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
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 change the system and dismantle the roots of male violence. How does that all work then? And why the hel...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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
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 in Season 2. Head to www.thebristolcable.org/join to become a member, and subscribe to The Bristol ...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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
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.
Nov 11, 2024•31 min•Season 12Ep. 10
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
Nov 04, 2024•26 min•Season 12Ep. 9
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.
Oct 07, 2024•25 min•Season 12Ep. 8
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.
Sep 23, 2024•26 min•Season 12Ep. 7
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.
Sep 09, 2024•31 min•Season 12Ep. 6
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.
Aug 12, 2024•37 min•Season 12Ep. 5
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.
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 8
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.
Jul 19, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5
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 Lujane Hamzah and Sharifah Rahman alongside trade union organiser Matthew Hollinshead and journalist Isaa...
Jul 12, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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 for more information....
Jul 05, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 8
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 representatives of the city’s housing charities as polling day approaches. Their questions, on important ...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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 constituency and half of the existing North Somerset seat – held since 2010 by Jacob Rees-Mogg, a di...
Jun 28, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 4
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 the terrorists Transformed volunteer Ben Smoke sat down with Narzanin Massoumi and Samir Seddougui to ...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 2
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, Transformed volunteer Claire Muscat sat down with self professed “anarchist bloke from newport” Tom Fo...
Jun 14, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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 podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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 information.
May 31, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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 Woods, CEO of Transform Drugs, Shoba Ram, and Bristol Cable’s Matty Edwards chaired the discussion. S...
May 24, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 5
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 national news – as it reopened under new management, with hundreds of people queueing round the block to g...
May 17, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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 support proved to be even stronger than expected, prompting emotional and jubilant scenes at election counts...
May 10, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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
It’s almost six months since the Cable asked why Bristol’s performance on FOI requests was so poor. As the city’s political system prepares to change, Alex Turner talks to Priyanka Raval about why this is important, and whether we can look forward to more open local government. Back in autumn 2023, Bristol City Council was being scrutinised over its performance answering freedom of information (FOI) requests, by the independent regulator responsible for looking after citizens’ information rights...
Apr 05, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 5
On 2 May 2024, Bristol will wave goodbye to its mayor and return to a committee system. Isaac Kneebone-Hopkins chats with Priyanka Raval about what we can learn from Sheffield's experience of local government reform. In just a few weeks, Bristol will wave goodbye to its mayor Marvin Rees – and to the system of governance that he has represented.Instead of one person being directly elected to lead the city, as has been the case since 2012, the council will be run as a ‘committee system’. Groups o...
Mar 29, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 4
