The Bristol Cable

A media cooperative that is transforming the landscape of local journalism.

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Bristol Unpacked, with Bristol Northern Soul Club

1 week ago | thebristolcable.org | Alex Turner

It’s more than a decade now since Levanna McLean went viral on YouTube with videos of her Northern Soul dancing around Bristol, shot by her mother Eve Arslett. Social media fame, which saw Lev rack up millions of views and led to a Brit Awards appearance with Pharrell Williams, has in recent years crossed over to the legacy media for her and Eve, co-founders of Bristol Northern Soul Club and this week’s Unpacked guests.
Kalpna Woolf on connecting people through food

3 weeks ago | thebristolcable.org | Alex Turner

After several episodes getting deep into local politics and the workings of democracy, this week Unpacked takes a detour into an area everyone can enjoy – food – as Neil chats to Bristol’s new high sheriff Kalpna Woolf. After coming to Southall, west London from India in the 60s as a young child, Kalpna spent 25 years working for the BBC, most of it here in Bristol, rising to become head of production with responsibility for both food and natural history.
Bristol council paying to rent homes from banned landlord

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Alex Turner

Alex Dimond In 2023, the Cable revealed that Naomi Knapp, a Bristol landlord barred from letting properties due to poor maintenance and fire safety issues, had got around her banning order by renting them out via short term lets on Airbnb. After we contacted Airbnb, a huge business in Bristol, it investigated and removed the listings, which were made via a third party.
Lessons from the Bristol Apartheid-Free Zone

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Priyanka Raval

In the months following Israel’s invasion of Gaza after 7 October 2023, pro-Palestine marches across the UK swelled to record numbers. “You go to a demo, you let out rage and anguish, and then you go home,” says Sacha, a community organiser from St Paul’s. “We did that every week — I’d strap my baby to my chest, march and scream.
Taj Ali on class, the left and Luton

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Priyanka Raval

At the back end of the pandemic, Taj Ali had recently graduated and was working 12-hour shifts in a naan bread factory in his home town of Luton. Less than five years on, he’s a prominent voice on workers’ rights, class and politics, having been “given a chance” by esteemed left magazine Tribune, where he became industrial correspondent and then editor.
How Hillfields is reviving a vital community hub

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Priyanka Raval

It’s a bright spring afternoon in Hillfields. The neighbourhood green buzzes with life — kids tear around the skatepark, parents chat by the swings. In one corner, raised beds bloom in the community garden. In another, the old community centre stands quiet — for now. Showing us around is Sarah Rogers — part tour guide, part whirlwind. She’s the CEO and co-founder of Hillfields Community Garden and barely takes a few steps without someone stopping her.
Tony Dyer on a year of Green power in the city

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Alex Turner

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the last time we had local Green Party councillor Tony Dyer as a guest on Unpacked. Back then, in November 2020, Donald Trump had just been defeated in the US presidential election, and we were, of course, in the grip of the pandemic. Here in Bristol, Covid meant the vote for our mayor had been suspended until the following spring.
good intentions aren't enough

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Sean Morrison

Since January 2022, Bristol City Council has been developing the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood Scheme (EBLN). In its latest consultation, 1,418 people responded: 760 objected, 427 expressed support. Despite majority opposition, the council pushed ahead, insisting traffic restrictions were “necessary to support the City Council’s transport objectives.” The trial launched in October 2024 across Barton Hill, Redfield, and St George.
Is this really progress?

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Sean Morrison

The East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (EBLN) was designed to make the area safer and encourage active travel like cycling, giving priority to pedestrians over cars to improve the environment locally. Sounds nice, right? But to finish the job in March – installing planters, bus gates, etc. – the council needed the support of the police and private security. They arrived in the middle of the night to try and avoid protesters who had previously stopped work being done.
investigative journalist Sian Norris

1 month ago | thebristolcable.org | Priyanka Raval

Fresh from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) elections, which saw Reform come a close second to Labour in the Bristol region, Isaac and Priyanka sit down this week to chat to investigative reporter Sian Norris. Sian, who is based in the city, recently went undercover at Nigel Farage’s party’s huge rally in central Birmingham, reporting on the event for Open Democracy.