Keep the Lights On
Investigative journalism strengthens democracy – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.
The Cable is Bristol’s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what’s happening in Bristol.
We are on a mission to become sustainable – will you help us get there?
Latest stories
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.
It’s not just the far right they’re punishing for the xenophobic, racist, extremist violence on Bristol’s streets
The local news cycle is peppered with brief reports on those jailed for their involvement in the 3 August far-right violent disorder in the city centre. But here’s what’s really going on…
Weekly podcasts
Read moreFrom audio investigations and Bristol Unpacked to deep-dives into local issues and recordings of live events.
Listen: People Just Do Something – Fadumo Farah on Barton House, ACORN and a Holiday Inn mattress blockade
People Just Do Something is a relaxing and possibly enraging podcast about people who might self-identify as activists, untangling the means of effecting change in Bristol, broken Britain and beyond.
Investigations
Read moreUncovering 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.
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
Listen to moreFascinating 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.
Voices
Read more
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.
Video
Watch more
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.
