Bristol Unpacked
by The Bristol Cable
Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs brings you fascinating and challenging conversations from characters of all stripes on big topics facing the city and beyond. Brought to you by the Bristol Cable, a new kind of newspaper for Bristol 100% community owned by 2,200 members. Join them for just £1 a month and own your media. thebristolcable.org
Episodes
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Tiah-Mai Ayton, Kingswood's boxing sensation
We wrap up the Unpacked summer season with a chat that’s punchy in more ways than one as Neil sits down with Kingswood’s rising boxing star Tiah-Mai Ayton, a year on from her turning pro with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. The 19-year-old started out kickboxing aged six and has been beaten just...
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From grassroots football to the World Cup, with Liam Smith
In the hours before this episode hit the streaming platforms, England beat Mexico in a famous 3-2 victory at the Estadio Azteca, keeping their World Cup dreams alive and setting up a meeting with Norway – fresh from knocking out Brazil – in the last eight of the competition. Yes, this week we’re...
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Talk Club’s Gavin Thorpe – moving the dial on men’s mental health
Talk Club, set up in a Bristol pub seven years ago, offers a space for men to get together and discuss their mental health. That’s something too few of us still do, as shown by the horrible statistic that in the UK, a man dies by suicide roughly every 90 minutes – the length of a football match....
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Ben Carpenter: what should youth services look like?
In December the government announced plans to invest £500m in the country’s youth services – which were gutted during austerity – and create 50 major new and revitalised youth hubs – including at Docklands in St Paul’s. Shockingly this is the first time there has been a national youth strategy in…
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Paul Smith: spending £20m and not betraying Hartcliffe
This week we welcome back to Unpacked Paul Smith. Last time we had him on the show, in 2020, he was in the local news every week as the councillor in charge of Bristol's housing. For most of the last six years he's been out of the public spotlight, but in the last few weeks has been selected to...
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Yassin Mohamud: Bristol's first Somali lord mayor
Welcome back after a short break to Bristol Unpacked, and the start of our new season running through until summer. For the first episode we welcome Yassin Mohamud, a Green councillor for Lawrence Hill, the ward that includes Barton Hill, which as well as sitting within the controversion East...
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Lewis Wedlock: towards a positive masculinity
This week we welcome Lewis Wedlock to discuss his work as a ‘masculinities educator’ with young people in schools in Bristol and across the country. In our age of controversial 'hypermasculine' online influencers – perhaps most famously, Andrew Tate – this can be an eye-opening experience, to put...
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Kerri Matthews: what happens when parents go to prison?
What happens to families when a parent ends up in prison? That’s the question we’re getting into this week on Unpacked with Kerri Matthews, a director of Bristol's EveryFamily charity. Over more than a decade EveryFamily, which started as a SureStart children's centre, has developed specialist...
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Heather Williams: trauma, community and healing in south Bristol
This week Unpacked gets into the difficult topic of trauma: what is it, who does it effect and how does it manifest? Our guest is someone who speaks wisely both from a personal and professional perspective, on how trauma, passing through generations, can affect not just individuals but entire...
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Edson Burton: what is culture and who does it belong to?
Dr Edson Burton wears many different hats, both figuratively and literally. He’s a writer, performer, historian, poet, well-dressed man about town, and – as you’ll know if you follow his social channels – physical training enthusiast. So who better to wade into one of the thorniest issues of the...
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Joe Joyce: rugby, resilience and returning to the West Country
When you’re known as the ‘King of Southmead’, how does it feel to be copping abuse on social media from the good people of Bristol? That’s the situation that former longtime Bristol Bears lock Joe Joyce, who grew up on the north Bristol estate, has faced this year after it was announced he will...
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Ani Townsend: art, inequality and the case for universal basic income
Universal basic income means the state providing citizens with a bare-bones income that allows them to survive and keep a roof over their head. It’s an idea that’s been kicking around for decades. But with AI threatening people’s jobs and many arguing the benefits system is not fit for purpose,...
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Clare Moody: policing, power and a political cancellation
How does the Labour politician who oversees policing in Avon and Somerset feel about being cancelled by her own party after less than 18 months in office? This week we’re talking to Clare Moody, Avon & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), who beat her Conservative predecessor Mark...
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Bristol Temple Quarter: can regeneration be inclusive?
Bristol Temple Quarter is the biggest redevelopment the city has seen in at least a generation, and will transform a vast area around Temple Meads station, St Philips Marsh and the Dings beyond recognition. Much of this has been untouched for decades, and while it’s mostly current or former...
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DIY wealth redistribution, with Bristol Redistro’s Frances Howe
Taxing and redistributing wealth to reduce inequality is an idea popular on the left, and is being pushed by some politicians including Green Party leader Zack Polanski. But it’s loathed by others who believe people should be able to hang on to what they have, whether that’s earned or inherited....
