Our guest today is no stranger to the show. Back in 2020, Neil spoke with Helen Godwin when she was a Bristol City Councillor. A lot has changed since then. Not only has the Bristol mayoral role been abolished, but a new Labour government is in power, and Helen Godwin now holds one of the West Country's most important political positions: the Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority ( WECA ). In May, Helen won the election and has since been settling into her new role. We've brought her b...
Aug 11, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 14Ep. 10
Neil scored a conversation with Bristol's homegrown boxing legend, Lee Haskins . You might know him as a former world champion, but today, ten years on from that victory, the two catch up to talk shop about Lee's ongoing legacy. He now runs his own family gym, Round One Boxing , where he trains and teaches alongside a roster of other professional fighters. They talk family life; some of Lee's kids are following in his footsteps and stepping into the ring. Is that hard to watch as someone who's b...
Jul 28, 2025•57 min•Season 14Ep. 9
Trigger Warning: Contains discussions about grooming gangs in the second half This week it’s another episode of Bristol Unpacked. Islam is back in the firing line of the culture wars, with a new legal definition being drafted by Labour, and the grooming gang scandal very much overlapping with far-right narratives about the religion. We wanted to hone in on this national issue, as it's one having a ripple effect in neighbourhoods across the nation, including in Bristol. Bristol Muslim Cultural So...
Jul 14, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 14Ep. 8
Join Neil Maggs alongside councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood Kirsty Tate , to talk about class & climate justice in her community. Kirsty is the Climate Action Manager at Heart of BS13 , and is a co-author of The Just Transition Declaration which is all about ensuring climate policies are fair for everyone especially those most negatively impacted. This is particularly relevant in Bristol, where controversies like the Clean Air Zone and East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood have sparked d...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr•Season 14Ep. 7
We're going up north – or actually, the north is coming down south to Bristol. You've probably clocked by now that there's been a massive Northern Soul revival in the city, so we thought we'd unpack what it's all about. This week, Neil talks to Levanna McLean and her mum, Eve Arslett. It started when Levanna began doing Northern Soul dances during lockdown. Her mum filmed it, they pushed it out on socials and it blew up. They've featured everywhere: from BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour to the New Yor...
Jun 16, 2025•55 min•Season 14Ep. 6
This week we’ve got the next instalment of Bristol Unpacked for you. Neil managed to get a chat in with our new High Sheriff, Kalpna Woolf . Its one of those mysterious, archaic titles that somehow has stood the test of time, but as Kalpna details, is a world away from its original purpose of enforcing the monarch’s will and collecting taxes… Kalpna talks us through her upbringing as a first generation migrant kid in London and the life experiences which led her to this point, as an ambassador o...
Jun 02, 2025•58 min•Season 14Ep. 5
One year into his leadership of Bristol City Council, Green party councillor for Southville Tony Dyer sits down with Neil to talk about it. Is he a Noel type? or a Liam? or a Bonehead? (apparently these are references to a band called Oasis). They touch on the Green Party's internal dynamics, financial hurdles, and the significant political changes occurring within the city, such as the appointment of the new West of England Combined Authority mayor, Labour's Helen Godwin. They unpack some key l...
May 19, 2025•59 min•Season 14Ep. 4
With faith in democracy – and in particular in traditional political parties – at a low ebb, in the UK and elsewhere, this week Unpacked wrestles with whether citizens’ assemblies offer a chance to rekindle the public’s affection. Neil is joined by David Jubb, co-founder and co-director of Citizens In Power, which as its name suggests aims to enable citizens to lead decision-making and shape the future.Citizens’ assemblies offer a representative group of people the chance to deliberate on thorny...
