Bristol History Podcast

This week I met with Dr. Richard Stone, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Bristol, to discuss his recent research on Bristol’s early involvement in the trade in enslaved people. It has conventionally been thought that Bristol merchants began trading in enslaved Africans from 1698. However new evidence uncovered by Dr Stone gives strong indications that some Bristol merchants were involved in the trade from as early as 1662.

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** The Sound Of Saffron by Charlie West *** Women, non-binary and trans people occupy less than 5% of the music tech industry and UK festival headline slots are still dominated by male acts. In this episode, Charlie West, a Bristol-based musician and radio producer, discusses a number of recent reports that examine the scale of the gender discrepancy in the music tech and festival performance industries. We hear from other Bristol-based female and non-binary musicians and artists who discuss their experiences of working in the music industry and the felt impact of that discrepancy. So what’s the solution? Saffron, an organisation set up in 2015 with the aim of advancing gender equality in the sector by creating safe spaces for learning, community and progression, is one local organisation, with a now international reach, that’s determined to break down the standard of male-dominated music tech and performance spaces. We hear about the work and community that Saffron has been cultivating and Charlie talks withSophia Ahmed, Saffron’s education manager, to learn more about the history and aims of the organisation. Artists who’ve been through Saffron’s artist development programme add their voices, discussing the impact that the organisation has had on their career, confidence and outlook as artists. *** Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** A Bristol Boy's Disabled Life by Richard Prior *** Local lad Richard Prior is blessed with a wonderful family and two beautiful daughters who bring love and laughter to him every day. But he also suffers from hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy; a form of Muscular Dystrophy which restricts movement and causes constant pain. This episode examines how the family cope with the condition, as they suffer also due to the genetic nature of the condition. We hear about growing up with a visible disability and how it can impact on school life and more. Richard’s parents share how they felt trying to support him over the years and how they had to make difficult decisions. Richard is a very proud Bristolian, but how accessible is the city for a disabled person? A life full of ups and downs. This is Richard’s story. *** Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** A Short History Of Purple Penguin by Peter Hall *** You have all heard about the Bristol Sound, and the Bristol street art scene is well documented, but have you heard of the small record shop that was at the heart of it all? Peter Hall presents this short history of Purple Penguin. A tale of community, creativity and underground culture. This is a story about a distinct community that grew from a widely unknown establishment that was situated on Colston Street in the mid 90s. It was a hub for all things underground hip hop, funk, soul and beats, and was the only place in Bristol you could get hold of certain US imported music, video tapes of scratch DJs, graffiti magazines, clothes, spray cans etc. It soon became a mecca for anyone interested in hip hop culture, sample digging, beat making, and would later develop into a foundation for creativity. In this podcast we hear from the people that worked at Purple Penguin, and discover how it influenced their lives, as well as the lives of countless others, who ventured through its doors. *** Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** Love Her by Mary Milton *** “You were in a pub environment, but it was also like being at a friend’s house,” says one musician who used to play at the Weekenders women’s acoustic night. Love Her is a homage to a women’s music night, Weekenders which was started by singer songwriter Lucy Ray and friends in the late 1990’s. It began at the Three Tuns pub in central Bristol. Several venues later it found its final home in the back room of Kearney’s Irish Bar, in the heart of St Werburghs. The event was conceived to encourage women to play. It became a safe, lesbian friendly space where women could test their ‘out’ lyrics to an audience of like-minded people. Love Her includes interviews with some of the women involved in running and performing at the night and archive recordings from the events themselves. The songs were shaped by the political landscape for LGBTQ+ people at the time and the women’s personal stories. You’ll hear love songs, songs of protest, songs about life. They may make you laugh, or they could make you cry. Welcome to the special world of Weekenders. *** Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** L'Chaim, My Lovers by Tom Chachewitz *** Local artist and writer Tom Chachewitz presents a brief history of Jewish life in Bristol, as well as reflections from Jewish people living in Bristol today on their connections to an ancient culture that has been part of the City’s diverse society for nearly 1000 years. Join Tom as he visits the site of Bristol’s medieval Jewish neighbourhood, its synagogues and its Jewish graveyards and learn more about an often overlooked part of Bristol’s past and present. Credits: Researched, presented and produced by Tom Chachewitz Sounds and Music by Ninotchka, Motion Array, Eye For Music, Mayer Malik and Burgh Records Contributions from Nik Jovčić-Sas, Mahallah Honey, David Burke and Sade & Sid Additional research from Rife Magazine, Bristol Archives and Jewish Geneaology Special thanks to Chevra Kaddisha, Park Row Synagogue and Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation, Bristol Community FM and Marcus Smith. Dedicated to Louis and Golda Chachewitz. Featured artwork by Jon Trace

The Severn is the longest river in the UK and from its source in the Cambrian mountains in mid Wales, it flows down through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire before eventually reaching the Bristol Channel. I met with Nicola Haasz, who has dedicated herself to exploring, collating and informing about the many facets of the Severn - including of course Sabrina - her associated goddess. We discussed the origin myths of Sabrina and the different cultural responses that the River Severn has elicited throughout its history.

