Bristol Unpacked

Jos Clark is an experienced local councillor now leading the Lib Dems into Bristol's local elections. A party that used to have strong support in the city has seen its seats dwindle over the last dec…

Just three years after being first elected as a councillor, Labour's Tom Renhard is now leading the party into May's local elections.

Neil Maggs asks him about his record as the city's housing chief, …

Salma, a lawyer who spent her childhood in Gaza, shares the 'dystopian' experience of life under occupation and knowing your family are in a war zone, as well as discussing happier memories and pro-P…

Neil chats to Ruth, a daughter of the Windrush generation, on her decades of work with Bristol's voluntary and community groups, how that's changed as public services have been cut – and whether she …

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 Lu…

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 bos…

In the last few months, Wesley Bear has been at the forefront of actions by ACORN. That's the community union known nationally for taking direct action to stand up for tenants' rights, which originat…

Content warning: audio contains graphic discussions of violence

Eight years ago, filmmaker Aodh Breathnach was stabbed multiple times during a night out on Stokes Croft, and rushed in a taxi to the Br…

Poku Osei transitioned from hustling to sell sugar and DVDs in Ghana to running one of Bristol’s most celebrated social enterprises. Babbasa focuses on helping young people access and thrive with new…

"F*** the police!", "Sluts Against Cops" and “We will burn your fucking cars.” These are some of the things Jasmine York said or graffitied during the ‘Kill the Bill’ riots in March 2021. The biggest…

It's been three years since the Colston statue was toppled, thrusting the Merchant Venturers - the elite club with a history of the worst kind - into the limelight. But for many years prior, Christin…

Bristol has long had a reputation as a hotbed of leftie radicals. Most recently, the movement that was built and surged during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. 

Isaac has been a promine…

How can a stuffy institution with deep links to British Establishment power play a role in bringing about social justice on Earth, in Bristol and beyond?

Neil gets deep into a challenging conversation…

A large part of raising the early years of the next generation is entrusted to nurseries. But the sector is in a protracted crisis of funding and stability. Childcare costs in the UK are among the mo…

Has Bristol’s local politics caught up with how many outsiders see the city: Full of cycling vegetarian activists? The Green Party are now the biggest group on the city council, and Emma Edwards the …

Paul Simmons’ mugshot appeared on the front page of the Bristol Evening Post in 2004. Fast forward through many years in jail, crimes and devastating addiction Paul appeared on the front page in Nove…