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Echoing past places of queer community, in an era of rapidly rising transphobia, trans-majority drag spaces push through barriers of funding and oppression to offer a place for radical trans-expression.

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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.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with councillor Barry Parsons on Green power in City Hall, and improving relations with council tenants

What's behind Bristol's Green surge? How does it feel to be finally leading the city council? And does the party have any new ideas on the housing crisis? Join Neil Maggs as we get stuck into a brand-new season of Bristol Unpacked…

‘Having the odd disabled model is not enough’: the Bristol woman shaking up the beauty industry

Millie Flemington-Clare was born with cystinosis, which affects just a few thousand people across the world. She explains why accessible makeup has more than just cosmetic importance.

Enduring trauma, and a struggle for justice: one year on from the Barton House high-rise evacuation

On 14 November 2023 an east Bristol tower block was evacuated over fears it could collapse, making national news. A year on, residents tell the Cable about the disruption to their lives, the ongoing impact on their wellbeing and their children's – and how a community has been left traumatised.

Listen: The Debrief – a year after the Barton House evacuation, residents still search for justice

It's a year this week since the Barton House tower block in east Bristol was evacuated. Priyanka Raval discusses residents' enduring trauma, and ongoing search for justice.

Listen: The Debrief – what a leaked police report revealed about racial inequalities in stop-and-search

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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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.