This week I spoke with journalist and author Eugene Byrne to discuss the mass squatting movement that took place in Britain in the aftermath of the Second World War. In the context of a chronic housing shortage across the country, Bristol in the summer of 1946 saw ex-military bases at Purdown and White City in Ashton occupied by hundreds of people (mostly young couples) who found a direct solution to the housing crisis.

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** Bianchi's Food Group by Steven Mitchell *** During Covid and post-Brexit, food, hospitality and catering became acknowledged as an essential, infrastructural part of communities all over Great Britain. Food often brings diverse communities together. This audio piece is a brief “listen in” on the sounds of an uniquely Bristol restaurant group that values community and is an integral part of Bristol’s local food ecology: Bianchis. Their authenticity and innovation are part of what makes Bristol one of the most exciting cities to eat out. In this piece, we listen to a family that has become an integral thread in the multicultural fabric of a great city, by putting love into everything. From the intimate to the celebratory, even the perfect Napoli-level pizza. Delivered on a cycle? No problem! Italian marble supplied by a local stone company? Sure! Taken away through a slot in the window? Would you like that as a slice? Steven Mitchell speaks to CEO Dominic Bianchi Borel and Ripiena head chef Joseph Harvey. Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** Old Market (REMIXED) by Tom Marshman *** Old Market (REMIXED), written and performed by Tom Marshman and recorded and edited by Bernie Hodges, uncovers the hidden histories of communities in Old Market, shining a light on the area from the 1990s to the present day. Tom finds memories of a lawless place, the proclaimed gay village, and the home of gentrification; an area that has undergone radical change since its day as Bristol’s ‘golden mile’. Woven together from the stories of people who experienced it first hand, this audio piece celebrates the raucous, riotous, tragic and the artisan. The show includes stories from 25A, Old Market Assembly, Bristol Bear Bar, Old Market Assembly, Fi Real, Rudies, Trinity, Jokoto Tailoring and Electric Ladyland. The piece also premiered as a live theatre show in November 2021, and will be performed again in a 5-night run at The Wardrobe Theatre in November 2022. Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** Henrietta Lacks by Daniel Edmund *** The life-size bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks that was erected at the University of Bristol in 2021 by Bristol-based artist Helen Wilson Roe is the first public statue of a Black woman made by a Black woman to be permanently installed in the UK. Henrietta Lacks was a young African-American mother who had an aggressive form of cervical cancer. During surgery, a sample of cells was taken from the tumour and sent to a laboratory where they were found to be the first living human cells ever to survive and multiply outside the human body. Henrietta’s cells were taken without her or her family's knowledge or consent, and it was only in 1975 that by chance the family found out about her legacy. These cells made possible some of the most important medical advances of all time including the development of the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, gene-mapping, IVF and cloning. In this episode, speaker and presenter Daniel Edmund talks to former Lord Mayor of Bristol Cleo Lake, American Senior Policy Analyst Marissa Edmund, and Brand Strategist Bobbi O’Gilvie about how a statue of Henrietta Lacks ended up in Bristol, and the importance of honouring and protecting Black women everywhere. Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** Skate or Cry by Jazlyn Pinckney *** In this audio documentary, five women taking space in Bristol’s skateboarding scene speak to Jazlyn Pinckney. Some have just picked up a board for the first time, others have been skating for decades, but all talk about the feeling skating gives them, the sense of community and the biggest battles they face breaking down barriers of the male skater stereotype. What does it feel like on the board? Why do they get back on when you fall off? And which corners of Bristol city are the smoothest, safest or down right gnarliest to skate? We hear the voice of Vivienne Mcginnis, Bella Warley, Jasmine Creusson, Isadora Vlachou and Casey Jane. Recorded in the field at Campus Skatepark and Trenchard Street Carpark, and with special mention to Maverick’s Warmley Skatepark, M32, Dean Lean, and Bristol’s Cenotaph skate spots. Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol’s history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark. *** The Bristolian Refugee by Sam Sayer *** What is it like to leave your country of origin and go to a strange, faraway land to find safety? How do you feel about your new city and what kind of welcome do you receive? How long does the label ‘refugee’ remain stamped on your identity? Do you choose to embrace it? When does Bristol really become home? In this audio documentary against the backdrop of Bristol as a City of Sanctuary, Sam Sayer explores these questions with refugees who have settled in Bristol over the past 50 years from Ukraine, Iran, Kenya, Chile and Uganda share their early experiences of Bristol life. The audio documentary begins with the newest of refugees, Diana and Jennie, who have recently arrived from Ukraine and are getting used to waking up to English voices. Adineh and Siavash from Iran have unexpectedly found new family here in Bristol to support them. JP from Kenya is a huge football fan and watching the game with others has become an important feature of his life. Luis and Carmen from Chile found lasting friendship through their children’s school, while Rashid from Uganda discovered home through his shop’s customers. Featured Artwork by Jon Trace