May 05, 2025•59 min•Season 14Ep. 3
In this instalment of Bristol Unpacked, Neil is joined by BBC Politics West editor Pete Simson to unpack the upcoming West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Mayoral election. Simson, a veteran political journalist, offers his expertise and breaks down key aspects of the election, discussing the major candidates, voter engagement strategies, and the complexities of local political dynamics here in Bristol. How do you cover local political content in an engaging way? And what might be the impac...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 2
This week, we’re diving into Bristol’s vibrant nightlife. Neil talks with legendary Bristol photographer Colin Moody who has has been wide awake, capturing the city after dark in his latest project. Colin is no stranger to documenting Bristol’s characters; his previous photography books have brought the streets of Montpelier and Gloucester Road to life. Now, he’s turned his lens to the nightlife, working for the past five years (yes, even through lockdown) alongside Jasmine Yaba Ketibuah-foley. ...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 14Ep. 1
This week we’re bringing you another episode from the Bristol Unpacked Archives; its Green party MP Carla Denyer who was interviewed by Neil in October 2021, just after her election as co-chair of The Green party and 3 years before her election to parliament as the MP for Bristol Central in 2024. How has she measured up against early commitments expressed in this interview? Check out her voting record and see for yourself. Original Copy - October 2021: Carla Denyer, an elected councillor in the ...
Mar 24, 2025•51 min•Season 13Ep. 8
From the archive April 2022 "As the slap reverberates around the world we talk all things comedy with Jayde Adams - who went from working in Asda Bedminster to her own Amazon Prime Special. She just starred in a new BBC documentary following her move back to Bristol. Going deep about how the death of her sister made her so driven, are there red lines in comedy, and what it is like coming home."
Mar 10, 2025•55 min•Season 13Ep. 7
Lucy Reed is a barrister in the family courts, where separating couples hammer out child custody arrangements and where, in one of the most severe decisions the state can take, orders are made to take children into care, separating them from their families. On 27 January, journalists were for the first time allowed, with some restrictions, to report from any family court across England and Wales. Why is this a big deal? And with the system under pressure, why do so many kids get taken into care,...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 6
From the archives - an update Today we bring you an episode from the archives with Dr Patrick Hart. Patrick took action in August 2022 to demand an end to new licences and consents for oil and gas projects in the UK, something which has subsequently become government policy. He disabled petrol pumps at an Esso garage on the M25 on the 24th August 2022. On August 24, 2022, he disabled petrol pumps at an Esso garage near the M25. He was found guilty of Criminal Damage in October 2024 and appeared ...
Feb 17, 2025•51 min•Season 13Ep. 5
It’s the coldest time of the year, and Bristol’s homelessness crisis is as bleak as ever. How does it feel to be out on the streets? This week, Neil puts the question to Paul Goggin, ex-Lord Mayor of Bristol, who went through a period of sleeping rough after a relationship breakdown. Goggin has also been open about his mental health struggles – does the UK need a different approach? And as Labour councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood, does he fear the rise of the Reform Party? Listen in to fin...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 4
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 Maggs, in conversation with chair of the Bristol Boaters’ Community Association Amanda Sharman, to fi...
Dec 16, 2024•56 min•Season 13Ep. 3
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 Samira Musse, from Barton Hill Activity Club, as they get deep into these issues and more… Head to www.th...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 13Ep. 2
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 Donald Trump? Join Neil Maggs in conversation with Easton councillor and housing committee lead, Barry...
Nov 18, 2024•55 min•Season 13Ep. 1
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 to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. ...
Apr 26, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 12Ep. 4
Neil Maggs sits down with Mark Weston, who was first elected as a councillor nearly 20 years ago, and has led the local Tory party for a decade. On the eve of the local elections, they discuss the Tories miserable national polling, the so-called 'war on motorists' being waged by Bristol City Council, and the cultural divides between Bristol's inner city and suburbs. Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 12Ep. 3
Jos Clark is an experienced local councillor now leading the Lib Dems into Bristol's local elections. A party that used to have strong support in the city has seen its seats dwindle over the last decade. The critic of Marvin Rees and the mayoral system, who helped manoeuvre the referendum on introducing the new committee system, talks to Neil Maggs about libraries, Bristol's failing bus services and her prediction that Labour will take a kicking after eight years in power Subscribe to The Bristo...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 12Ep. 2
Just three years after being first elected as a councillor, Labour's Tom Renhard is now leading the party into May's local elections. Neil Maggs asks him about his record as the city's housing chief, why he thinks the Greens aren't up to the task of being in power and Labour's plans for building new homes, campaigning for rent controls and bringing buses back into public ownership. Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your audio. Hosted on Acast. See acas...
