Behind the buzz: Flawed science, industry influence and the untold harm of energy drinks

Investigations 5th August, 2026

The government will ban the sale of energy drinks to under-16s next year. We look back at how research with ties to Red Bull shaped the debate and delayed restrictions, and how Bristol academics played a role

Sean Morrison and Faith Rhiannon Clarke

Latest stories

Profiling Power

Surveillance isn’t safeguarding: Think Family and the fight for transparency

Bristol City Council says its mass data gathering tool is designed to protect, not profile the 55,000 families it monitors. But is it pushing school children into the criminal justice system?

Sean Morrison

Edition 44

Collage of three people smiling, with a woman in the centre making a triangle with her hands

‘Come and find a listening ear’: Seeking solace at Bristol’s Rastafari Centre

We visit the Rastafari Community Centre in St Pauls. How is the legacy and learning of a tradition carried forward when its elders are no longer here?

Adam Quarshie

Features

‘Not as proud as I should be’: How The Church of England’s divide plays out in Bristol

For decades, the Church of England has been divided on same-sex marriage. In Bristol, a city with a vibrant LGBTQ+ community, is the rift widening, or is a united Church still possible?

Faith Rhiannon Clarke

Edition 44

Illustration of a woman standing over a coffin covered in vegetables, with a basked of vegetables behind her

The Bristol Way of Death

Bristol is one of the UK's most secular cities. How do its residents find ways to deal with mourning and mortality?

Michal Grant

Hope Is Around The Corner

Photo illustration of a man in a bright jacket next to a map of Bristol

We are the champions

In the wake of the World Cup, Nikesh reflects on the beauty of the game and what he’s learned from coaching his daughters’ football team

Nikesh Shukla

Edition 44

Illustration of a man playing the violin, with the same man holding a flag, with a Hebrew symbol in between

Strange sounds, synagogues and solidarity: Bristol’s radical Jewish artists

From Klezmer to queer folk-punk, Bristol’s Jewish artists are keeping a tradition of antifascism alive

Tom Chachewitz

The Cornerman

In this four-part true crime investigation, the Cable unmasks one of Britain’s most elusive crime bosses - the Cornerman, so-called for taking a corner out of every crooked deal that came his way and hurting those who don’t pay up.

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.

The Ice Cream Slavery Case

A five year investigation Thousands of Bristolians and tourists have bought ice creams from Lopresti ice cream vans at iconic city landmarks over the decades.

Behind the buzz: Flawed science, industry influence and the untold harm of energy drinks

Latest stories

Surveillance isn’t safeguarding: Think Family and the fight for transparency

‘Come and find a listening ear’: Seeking solace at Bristol’s Rastafari Centre

‘Not as proud as I should be’: How The Church of England’s divide plays out in Bristol

The Bristol Way of Death

We are the champions

Strange sounds, synagogues and solidarity: Bristol’s radical Jewish artists

JOIN OURNEWSLETTER

Edition 44

‘Violence is worse than loving your enemy’

Charting a new course: How Bristol’s Muslims are mapping their own futures

NEWS YOU OWNCAN'T BE BOUGHT

Profiling Power

This investigation was reported by the Cable in partnership with Liberty Investigates, Lighthouse Reports and WIRED magazine.

Surveillance isn’t safeguarding: Think Family and the fight for transparency

Bristol data tools risked wrongly flagging victims and suspects, Children’s Commissioner ‘deeply concerned’

Got a tip off?

We've Got Your Boy

A new investigative podcast series on school exclusions, child imprisonment, and the roots of serious youth violence.

We’ve Got Your Boy: Episode 5, The Streets Don’t Love You

We’ve Got Your Boy: Episode 4, Ain’t No One’s Friend

The Big Story

Uncovering injustice and wrongdoing

‘We wanted allies, not saviours’: Bristol’s Palestinian diaspora on allyship, isolation and enduring grief

Hurt people, hurt people: The hidden lives of children behind bars

A year ago, Bristol showed up to resist racist, anti-migrant hatred. But the fight’s not over

Weekly podcasts

From audio investigations to People Just Do Something, listen to deep-dives into local issues and recordings of live events.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with Kingswood’s boxing sensation Tiah-Mai Ayton on her journey to the big time

Listen: Bristol Unpacked – from grassroots football to the World Cup, with Liam Smith

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Talk Club’s Gavin Thorpe – moving the dial on men’s mental health

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Ben Carpenter – amid knife crime, online harms and isolation, what should our youth services look like?

Our 44th print edition is out now!

Video

Explained: What do council funding reforms mean for Bristol?

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

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

Popular series

The Cornerman

In Disrepair: Bristol’s broken renting system

The Ice Cream Slavery Case

JOIN OURNEWSLETTER

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER

NEWS YOU OWN
CAN'T BE BOUGHT

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER