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.

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· Society & Culture

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FAQs about Bristol Unpacked:

How many episodes does Bristol Unpacked have?

The podcast currently has 127 episodes available.

Bristol Unpacked episodes:

April 13, 2023 Headteacher of Redcliffe Nursery School Sam Williams
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 most expensive in the world, and direct government support for nurseries has not kept up with increasing needs. Especially in the context of an austerity ravaged nation.

So how to do the best for our young ‘uns? Sam Williams is the recently appointed Headteacher of Redcliffe Nursery, set within a diverse and working class community. Neil and Sam chat about the context, forward thinking approaches to child development and what has to happen to give all kids the best start.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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52min
March 30, 2023 Labour’s Nicola Beech on who’s getting the best deal out of the city: developers or the public?
Nicola Beech has got a big portfolio at City Hall - Strategic Planning, Resilience & Floods, plus representing St George Central. So how does she juggle the complexity with the pressures and controversies of political life? In this episode, Neil and Nicola dig into what it means to try to lead a city, and why it sometimes seems like developers are giving the council the run around.
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54min
March 16, 2023 Bristol City FC meets community and politics with James Edwards
While the Robins set their sights on promotion, James Edwards is working off the field to promote opportunities for the community in and around Bristol City FC, with the club’s community arm the Robins Foundation. But with the furore over Gary Lineker’s comments, what is the role of football in community and political life? Listen in with Neil and James as they discuss how the beautiful game can have an impact beyond the agony and ecstasy of Ashton Gate.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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45min
March 02, 2023 The city’s new Green Party leader, Emma Edwards, on being the biggest political force in these parts
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 councillor for Bishopston and Ashley Down is charged with leading them through a tumultuous period as the city gears up to ditch the mayor and move to a committee system. The Greens are no strangers to criticism from the left and right, and from Mayor Marvin Rees. How will a party proud of its record on protest and with limited experience of governing work with others in the city including their antagonists on the Labour benches? How can the Greens continue to reach out beyond the central leafy or leftie areas to represent the diversity of Bristol’s communities?

Sit in with Neil and Emma as they get stuck into this and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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50min
February 09, 2023 The armed robber turned TikTok addiction mentor, Paul Simmons
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 November 2022 for very different reasons. Having served 22 years in 20 prisons over various sentences since 17, the care leaver is now making a name for himself on social media. With daily videos on TikTok (@pauladdictmentor), podcast appearances and Youtube videos, Paul was working through his own traumas, regrets and challenges - and helping many others too.
Join Neil and Paul for a raw and fascinating story of the care to prison pipeline, mental health in men’s prisons and how Paul is finding redemption and recovery his own way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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52min
January 26, 2023 The doctor prescribing ketamine to assist therapy, Dr Ben Sessa
Depending on who you ask, Ketamine conjures up different images and associations. For Dr Ben Sessa, a leading authority and practitioner of psychedelic assisted therapy, it is a powerful aid to helping people suffering from trauma and addiction. Sessa is the co-founder of Awakn, a company leading the burgeoning movement to use powerful drugs for healing with a clinic in Bristol and internationally. Tune in with Neil to explore the science, philosophy and context of this exciting field with a raver, campaigner and medical professional.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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53min
January 12, 2023 Editor of Bristol 24/7 and Hotwells election hopeful Martin Booth
From Boris Johnson to Marvin Rees will Martin Booth the editor of Bristol 24/7 become one of a long line of journalists who enter political office?

Booth is in the running as an independent in the by-election for Hotwells and Harbourside ward. As editor of a local publication, what are Martin’s motivations and inspirations? Can anyone be really independent, including Bristol 24/7’s owners and shareholders?

The area is the site of a major battle over the future of Bristol - the transformation of Cumberland Basin into Western Harbour. But what’s the big idea? Who wins and who will lose? Listen in!

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59min
December 08, 2022 Working to welcome refugees amid the culture wars, with Fuad Mahamed, founder of Ashley Community Housing
Arriving to the UK in 1998 as a refugee from Somalia, Fuad Mahamed soon left behind a career as an engineer to work on his passion: Supporting people who, like himself, had newly arrived to the UK often fleeing war and oppression. Founded in 2008 in St Pauls, Ashley Community Housing (ACH) is a leading organisation on the integration and support of refugees and asylum seekers with offices in Bristol and the West Midlands. But with immigration often at the centre of a fraught political context, how has Fuad navigated this personally and professionally? Join Neil and Fuad for an in depth conversation with one of Bristol’s newly appointed International Ambassadors.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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51min
November 24, 2022 Local GP Dr Patrick Hart fresh from court for sabotaging a petrol station with Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil protestors have been disrupting business as usual since April 2022. A Daily Mail columnist called them “a deranged criminal eco-terrorist cult”. But who are the people behind the headlines? Neil sits down with Dr Patrick Hart, a local GP who has been putting his career and liberty on the line through direct action protests, including the smashing and spray painting of a petrol station. Dr Hart believes we have run out of time for purely legal ways of pulling the world back from what the UN has called “the brink of climate catastrophe”. But are these tactics effective? Are protestors losing public sympathy? Does that matter? Listen in for a conversation far and away from the soundbites of Good Morning Britain.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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49min
November 10, 2022 Labour MP Kerry McCarthy on if Tories can be friends and the coming fights on migration, taxation and climate
Kerry McCarthy, the Labour MP for Bristol East, is the city’s longest serving representative in Westminster. Sometimes described as a ‘Brownite’ having been an ally of the former PM the last time Labour were in power, Kerry is now Shadow Minister for Climate Change. But is the party going far enough to confront the climate crisis? Can the Starmer’s ‘sensible centre ground’ coexist with the Left on key issues of immigration and taxation? How does a vegan, punk music lover get along with Tories in the House of Commons?

Listen in with Neil and Kerry to hear from the person representing 70,000+ in Bristol East on the biggest issues of the day.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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57min

FAQs about Bristol Unpacked:

How many episodes does Bristol Unpacked have?

The podcast currently has 127 episodes available.

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