The Bristol Cable

Talk Club, set up in a Bristol pub seven years ago, offers a space for men to get together and discuss their mental health. That’s something too few of us still do, as shown by the horrible statistic that in the UK, a man dies by suicide roughly every 90 minutes – the length of a football match.

With this episode recorded during Men’s Health Week, and with the World Cup bringing many men together in a highly emotional state, it seemed an appropriate time to sit down with Gavin Thorpe, one of Talk Club’s two foun...

In December the government announced plans to invest £500m in the country’s youth services – which were gutted during austerity – and create 50 major new and revitalised youth hubs – including at Docklands in St Paul’s. Shockingly this is the first time there has been a national youth strategy in a couple of decades.

Our guest today is a man who – like your host Neil – has a long history of working with young people. He’s the outspoken Ben Carpenter, founder and CEO of local youth and community organisation Grassroot Communities.

The pair reflect on the state of youth se...

This week we welcome back to Unpacked Paul Smith. Last time we had him on the show, in 2020, he was in the local news every week as the councillor in charge of Bristol's housing. For most of the last six years he's been out of the public spotlight, but in the last few weeks has been selected to help locals decide how to spend millions of pounds of government money in the place he grew up – Hartcliffe.

While he's not lived there for more than 25 years, it’s a place he remains passionate about – enough to have writte...

Welcome back after a short break to Bristol Unpacked, and the start of our new season running through until summer.

For the first episode we welcome Yassin Mohamud, a Green councillor for Lawrence Hill, the ward that includes Barton Hill, which as well as sitting within the controversion East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme was the scene of the disastrous Barton House tower block evacuation in 2023. It's a busy, diverse inner-city area where there is always plenty to keep local politicians on their toes.

In the week this episode goes live Yassin will be sworn in...

This week we welcome Lewis Wedlock to discuss his work as a ‘masculinities educator’ with young people in schools in Bristol and across the country. In our age of controversial 'hypermasculine' online influencers – perhaps most famously, Andrew Tate – this can be an eye-opening experience, to put it mildly.

Of course the ‘manosphere’ of which Tate is part has broken massively into the wider consciousness recently. Last year the hard-hitting Netflix drama Adolescence went viral, followed just a few weeks ago by Louis Theroux’ documentary Inside the Manosphere. Many people – including Lewis – questioned whether that film should have done more to chall...

What happens to families when a parent ends up in prison? That’s the question we’re getting into this week on Unpacked with Kerri Matthews, a director of Bristol's EveryFamily charity.

Over more than a decade EveryFamily, which started as a SureStart children's centre, has developed specialist services working with families where a parent is in prison – something Kerri, a mum herself, has been at the heart of. It leads on supporting families affected by parental offending across South Gloucestershire, Somerset and, via a contract with Avon and Somerset Police, Bristol.

So what is the im...

This week Unpacked gets into the difficult topic of trauma: what is it, who does it effect and how does it manifest?

Our guest is someone who speaks wisely both from a personal and professional perspective, on how trauma, passing through generations, can affect not just individuals but entire communities.

Heather Williams is CEO of Knowle West Park, and has spearheaded the organisation through a turbulent time in the south Bristol estate in the aftermath of the tragic murders of young boys Max Dixon and Mason Rist.

Coming from across the local postcode...

Dr Edson Burton wears many different hats, both figuratively and literally. He’s a writer, performer, historian, poet, well-dressed man about town, and – as you’ll know if you follow his social channels – physical training enthusiast. So who better to wade into one of the thorniest issues of the day: what is our culture, and who does it belong to?

In a freewheeling chat with Neil, Edson speaks about his personal experience of moving between worlds: working-class Bedford roots to academic institutions; Radio 4 to grassroots venues; poetry to dancefloors. Rather than “cutting himself off” from any part of his life...

When you’re known as the ‘King of Southmead’, how does it feel to be copping abuse on social media from the good people of Bristol?

That’s the situation that former longtime Bristol Bears lock Joe Joyce, who grew up on the north Bristol estate, has faced this year after it was announced he will return to play rugby in the West Country – for rivals Gloucester.

This week, Bristol Unpacked is taking one of its periodic forays into the world of sport as Neil – himself a former sports journalist – sits down with Joe to discuss his re...

Universal basic income means the state providing citizens with a bare-bones income that allows them to survive and keep a roof over their head.

It’s an idea that’s been kicking around for decades. But with AI threatening people’s jobs and many arguing the benefits system is not fit for purpose, it’s seeing renewed interest and Bristol councillors passed a motion calling on the council to ask government for a trial here.
This would focus on people in the creative sector – an area that’s getting plenty of attention as Bristol bids to be the 2029...

How does the Labour politician who oversees policing in Avon and Somerset feel about being cancelled by her own party after less than 18 months in office?