This week I met with Professor Nick Groom, to discuss the life, work and reputation of the Bristolian poet Thomas Chatterton. Born in Redcliffe in 1752, Chatterton was a precocious talent. In just seventeen years of life he produced a great body of poems, plays, prose works and a collection of medieval writings that he attributed to a fictional 15th century monk named Thomas Rowley. We discussed the details of Chatterton's short life and the myths that surround his posthumous reputation.

This week I spoke with Brycchan Carey, Professor of English at Northumbria university to discuss the life and work of 18th century Bristolian poet and milkwoman, Ann Yearsley,

This week I met with ballooning pioneer Don Cameron. We discussed the birth of hot air ballooning in Britain, the fifty-year history of his company - Cameron Balloons, the remarkable rise of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, and touched on some of the extraordinary feats of ballooning that Don has undertaken.

This week I spoke with Andrew Foyle from Outstories Bristol, a volunteer community history group with an objective to gather, preserve and communicate the stories of LGBTQ people in Bristol and the surrounding area. We discussed some of the stories of LGBT people throughout Bristol’s history from the 17th century to the present day.

This week I spoke with amateur historian Steven Carter to discuss his research on how profits from the slave trade were fed back into British industry. Focussing on Edward Protheroe - a feted coal industrialist in the Forest of Dean in the early 19th century - Steven has traced how a substantial amount of the Protheroe family wealth was derived first from the slave trade and later from the labour of enslaved people on sugar plantations. During our chat we discussed the surprising and sometimes obscure ways that profits from the transatlantic slave trade and slavery-reliant industries were channelled back into the British economy.

This week I met with Dr Michael Whitfield to discuss Bristol's dispensaries. For the two hundred years or so before the creation of the NHS in 1948, the dispensaries were one of the main providers of healthcare in Britain, especially for its poorest people. We discussed how the dispensaries operated, who paid for them and what they can tell us about modern day healthcare.

This week I spoke with Colin Thomas and Tim Beasley of the Bristol Radical History Group to discuss the history of state surveillance in their pamphlet 'State Snooping - Spooks, Cops and Double Agents'. From the reign of Elizabeth I right up until the present day, the British state has used spies, informants and double agents to infiltrate what it perceives to be dissident organisations. We discussed the development of surveillance institutions and the ways in which their activities have been resisted.

2020 marked the eightieth anniversary of the Bristol Blitz, which saw 77 Nazi air raids on the city, with six major raids taking place in the winter of 1940-41. I spoke with Eugene Byrne of the Bristol Post to discuss the origins of the Blitz and how Bristolians coped with being bombed. We also explored the legacy of the bombing, which killed 1,299 people, injured over 3,000 and permanently reshaped the physical landscape of the city.

Angela Carter was one of the most acclaimed British novelists of the post-war period. She spent the 1960s living in Clifton amidst a flourishing 'provincial bohemia' of folk clubs, artists and radical politics. I met with Dr. Stephen E. Hunt to discuss his work on Angela Carter and the counterculture in 1960s and 1970s Bristol and Bath, in which he takes Carter's life and work as a starting point to explore 'the artistic, radical and experimental communities that flourished at the time.'