Apr 12, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 12Ep. 1
Salma, a lawyer who spent her childhood in Gaza, shares the 'dystopian' experience of life under occupation and knowing your family are in a war zone, as well as discussing happier memories and pro-Palestinian activism in the UK. Content warning: contains graphic descriptions of war and violence Salma Hajjar is a young trainee solicitor who spent her childhood up to age eight in Gaza, where decades of oppression and violence have been succeeded by a return to the horrors of all-out war. In the l...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 11Ep. 6
Neil chats to Ruth, a daughter of the Windrush generation, on her decades of work with Bristol's voluntary and community groups, how that's changed as public services have been cut – and whether she feels conflicted about receiving an honour associated with empire Ruth Pitter has been a stalwart of Bristol’s voluntary sector for decades – and in January 2024 was awarded an MBE as part of the New Year’s honours list for ‘services to equality, charity and community’ in the city. This has included ...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 11Ep. 5
Bristol Unpacked with BBC journalist Lucy Proctor on mad cows, Covid and conspiracy theories Thirty years ago, BSE was spreading across the UK while the government insisted beef was safe. Neil asks Lucy, producer of The Cows are Mad podcast, about the scandal – and how conspiracy theories have thrived as trust in the establishment has nosedived. Over the past few years, BBC podcast producer Lucy Proctor has built a reputation for shining a much broader and more searching beam into the world of c...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 11Ep. 4
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Watershed CEO Clare Reddington on cinema, class and council cuts As Bristol City Council slashes spending on venues including arthouse cinema Watershed, Neil asks its boss Clare why funding the arts matters, and whether the sector's reputation as catering mainly to the well-heeled is justified. Over the past year Clare Reddington, the chief executive of Bristol's flagship arthouse cinema Watershed, has not been shy about fighting her corner in the midst of a tough f...
Dec 15, 2023•55 min•Season 11Ep. 3
In the last few months, Wesley Bear has been at the forefront of actions by ACORN. That's the community union known nationally for taking direct action to stand up for tenants' rights, which originated in Bristol almost a decade ago. On 17 November Wesley, ACORN's communications officer, was involved in an altercation with security guards at the Holiday Inn in Bristol city centre. Residents of the Barton House tower block evacuated that week have been temporarily housed in the hotel – in conditi...
Dec 08, 2023•52 min•Season 11Ep. 2
Content warning: audio contains graphic discussions of violence Eight years ago, filmmaker Aodh Breathnach was stabbed multiple times during a night out on Stokes Croft, and rushed in a taxi to the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Aodh was lucky. He recovered from injuries to his head and body within a few weeks and tried to put the attack out of his mind, deleting photos from his phone and throwing away the clothes he had been wearing. But the mental scars the stabbing inflicted proved far more resista...
Nov 16, 2023•59 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Poku Osei transitioned from hustling to sell sugar and DVDs in Ghana to running one of Bristol’s most celebrated social enterprises. Babbasa focuses on helping young people access and thrive with new opportunities, including through alliances with corporates and big institutions. But does this ‘social mobility’ approach undermine more wide scale change by lifting up individuals but not addressing why their communities are under served? Neil and Poku get philosophical and pragmatic on whether a s...
Aug 03, 2023•56 min•Season 10Ep. 13
"F*** the police!", "Sluts Against Cops" and “We will burn your fucking cars.” These are some of the things Jasmine York said or graffitied during the ‘Kill the Bill’ riots in March 2021. The biggest incidence of unrest in mainland Britain in a decade. Jasmine was jailed in the aftermath for arson. As an activist and now ex-prisoner, what’s Jasmine’s take on what went down? Regrets? Didn’t it play into the government’s hands? And what is the big idea behind the abolition of prisons? Neil and Jas...
Jul 13, 2023•57 min•Season 10Ep. 12
