, Linda Clair and Bill and Rosemary White, alongside radio clips from BBC news programmes, Outlook and Mattie's Broadcast (produced by Veronica Simmonds). With music by Lucinda Chua Featuring the tracks Semitones (written and engineered by Lucinda Chua, produced by Lucinda Chua and Adam Wiltzie, mixed by Adam Wiltzie and Francesco Donadello and mastered by Nathan Boddy) and An Avalanche (written, engineered and produced by Lucinda Chua, mixed by Adam Wiltzie and Francesco Donadello and mastered by Nathan Boddy) Development producer: Michael Segalov Additional recording: Andrea Rangecroft Produced by Eleanor McDowall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

A man, a Mouse and a morse key: the story of a radio amateur in Kyiv as the Russian invasion unfolds. When his wife and two children flee Kyiv to escape the war, Volodymyr Gurtovy (call sign US7IGN) stays behind in their apartment with only his radios and the family hamster, Mouse, for company. Before the war, he used to go deep into the pine forests, spinning intricate webs of treetop antennas using a fishing rod, catching signals from radio amateurs in distant countries. Prohibited by martial law from sending messages, he becomes a listener, intercepting conversations of Russian pilots and warning his neighbours to hide in shelters well before the sirens sound. After three months of silence, he begins transmitting again. Switching his lawyer’s suit for a soldering iron, he runs a radio surgery for his friends and neighbours, dusting off old shortwave receivers and bringing them back to life. During air raids, he hides behind the thickest wall in his apartment, close to his radios, their flickering amber lights opening a window to another world. A story of sending and receiving signals from within the darkness of the Kyiv blackout. Music: Ollie Chubb (8ctavius) Producer: Cicely Fell A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

It's 40 years this month since 30,000 women 'embraced the base' at RAF Greenham Common, Berkshire in protest at the proposed siting of cruise missiles there. For some of them, the Women's Peace Camp became home and the RAF base the scene of countless actions, as political convictions led inevitably to arrests, court appearances and imprisonment. Lyn Barlow served something between 15 and 20 sentences - she lost count - and Sue Say at least eight. Mild-mannered former teacher Mary Millington has journals documenting her numerous prison terms. Greenham Convictions traces why these women put not just their bodies but "their entire beings" on the line for a cause - and at what price. With thanks to Rebecca Mordan of Greenham Women Everywhere. Produced by Alan Hall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Across the course of a single day, a documentary-maker hosts an open-call audition for subjects to star in her next project. Accounts and Accountability offers a dive into the ethics of buying and selling true stories. With music composed by Eliza Niemi Sound Recording by Fivel Rothberg Assistant Producers: Kristine White, Kyle Damiao, Jose Salazar and Emma Rose Brown Special thanks to Sean Hanley, David Pavlovsky, and Kelly Anderson Produced by Jess Shane A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Documentary adventures that encourage you to take a closer listen.