Bristol: Behind The Headlines

In this week's episode, we interview Amélie and Chloe, strippers and members of Bristol Sex Workers Collective, on the future of sexual entertainment venues in our city.

The council will vote on whether to ban strip clubs in Bristol on July 28. 

Wapping Wharf developer Stuart Hatton and AHR Architects' Adam Spall talk to Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth about their ambitious plans for the future of Wapping Wharf.

First Bus managing director Doug Claringbold asks Bristol24/7 readers' questions, posed by Bristol24/7 Deputy Editor, Ellie Pipe.

In this week's episode, our editorial assistant, Mia, takes you behind the scenes at the launch of the 2022 EatDrink24/7 guide, discussing guests' favourite food and drink spots and why Bristol24/7 members continue to support our journalism. Our editor, Martin, also caught up with Michelin star chef, Josh Eggleton ahead of the launch. 

This week, our Deputy Editor Ellie Pipe speaks to Aisha Thomas -  a former assistant principal, founder of Representation Matters and author of a book by the same name that was out early this month.

Much more investment is needed to make Bristol a safe place for active travel, whether it be walking, cycling or wheeling. That's the message from Zoe Banks Gross, head of partnerships and public affairs for the south of England at Sustrans, as she talks to Bristol24/7 reporter Betty Woolerton in this week's Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast.

Zoe wants cycling to be inclusive, but in order to achieve this much more money is needed to be spent on new infrastructure such as segregated cycle lanes. The founder of Bristol Kidical Mass family cycling group also wants to see more children on bicycles and fewer cars on the road.

George Livesey, the owner and head chef of Bulrush, is the special guest on this week's episode, talking to us from his Michelin-star restaurant on Cotham Road South.

George is one of the panellists for EatDrink24/7,  the independent food guide from the team at Bristol24/7 which sees people from across the hospitality industry recommend their favourite places to eat and drink across our city.

The guide is being published in June for the first time since 2019.

In episode 50 of the Behind the Headlines podcast, Bristol24/7 Deputy Editor Ellie Pipe explores the results of this week's mayoral referendum, hearing from mayor Marvin Rees and from Mary Page, organiser of It's Our City Bristol, who campaigned for the mayoral system to be scrapped.

Also on this week's episode is Mario Saeed, a professional fighter and martial arts coach, who has transformed a building by the M32 into an academy that is changing young lives. And Paul Hassan from ACH talks about a new Sanctuary to Opportunity report, homes for Ukraine programme and more.

Bristol24/7 news reporter Betty Woolerton looks ahead to the upcoming mayoral referendum and also talks to professor Brendan Smith about an 850-year-old charter which gave the men of Bristol the possession of Dublin.

Also on this week's episode, we hear from Sara Venn from Incredible Edible Bristol - Bristol24/7’s environmental charity partner for 2022/23 - who tells Ellie Pipe about the organisation that pioneers new ways of growing and providing sustainable sources of food.

And it's a first for local news journalism in the UK as Bristol24/7 is recruiting for a Climate & Sustainability Editor thanks to funding from NatWest. Meg Houghton-Gilmour tells us more.

Moses McKenzie's debut novel, An Olive Grove in Ends, is described as "a resonant coming of age story, which also offers an intimate portrait - at times tender and lyrical, at others bleak and despairing - of a black-British community in Bristol".

As well as already working on his second and third novels, the 24-year-old - who was named by the Observer as one of the ten best debut novelists of 2022, and who counts James Baldwin and Maya Angelou among his literary heroes - is also turning An Olive Grove in Ends, which is set in Easton and St Paul's, into a screenplay.

An Olive Grove in Ends will be published in the UK under the Wildfire imprint of Headline on April 28.