Hope Is Around The Corner

Nikesh Shukla introduces his new Cable column, Hope Is Around the Corner, with a tale that begins with a picture of a twat, and an outdated racist slur.

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Editorial: Why the Cable will be shining a light on child imprisonment

The Cable's investigations lead introduces our new long-term reporting strategy that puts impact at its heart – starting with a deep-dive on child prisons and exclusion from society.

Listen: People Just Do Something Live – comrades aren’t cringe, with leftwing US academic Jodi Dean

What's the difference between a party and a movement? Is communism really on the horizon? And how can the UK left get its act together? Professor Jodi Dean has some – but not all – of the answers Isaac and Priyanka crave…

Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with Labour councillor Kirsty Tait on the Just Transition and how best to spend £20m in Hartcliffe

Neil asks Hartcliffe and Withywood representative Kirsty Tait about the government money the neighbourhood is getting – and about the importance of putting working-class voices at the centre of climate conversations.

Callout: Tell us how you feel after last summer’s racist violence in Bristol

It’s been almost a year since the worst racist rioting in generations swept across the UK. Dozens of cities in England and Northern Ireland saw...

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Listen: People Just Do Something – Ethan Shone and the Defence against the Dark Arts

Investigative journalist and Dark Arts newsletter author Ethan Shone takes Isaac and Priyanka on a whistlestop tour of the realm of dark money and secretive political influence.

Looking at the world through the lens of empathy

Jaldeep walks the streets with Bristol resident Anela Wood, who is blind, to understand how everyday streets become dangerous obstacle courses, from overgrown bushes to silent e-scooters. Through her work with Sight Loss Councils, she’s pushing for lasting change in how we design and care for pub...

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

Listen: Bristol Unpacked – from Wigan to LA, via Eastville, with Bristol Northern Soul Club

Neil chats to Bristol Northern Soul Club’s Levanna McLean and Eve Arslett about the scene’s resurgence – and how the Eastville Club has become an unlikely place of pilgrimage

Listen: People Just Do Something Live – nightlife campaigner Annie McGann urges you to get out more

Tireless advocate for Bristol’s nightlife Annie McGann on formative experiences, the thrill of discovering your tribe in the small hours, and finding activism in the council’s planning portal.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked – high sheriff Kalpna Woolf on connecting people through food and battling for boardroom diversity

Neil chats to Kalpna Woolf on her journey from west London migrant kid to BBC head of production, cookbook author and boardroom diversity advocate – as well asking what exactly a high sheriff gets up to.

Our autumn print edition is out now!

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Investigations

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Uncovering injustice and wrongdoing

‘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.

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.

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.

This Better Work

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A series with in-depth and informative coverage on the world of work in Bristol and beyond.

Tech workers need unions too

With mass layoffs and poor working conditions becoming widespread across the sector, it’s time for techies to get organised. 

‘Everyone should do something, but it needs to be useful’: Unions walk out in support of Palestine

Workplace days of action encourage workers to engage in a lunchtime walkout in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The actions have generated debate within unions, but build on a long history of international solidarity in Bristol.

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?

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‘Theatre should belong to everyone’: The Bristol artist exploring social change on stage

Portuguese artist Carlota Matos, who made her home in Bristol, uses theatre to tell stories by and with marginalised communities

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.

Explained: What do council funding reforms mean for Bristol?

After austerity hollowed out council budgets, the new government is changing how local authorities are funded, so is there light at the end of the tunnel for Bristol?

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?