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The Debrief

A report leaked to the Cable showed the shocking fact that Black people are 25 times likelier to be strip-searched than white peers. Sean Morrison and Priyanka Raval ask what the findings say about police institutional racism.

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We’re hiring: Engagement Lead

The Engagement Lead is the driving force behind the Cable’s presence and engagement with people in Bristol, and responsible for our membership growth and retention.

Explained: What is Labour’s new Employment Rights Bill, and what does it mean for Bristolians?

In October Labour introduced the Employment Rights Bill, calling it the 'biggest upgrade to rights at work in a generation'. Why does it matter, where could it be better – and when will it make a difference to people's lives?

Who’s the real joke – the bin-faced comedian or the clowns in charge?

Political satirist and prime minister-baiting candidate Count Binface talks nationalising Adele, the dangers of Keir Starmer’s ‘inch-deep’ majority, and how his pastry policies can improve Bristol.

‘We need to move the dials’: Avon and Somerset Police must show real change on institutional racism

The police have been gaslighting us for generations – and officers’ use of intrusive stop-and-search powers is still blighting Bristol’s young Black boys, a local racial justice advocate argues.

Black children and adults strip searched 25 times more often than white peers in Avon and Somerset, leaked report reveals

EXCLUSIVE: The sensitive ‘deep-dive’ review also reveals the police officers who prolifically and disproportionately stop and search Black people in Bristol

They built a huge wind turbine, but can they bring Lawrence Weston’s last pub back from the dead?

The Giant Goram closed five years ago and is a sorry state after being repeatedly broken into. What would it take for a campaigning group of residents to return it to viability?

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From audio investigations and Bristol Unpacked to deep-dives into local issues and recordings of live events.

Listen: People Just Do Something, with Jendayi Serwah on what reparations are and what real progress would look like

Reparations campaigner Jendayi Serwah explains what the term means, how it differs from other racial justice movements and how grassroots organisations are pushing for real change.

Listen: The Debrief – five years on, did Bristol City Council really boot out the bailiffs?

Matty Edwards chats to Alex Turner about whether the council has stuck to a commitment to work more ethically with people who owe it money, and explains why is it so important to stick with these kinds of stories.

Listen: People Just Do Something, with Habib Kadiri on pernicious police stop-and-search powers

Habib Kadiri, from charity StopWatch, explains why stop-and-search matters, what your rights are and how marginalised communities can push back.

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Investigations

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Uncovering injustice and wrongdoing

Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation

Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.

No To Section 60: Letter to local MPs demanding suspicionless search legislation is scrapped

Here's a draft letter to be sent to your local MP demanding that they push for the repeal of Section 60 police stop and search powers

Revealed: Building owner ‘abandons’ leaseholders trapped in unsafe Brislington flats

Orchard House residents took matters into their own hands to force the building owner to carry out remediation works, under powers brought in after the Grenfell tragedy. But as the legal deadline nears, little progress has been made.

Bristol Unpacked Podcast

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Fascinating and challenging conversations from characters on big topics facing the city and beyond.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Emma Edwards on making local politics less toxic, and whether the Greens are ready for power

Growing support for the Green Party could well see them running the council beyond May's local elections, but are they ready to make the tricky transition from the main local opposition to being in charge?

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Tory leader Mark Weston on how the council has waged ‘war on motorists’ and wasted millions

The councillor of nearly 20 years discusses the Tories' miserable national polling, the millions of pounds of public money wasted by the council, and the cultural divides between Bristol's inner city and suburbs.

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.

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From Bristol to the West Bank: the power of internationalism in Palestine

The Palestinian people have shown astonishing defiance and resilience in the face of Israeli violence and persecution. International volunteers, including Bristolians, are travelling to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with them.

Education is the great liberator: the Bristol activists forging links with teachers in Palestine

Yasmeen Eshtaya is a Palestinian teacher whose life has been deeply affected by the brutal violence of the Israeli state. But she is committed to reconciliation and forming bonds through teaching Arabic – including to people in Bristol.

‘The most liberating feeling’: how an ADHD diagnosis changed one Bristol business owner’s life

After her own personal journey, Lisa Whitehouse is determined to spread awareness and help others through her work.

Watch: How Section 60 contributes to rifts between police and the communities they serve

Youth workers, community leaders and the founder of a police monitoring group explain the damaging and traumatising impact of controversial 'suspicionless' search powers in Bristol.

VIDEO: Chief constable challenged on ‘anti-racist policing’ progress and stop and search reform

It’s been a year since Avon and Somerset’s chief constable Sarah Crew admitted her service was institutionally racist, but what is she actually doing about it?

VIDEO: What We Want – Meaningful climate action not culture wars

Extinction Rebellion activist Kathy says the Tory government's disgraceful legacy of weaponising action on climate change as part of culture wars.