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Unpacked – Darren Jones: from Lawrence Weston to Starmer’s right-hand man
Bristol North West MP Darren Jones is a man whose political rise has been rapid. From growing up in a Lawrence Weston council flat to representing his home turf as an MP, and since September assuming a new role as Keir Starmer’s chief secretary, Jones’ story is rooted in Bristol. In this week’s...
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WECA Mayor Helen Godwin - redefining regional leadership and sorting out the buses
Our guest today is no stranger to the show. Back in 2020, Neil spoke with Helen Godwin when she was a Bristol City Councillor. A lot has changed since then. Not only has the Bristol mayoral role been abolished, but a new Labour government is in power, and Helen Godwin now holds one of the West...
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Lee Haskins: The world champ boxer who never left Lockleaze
Neil scored a conversation with Bristol's homegrown boxing legend, Lee Haskins. You might know him as a former world champion, but today, ten years on from that victory, the two catch up to talk shop about Lee's ongoing legacy. He now runs his own family gym, Round One Boxing, where he trains and...
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Mythbusting Islam & Islamophobia, with Rizwan Ahmed
Trigger Warning: Contains discussions about grooming gangs in the second half This week it’s another episode of Bristol Unpacked. Islam is back in the firing line of the culture wars, with a new legal definition being drafted by Labour, and the grooming gang scandal very much overlapping with...
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£20m for Hartcliffe: Kirsty Tait on climate change, class & community
Join Neil Maggs alongside councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood Kirsty Tate, to talk about class & climate justice in her community. Kirsty is the Climate Action Manager at Heart of BS13, and is a co-author of The Just Transition Declaration which is all about ensuring climate policies are fair...
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From Eastville to LA (via Wigan): Bristol Northern Soul Club
We're going up north – or actually, the north is coming down south to Bristol. You've probably clocked by now that there's been a massive Northern Soul revival in the city, so we thought we'd unpack what it's all about. This week, Neil talks to Levanna McLean and her mum, Eve Arslett. It started...
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Kalpna Woolf: From migrant kid in London to High Sheriff of Bristol
This week we’ve got the next instalment of Bristol Unpacked for you. Neil managed to get a chat in with our new High Sheriff, Kalpna Woolf. Its one of those mysterious, archaic titles that somehow has stood the test of time, but as Kalpna details, is a world away from its original purpose of...
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A year of Green power in Bristol with council leader Tony Dyer
One year into his leadership of Bristol City Council, Green party councillor for Southville Tony Dyer sits down with Neil to talk about it. Is he a Noel type? or a Liam? or a Bonehead? (apparently these are references to a band called Oasis). They touch on the Green Party's internal dynamics,...
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What is a citizens' assembly and how do they work?
With faith in democracy – and in particular in traditional political parties – at a low ebb, in the UK and elsewhere, this week Unpacked wrestles with whether citizens’ assemblies offer a chance to rekindle the public’s affection. Neil is joined by David Jubb, co-founder and co-director of…
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Cider, jet skis and the WECA mayoral election: BBC journalist Pete Simson
In this instalment of Bristol Unpacked, Neil is joined by BBC Politics West editor Pete Simson to unpack the upcoming West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Mayoral election. Simson, a veteran political journalist, offers his expertise and breaks down key aspects of the election, discussing…
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Legendary Bristol photographer Colin Moody
This week, we’re diving into Bristol’s vibrant nightlife. Neil talks with legendary Bristol photographer Colin Moody who has has been wide awake, capturing the city after dark in his latest project. Colin is no stranger to documenting Bristol’s characters; his previous photography books have...
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From the archive: Carla Denyer becomes Green party co-leader (2021)
This week we’re bringing you another episode from the Bristol Unpacked Archives; its Green party MP Carla Denyer who was interviewed by Neil in October 2021, just after her election as co-chair of The Green party and 3 years before her election to parliament as the MP for Bristol Central in 2024....
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From the archive: Jayde Adams, the slap, Bristolian accent, grief and coming home
From the archive April 2022 "As the slap reverberates around the world we talk all things comedy with Jayde Adams - who went from working in Asda Bedminster to her own Amazon Prime Special. She just starred in a new BBC documentary following her move back to Bristol. Going deep about how the…
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Barrister Lucy Reed on opening up the secretive family courts
Lucy Reed is a barrister in the family courts, where separating couples hammer out child custody arrangements and where, in one of the most severe decisions the state can take, orders are made to take children into care, separating them from their families. On 27 January, journalists were for the...