This week we’re talking to Clare Moody, Avon & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), who beat her Conservative predecessor Mark Shelford by 5,000 votes in 2024, albeit on a low turnout of 23%.

In November, as we were finalising the guest booking, policing minister Sarah Jones announced that the Starmer government would be scrapping PCCs, which were set up under the Tories in the 2010s, with a statement calling the role...

Bristol Temple Quarter is the biggest redevelopment the city has seen in at least a generation, and will transform a vast area around Temple Meads station, St Philips Marsh and the Dings beyond recognition.

Much of this has been untouched for decades, and while it’s mostly current or former industrial land, it also sits next-door to some of the city’s poorest communities around Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill.

This week on Bristol Unpacked, we talk to the woman overseeing the massive project. Lyn Garner is chair of the Temple Quarter partnership, which brings toge...

Before starting this series, we held a roundtable discussion with experts in the field of youth justice. We spoke about serious violence among young people, the root causes of it, and how it's represented in the media.

Media outlets have lots to learn when it comes to rebuilding trust with the communities they serve, including young people. As does the criminal justice system, and the institutions there to protect children.

The language we use to describe issues like these is important. In this episode, we explore how newspapers frame...

The murder of James Bulger in 1993 by two 10-year-old boys was an horrific act of violence that essentially led to a huge change in the country’s youth justice system: the abolition of the legal term doli incapax (meaning incapable of evil).

It meant that children as young as 10 were now deemed capable of committing crime – before then it was 14. Since this shift, England and Wales to this day has one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the world. 

In this episode we challenge the thinking that some...

After a spate of serious youth violence last year, a wide-ranging review was launched by the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership – a group of organisations including the city council and police. Researchers gathered information local services held about 10 young people who were involved in three different incidents – including those connected to the murders of three teenage boys, Max Dixon, Mason Rist and Darrian Williams. The review found that all of the young people involved were from communities that are minoritised in different ways. Similar issues were raised in every case: things like poverty, exclusion from school and special educational needs (SEN...

In early 2024, three teenage boys were fatally stabbed on Bristol’s streets within 18 days. It was a grim start to the new year – one that thrust the issue of serious youth violence in the city further into the spotlight. What followed was a very public response from Bristol’s institutions – the police, the city council – promising they are doing all they can to stop further violence. We followed this response closely: it’s something of a playbook – the crisis response to tragedies. The perpetrators of serious youth violence are often victims themselves, of failing systems of support that could have prevented...

We've Got Your Boy is a new investigative podcast series on school exclusions, child imprisonment, and the roots of serious youth violence. Starting here, on the outskirts of Bristol, Vinney Green secure children's home.

The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales – it’s one of the lowest in the world. It’s before a child has even left primary school. But the pipeline to prison can start way before the age of 10, and way before a child has done anything criminal.

What pushes them in that direction? And ho...

Taxing and redistributing wealth to reduce inequality is an idea popular on the left, and is being pushed by some politicians including Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

But it’s loathed by others who believe people should be able to hang on to what they have, whether that’s earned or inherited.

This week we’re joined by Frances Howe, co-founder of local collective Bristol Redistro, which rather than a top-down tax asks people who have more money than they need to voluntarily chuck some of it into a pot.

This is divided up by...

Bristol North West MP Darren Jones is a man whose political rise has been rapid.

From growing up in a Lawrence Weston council flat to representing his home turf as an MP, and since September assuming a new role as Keir Starmer’s chief secretary, Jones’ story is rooted in Bristol. In this week’s episode he talks to Neil about that journey and how his early experiences shaped his politics.

But Jones’ recent promotion comes as Labour faces plummeting public support in the face of policy flip-flops, challenges from Reform and, from some sections of the e...

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 back on the show to get...

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 been through the highs and lows of professional sport?
...

So, this is a bit of a break from the usual, but we figured the lessons we can learn from radicals 200 years ago are every bit as relevant as those from today. Isaac is back out exploring, and this time he's in a Hotwells building that was once ground zero for radical science and politics in England: The Pneumatic Institute. This place was a hotbed in the late 1700s, right around the time of The French Revolution. Joining Isaac is cultural historian Mike Jay, author of Free Radicals, who gets stuck into this history and the psychedelic science it...

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 Society Director, Rizwan Ahmed, joined Neil to debunk common misconceptions about Islam, and to talk thr...

[TRIGGER WARNING: Communism]

This episode comes from our last live show where we had international super comrade, professor Jodi Dean, blessing us with a discussion focussed on Communism in the modern age. As an outwardly left wing academic residing in the U.S.A, Jodi is often at the sharp end of the discourse, and she eloquently describes the importance of building a solidarity movement in tough times. Jodi is clearly wedded to the old guard of revolutionary thought, and this chat dives into some of the sticky stuff in framing those ideas for a contemporary audience...

