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Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Jos Clark on ‘bloody rude’ Marvin, looming Labour thrashing and Lib Dem comeback
The experienced local councillor, who is a strong critic of Marvin Rees and the mayoral system, talks libraries, Bristol's failing bus services and her prediction that Labour will take a kicking after eight years in power.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Labour’s Tom Renhard on building new homes, his fast rise to party leader and why the Greens aren’t ready for power
Labour will be trying to hold onto power after eight years of running the city. Local leader Tom Renhard says the Greens, Labour's main competition, won't be able to step up and make big decisions.
‘She could’ve died’: Kill the Bill protester’s struggle to hold police to account for knocking her out with baton
Despite her physical injuries, the trauma that followed, and that her actions at a demonstration three years ago paled in comparison to the violence she faced, it’s Fleur Moody, not the officer who struck her, who was prosecuted.
Upcoming Events
Barton House
Our reporting on the fallout of the evacuation of a tower block in Barton Hill in November 2023.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs
ACORN's Wesley Bear on activism, the Barton House evacuation, and frosty relations with the council
Relations between Bristol City Council and community union ACORN have become increasingly fractious, with recent clashes over council tax and the evacuation of a Barton Hill tower block. Neil asks Wesley why, and whether there's a way back.
Barton House evacuation: Was the chaos and confusion completely unnecessary?
With a lack of clear information from the council, rumours and speculation ruled as residents decanted from their homes were left in the dark about what was going on. Campaigners say the authorities could have planned this better.
Weekly podcasts
Read moreFrom audio investigations and Bristol Unpacked to deep-dives into local issues and recordings of live events.
Listen: The Debrief – why does transparency matter, and is the council getting any better at it?
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 for change, Alex Turner talks to Priyanka Raval about why this is important, and whether we can look forward to more open local government.
Listen: The Debrief – Bristol is ditching its mayor, but what can it learn from Sheffield?
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.
The Future of Cities
Read moreHow do we build cities fit for the future? This is the question we're trying to answer in our year-long series of solutions journalism
Trams, or an underground? As Bristol weighs its public transport options, can it learn from across the Channel?
Bristol is notorious for its congestion and poor public transport, and has been hit by a worsening bus crisis. As it looks to a new mass transit system to solve its problems, cities such as Rennes and Bordeaux can offer valuable lessons.
Bristol’s flood defences are being pushed to their limit. What is the city’s long-term plan, and will it be enough?
The council is searching for an extra £100 million to fund future flood defences to protect low-lying areas of the city. While residents call for greater action, the Cable looks across the North Sea to Rotterdam for inspiration.
Bristol Unpacked Podcast
Listen to moreFascinating and challenging conversations from characters on big topics facing the city and beyond.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Salma Najjar on experiencing the Gaza war as a Palestinian in the UK
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.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Ruth Pitter on the role of the charity sector, pioneering Black theatre and her recent MBE
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.
Listen: 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.
Investigations
Read moreUncovering injustice and wrongdoing
Transparency matters: why is Bristol City Council failing on freedom of information?
Cable research shows that Bristol is worse than many other major cities at handling citizens’ FOI requests. Why is this a problem – and will the end of the mayoral system next year bring more open local government in the city?
Voices
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Video
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Watch: ‘I was a conspiracy theorist for 15 years. Now I’m on a mission to bring others back to reality.’
Brent Lee Regan from Bristol describes his journey down the rabbit hole of internet conspiracies and back to reality, and how it led him to creating his podcast explaining how conspiracy theories work.
Popular series
In Disrepair: Bristol’s broken renting system
This series will tell the stories of renters in Bristol, dig into how the pandemic has affected the crisis, and, crucially, what can be done about it. We will join the dots between local issues and the wider housing crisis in the UK, holding the council and central government to account on pledges for action.