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Dr Patrick Hart: Just Stop Oil petrol station sabotage court case - From the archives
From the archives - an update Today we bring you an episode from the archives with Dr Patrick Hart. Patrick took action in August 2022 to demand an end to new licences and consents for oil and gas projects in the UK, something which has subsequently become government policy. He disabled petrol...
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Ex-Lord Mayor Paul Goggin talks homelessness and mental health
It’s the coldest time of the year, and Bristol’s homelessness crisis is as bleak as ever. How does it feel to be out on the streets? This week, Neil puts the question to Paul Goggin, ex-Lord Mayor of Bristol, who went through a period of sleeping rough after a relationship breakdown. Goggin has...
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Amanda Sharman on leading the charge for boat dwellers' rights
Bristol is famous for being a maritime city, and its harbour – a vast area of water and historic docklands regenerated from dereliction since the 1990s – draws tourists from all over the world. But who are the people living on the many vessels moored there? What has led them to choose a...
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Samira Musse on community power and giving children confidence
When authorities make plans that affect people’s lives, what do they get wrong – and how can they do better at working with communities? What are the lessons here for the council in Bristol, as it continues to face blowback over traffic restrictions in east Bristol? And why is it more important...
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Barry Parsons on Green Party power in Bristol – and whether they can do anything about the housing crisis
A year on from the Barton House tower block evacuation, and six months after the Green Party became the largest party on Bristol City Council, what has changed as Bristol continues to grapple with a brutal housing crisis? How are the Greens finding being the party of leadership rather than...
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Bristol Unpacked Election Special - Emma Edwards // Green Party
Emma Edwards is the leader of Bristol Green Party who could well be in charge of the council for the first time after May's local elections. She chats to Neil about the Green's vision for doing politics in a more transparent and collaborative way, how they'd sort out our public transport, and...
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Bristol Unpacked Election Special - Mark Weston // Conservative
Neil Maggs sits down with Mark Weston, who was first elected as a councillor nearly 20 years ago, and has led the local Tory party for a decade. On the eve of the local elections, they discuss the Tories miserable national polling, the so-called 'war on motorists' being waged by Bristol City...
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Bristol Unpacked Election Special - Jos Clark // Liberal Democrats
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 decade. The critic of Marvin Rees and the mayoral system, who helped manoeuvre the referendum on...
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Bristol Unpacked Election Special - Tom Renhard // Labour
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, why he thinks the Greens aren't up to the task of being in power and Labour's plans for building...
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Salma Najjar on experiencing the Gaza war as a Palestinian in the UK
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-Palestinian activism in the UK. Content warning: contains graphic descriptions of war and violence...
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Ruth Pitter on the role of the charity sector, pioneering Black theatre and her recent MBE
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 feels conflicted about receiving an honour associated with empire Ruth Pitter has been a stalwart…
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BBC journalist Lucy Proctor on mad cows, Covid and conspiracy theories
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...
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Watershed CEO Clare Reddington on cinema, class and council cuts
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…
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ACORN's Wesley Bear on the Barton House evacuation and housing activism in the city
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 originated in Bristol almost a decade ago. On 17 November Wesley, ACORN's communications officer, was...
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Filmmaker Aodh Breathnach on surviving being stabbed – and documenting the aftermath
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 Bristol Royal Infirmary. Aodh was lucky. He recovered from injuries to his head and body within a…
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Babbasa CEO Poku Osei on working from the inside to change the system
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 opportunities, including through alliances with corporates and big institutions. But does this...
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Kill the Bill riots ex-prisoner, Jasmine York
"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 incidence of unrest in mainland Britain in a decade. Jasmine was jailed in the aftermath for…
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Inside the city’s Labour party machine with local fixer Kelvin Blake
Behind every politician is a fixer. For many years Kelvin Blake has been behind the scenes as a key figure in the city’s Labour party, working on key campaigns that have seen Labour secure the lion's share of political power. But what exactly goes on behind the scenes and where next for Labour as...
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Councillor Christine Townsend, on taking on the Merchant Venturers over educational inequality
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, Christine Townsend had been on a mission to fight what she sees as discriminatory practises of pupil...
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Leftwing rabble rouser and co-founder of Bristol Transformed Isaac Kneebone-Hopkins
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 prominent activist with socialist campaign Momentum and as a co-founder of Bristol Transformed, a…
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Bristol Cathedral's city chaplain Phil Nott, a reverend on a mission for social justice
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 on the spiritual and political with Phil Nott, an experienced Church of England priest who is on...
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About this show
Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs brings you fascinating and challenging conversations from characters of all stripes on big topics facing the city and beyond.
Brought to you by the Bristol Cable, a new kind of newspaper for Bristol 100% community owned by 2,200 members. Join them for just £1 a month and own your media.
thebristolcable.org
Hosted by
The Bristol Cable