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 Featuring John McCarthy and Brian Keenan Produced by Geoff Bird

Fading Produced by Nanna Hauge Kristensen

The Lottery Produced by Phoebe Wang

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

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