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 debate topics we’ve covered on Unpacked before.

Hartcliffe has just received £20 million as part of a national government scheme to s...

Number one Potter fanboy (joking please no more libel) Ethan Shone gives us a whistle stop tour of the sketchy world of The Dark Arts, aka secretive political lobbying. How is Bristol MP Darren Jones connected to a globally influential organisation set up by MI6 operatives? Why has Starmer's Labour party been described by former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy as "the first private sector government in Labours history"? Who's pulling the strings and how has corporate capture become the overarching narrative of our political era? Journalist Ethan Shone shines a light into these murky corners in an attempt...

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 York Times.
They then set up the Bristol Northern So...

Annie McGann aka The People's Lobbyist, graced us with her presence at the last PJDS live event to talk about her favourite topic, night-life. Her campaign group Save Bristol Nightlife has been pivotal in supporting the city's night-time economy, acting as a resource hub as well as a go-between for industry workers, Bristol City Council representatives, property developers and more. She calls it "interfering" but it would more commonly be called lobbying. Annie talks us through what led her to this point, her fascination with David Bowie, The Blitz Club, Soundsystem culture and the importance of doing the paperwork...

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 of community cohesion across cultural divides. It’s a good one...

"Tommy Robinson's worst nightmare" is how Taj Ali described his experience at Uni. He came to town for PJDS live to talk about the past, present, and future of trade unionism and activism in the UK. Drawing from his time as an industrial correspondent and his upcoming book on British South Asian resistance, Taj connects the dots between working-class history, racial identity and common struggle. He manages to stay focussed on the love, care and solidarity that still exists in working class communities, whilst also exposing how the far right exploits and encourages division within them. Most importantly he...

One year into his leadership of Bristol City Council, Green party councillor for Southville Tony Dyer sits down with Neil to talk about it. 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 mayor, Labour's Helen Godwin. 

They unpack some key local issues from the past year, including the controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood Scheme and budget constraints impacting public services, also the rising wave of right wing populism and how that might impact Dyer's stomping ground i...

The queue for the women's toilet was tiny at the Reform UK rally according to Sian Norris, our guest this week. She's a journalist who has used undercover reporting to lift the lid on on the rise of right-wing populism and misogyny, particularly in relation to reproductive rights. She's a Senior Reporter at openDemocracy and has written several books, most recently Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right attack on reproductive rights went global. 

Join us as we look into the moment to moment experience of going undercover, how to do it and what it feels like. Featuring b...

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 issues – such as abortion or assisted dying – in a much more nuanced way than, for example, the Brexit referendum did. They are...

We sent Isaac to Cribbs Causeway to meet the organisers of a local iteration of the international protest movement dubbed Tesla Takedown. The movement has been calling for Tesla owners to sell up and boycott the company in response to owner Elon Musk's involvement in Donald Trump's extremist government. This week, Tesla announced record losses with sales dropping 71%. Can the Tesla Takedown movement claim this? And does this result mean Communism has officially been defeated? Isaac talks with organisers from American-Bristolian group Americans for Action to get their perspective. Oh and along the way Isaac sees a small horse...

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 impact of recent scandals and controversies on the WECA election results? Listen on to find out.

Politics West

Content warning: descriptions of violence and war

"The belief in one's rights is more important than anything else. If I am confident about my rights, nothing will make me despair...When you resist an Israeli soldier by peaceful means, their weapons become irrelevant." - Iyad Burnat

Iyad Burnat is a Palestinian activist involved in non-violent resistance against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. He is the head of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall, which has led weekly demonstrations since 2005 against the Israeli West Bank barrier. He is also head of Friends of...

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.

Neil chats with Colin about his new book, the decline of nightlife across the UK...

Priyanka sits down to talk with Dr. Amelia Cussans from health justice campaign group Medact. The group recently released a report in collaboration with ACORN the union describing the evacuation of Barton House in 2023 as a mass traumatising event. Amelia and Priyanka discuss this report, its implications and some of the moving testimonies from residents contained within it.

Barton house one year on
Medact's report

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 city, has just won the leadership of the Greens alongside Adrian Ramsay. Wi...

Adam Quarshie, the latest addition to The Bristol Cable's core reporter team, takes the lead in conversation with Sean Morrison about his latest investigation into the trial of the so called Filton 18; a group of activists who broke into an arms factory in Bristol last year (2024).

Sean's article: Filton 18: ‘The more you oppress people, the more they will rise’
Petition: Stop the use of counter-terrorism powers against pro-Palestine activists

More on the topic:
Inside Bristol's 'murder factory'
The Cable's Palestine coverage