The Bristol Cable

Bristol is famous for being a maritime city, and its harbour – a vast area of water and historic docklands regenerated from dereliction since the 1990s –  draws tourists from all over the world. But who are the people living on the many vessels moored there? What has led them to choose a boat-dwelling life? And why are they protesting against how the council is managing the harbourside? Join Neil...

Content warning: This episode tackles issues to do with sexual violence. Burned out and disillusioned by their experience of working in mainstream charities for women who have survived sexual violence, Megan and Bryony took some time out before deciding they could do better. So they set up SLEEC (Survivors Leading Essential Education & Change), a radical support organisation that seeks to chan...

When authorities make plans that affect people’s lives, what do they get wrong – and how can they do better at working with communities? What are the lessons here for the council in Bristol, as it continues to face blowback over traffic restrictions in east Bristol? And why is it more important than ever for young people to have access to safe spaces, and adults they can trust? Join Neil and Samir...

In 2018, four friends in a Stoke Newington pub, frustrated by post-Brexit chaos, had an idea. Weeks later, they were plastering a giant tweet on a billboard. The stunt went viral, and Led By Donkeys was born. Known for bold, satirical interventions, they’ve taken on hypocrisy with billboards, projections, pranks, and daring campaigns. Join Priyanka and Isaac as co-founder Ben unpacks their journey...

A year on from the Barton House tower block evacuation, and six months after the Green Party became the largest party on Bristol City Council, what has changed as Bristol continues to grapple with a brutal housing crisis? How are the Greens finding being the party of leadership rather than opposition? And if they seized power at a national level, would they tone down their combative comments on Do...

This week Alex Turner sits down with Priyanka Raval to talk about her print piece, Barton House, One Year On, The Enduring Trauma and Search for Justice . Priyanka spoke to Barton House residents and discovered how the emergency evacuation last year continues to impact them. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol Cable wherever you get your podcasts.

This week, Priyanka sits down with Sean Morrisson to discuss an Avon and Somerset police report leaked to the Cable. The report demonstrates that the police messaging around the impact of stop and search powers is misaligned with the public messaging around this. Topics include discussions around strip searching which could be distressing. Bristol says NO to section 60  petition

Has the council stuck to a commitment it made in 2019 to work more ethically with people who owe it money? What can we expect on this issue from the new Green Party led administration? And why is it so important to stick with stories like this over the long term? Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol Cable wherever you get your podcasts.

Cable reporter Sean Morrison takes us inside our new campaign to say no to section 60 - special powers being used to to crack down on knife crime that are disproportionately targeting people of colour and leaving them traumatised. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol Cable wherever you get your podcasts.

The Cable’s Priyanka Raval interviews freelance reporter Adam Quarshie about trade unions’ response to recent far-right unrest in Bristol, how they can do more for migrant workers, and whether their past relationship with racism needs to be reckoned with. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to People Just Do Something wherever you get your podcasts.

Join Cable journalists Priyanka and Sean as they reflect on what’s driving the far right violence across the country, and Bristol's incredible show of solidarity as thousands took to the streets to say no to hatred. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol Cable wherever you get your podcasts.

Climate activist and author Mikaela Loach spoke at a packed out Cable Live event in June about how she processed her climate guilt, the impact of the climate crisis that is already happening and how we can fight for a more just future. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol Cable wherever you get your podcasts.

What happens when a notoriously hard to prove crime, meets a failing criminal justice system and a society still mired in misogyny?   This Cable investigation, originally published in August 2023, led us down a road exploring this exact question, revealing the full, complex story of how the Bristol police force deals with sexual violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

This is the third in a series of talks recorded at the  Bristol Transformed 2024 , a grassroots festival of radical politics, arts and culture for which The Bristol Cable was a media partner. Throughout this series, you’ll hear from a range of voices, including Cable journalists, talking on topics with a focus on political organising. In this event, we hear from Stop the War coalition members Luja...

Join Matty Edwards and Priyanka Raval for a special, slightly delirious general election results debrief; A total Tory wipeout, a Labour landslide and a groundbreaking gain for the Green party, our journalists have been up all night at counts across the city, getting up close and personal with the winners, losers and inbetweeners of the general election 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

This is a live recording of the housing general election hustings hosted by Shelter at the Malcolm X Centre in St Paul’s in Bristol on Wednesday 26 June 2024. In this event organised by housing charity Shelter, Conservative, Green and Lib Dem general election candidates for the Bristol Central seat – plus a Labour councillor, standing in for their MP Thangam Debbonaire – face a grilling from repre...

The general election is almost upon us – and across the Bristol area people are deciding how they will cast their votes on 4 July. Many will be doing so in newly mapped constituencies, which have been affected by boundary changes. These changes could have a real impact on the elections’ outcome. Today our Area in Focus is North East Somerset and Hanham, which takes half of the abolished Kingswood...

This is the second of a short series of talks recorded at the Bristol Transformed festival 2024, a grassroots and volunteer led festival of radical politics, arts and culture for which The Bristol Cable was a media partner. Throughout this series, you’ll hear from a range of voices, including Cable journalists, talking on topics with a focus on political organising. For this talk titled Who are th...

This is the first of a short series of talks recorded at the Bristol Transformed festival 2024; a grassroots and volunteer led festival of radical politics, arts and culture for which The Bristol Cable was a media partner. Throughout this series, you’ll hear from a range of voices, including Cable journalists, talking on topics with a focus on political organising. For this talk titled Spycops, Tr...

This is a live recording of An evening with Owen Jones, recorded at Strange Brew on May 28th. In this event, cable journalist Priyanka Raval sat down with Owen Jones to discuss the general election, why he quit the Labour party, Carol Vorderman, the crisis in Palestine and what he thinks makes Bristol so unique. Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pod...

Priyanka and Matty sit down to preview what the general election is going to look like in and around Bristol. Could Bristol produce the Green’s second ever MP? And do Labour really have a chance of winning seats of the Tories on Bristol’s outskirts? Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Drug policy in the UK causes more harm than good, and it has to change. But how do we push for change, and what are the most significant issues we need to address? Join drug researcher, neuropharmacologist, and chairman of Drug Science David Nutt in discussing what a new approach to drugs could mean for our city, families, and community. David Nutt was joined by author and ex-undercover cop Neil W...

This time in 2023, if you passed through St Paul’s on a Thursday afternoon you’d find a group of people – from primary kids to pensioners – gathered on Ashley Road to protest the closure of the local dentist. It was part of a wave of planned cuts by private health giant BUPA, affecting 85 practices. The dental practice closure made local headlines. But seven months later it was all over the nation...

Last week the Green Party  seized a historic victory  at Bristol's local elections, gaining 10 seats but falling just short of the 36 needed for an overall majority in the council chamber. The Greens had been expected to come out as the largest party, as eight years of Labour rule under mayor Marvin Rees came to an end – and with it the city's mayoral system of governance. But their surging suppor...

Emma Edwards is the leader of Bristol Green Party who could well be in charge of the council for the first time after May's local elections. She chats to Neil about the Green's vision for doing politics in a more transparent and collaborative way, how they'd sort out our public transport, and whether they're ready to make the tricky transition from party of opposition to party of power. Subscribe...