Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is not exactly winning people over – but the data says it’s working
A new report shows air pollution has reduced both inside and outside the zone a year after it came into force. But many feel poorer people are being punished while traffic is just being rerouted around the city.
A home for the ‘Hypochondriac, Mad and Distracted’: remembering the ‘madhouses’ of Fishponds
For more than 100 years, a family firm profited handsomely from running mental health facilities in Fishponds – sometimes using shocking and bizarre practices. A new book uncovers the startling history of ‘Mason’s Madhouse’.
‘Stealth closures’ of libraries leave casual staff facing hardship and city with fewer warm spaces
Dozens of temporary library closures have been announced since the council abruptly cut casual workers' shifts in November. With the council under huge financial stress, there are renewed fears for the future of the service.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with BBC journalist Lucy Proctor on mad cows, Covid and conspiracy theories
Thirty years ago, BSE was spreading across the UK while the government insisted beef was safe. Neil asks Lucy, producer of The Cows are Mad podcast, about the scandal – and how conspiracy theories have thrived as trust in the establishment has nosedived.
Bristol’s politicians are in deadlock over underground mass transit. What can the city learn from trams in Sheffield and Nottingham?
West of England Mayor Dan Norris has vetoed building the region’s new mass transit region underground to save cash. But trams in other cities bring their own challenges.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Watershed CEO Clare Reddington on cinema, class and council cuts
As Bristol City Council slashes spending on venues including arthouse cinema Watershed, Neil asks its boss Clare why funding the arts matters, and whether the sector's reputation as catering mainly to the well-heeled is justified.