On Thursday 3 April 1817, in the village of Almondsbury just outside of Bristol, a strangely dressed young woman began attracting the attention of local villagers. In the weeks and months that followed she became a figure of national renown: but was this lady 'Caraboo' really the exotic princess that she claimed to be? I spoke with author Catherine Johnson to discuss Princess Caraboo and to try and unravel some of the mysteries of her extraordinary life.

At the end of the eighteenth century, 'pneumatic' (gas) chemistry was at the forefront of scientific knowledge. In 1799 the remarkable physician Thomas Beddoes opened the Pneumatic Institute in Hotwells and set about finding a cure for tuberculosis using gasses isolated from air. I spoke with author and cultural historian Mike Jay to discuss the work of the Institute and its legacy.

This week I spoke with Mark Steeds and Roger Ball to discuss their new book, 'From Wulfstan to Colston: Severing the Sinews of Slavery in Bristol.' Covering over a thousand years of history, the book charts Bristol's long involvement in trading enslaved human beings. We discussed the two titular characters: St. Wulfstan, who was responsible for ending the slave trade between Bristol and Dublin in the 11th century; and Edward Colston, one of Bristol's most prominent organisers of the African slave trade from the late 17th century. Mark and Roger also explained their problems with traditional narrative around abolition. To counter this they emphasise the importance of slave rebellions in the colonies, highlight the long-overlooked work of women in the abolition movement and draw attention to popular anti-slavery movements.

This week I met with Professor Madge Dresser to discuss the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963. The boycott against the Bristol Omnibus Company over its racist employment policy was the first black-led protest against racial discrimination in post-war Britain. We explored race relations in Bristol around the time of the boycott, and why its legacy continues to resonate so strongly today.

A brief bonus podcast with some thoughts on the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston on Sunday 7 June 2020.

This week I spoke with Pete Insole, Historic Environment Officer for Bristol City Council, to discuss the historical mapping tool ‘Know Your Place’. We also talked about the historic development of Bristol and about planning the future of the city.

Arriving at the end of the First World War, the 1918 'Spanish' Flu was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, killing between 40 and 200 million people worldwide. I spoke with journalist and historian Eugene Byrne - we discussed official strategies to combat the spread of the flu, as well as its local impact on Bristol.

This week I met with Mike Slater, West-Country Occult Historian, to discuss the history of witchcraft in the West Country. We spoke about the continuance of popular belief in magic, long after official witchcraft trials had ceased. We also explored 'witch scratching', the pernicious and long-lived idea that drawing a witch's blood would remove her curses.

Nowadays Bristol is internationally known as a centre of graffiti and street art culture. I met with John Nation - pioneer and promoter of graffiti culture and its artists since the early 1980s - to discuss how perceptions of the culture have changed. From being despised as 'vandalism' to hailed as a cultural export of the city, graffiti continues to elicit strong opinions, not least because it raises questions about who gets to have a say in the visual culture of the city.

This week I met with the writer, poet, historian and playwright Dr. Edson Burton. We discussed (among other things) how his historical outlook shapes his cultural work; the legacy of Caribbean migration to Britain and how Brexit plays into wider narratives of place and identity.

As we approach December's election, the Bristol History Podcast asks: how did we get here? To this end I spoke with UWE Professor of History and Heritage Steve Poole about what elections in Bristol looked like some 300 years ago.

History of the late medieval and early modern periods has tended to focus on a small number of people who have left a big dent on the historical record: kings and queens, statesmen and landowners. Most people could tell you something about Henry VIII's wives or his eating habits - but how much do we know about what life was like for the ordinary men and women living under his rule? This week I met with Dr Mark Hailwood - Lecturer in History at the University of Bristol – to discuss what everyday life was like in the rural west country in the late medieval and early modern periods.

This week I met with Joe McSorley of the Avon Wildlife Trust to discuss the natural history of the West Country - from the earliest existing records of animal and plant life in the area, through the ramblings of Victorian naturalists, to today's systematic collection of scientific data. We also charted changing popular attitudes towards the natural world, the rise of the idea of conservation, and what we can do do arrest the alarming decline in species numbers in recent decades.

This week I met with Dr. John Reeks to discuss Bristol University and its historians. The university was founded in 1909 and dominates much of the landscape of the centre of the city, with almost 24,000 students enrolled in degree courses. We discussed the history of university and the work of some of the most illustrious historians produced by the institution.

Bristol was born as a trading hub, and for the best part of a millennium its identity has been bound up with its status as a centre for both national and international trade. I met with Dr Richard Stone, Teaching Fellow in Early Modern History at Bristol University, to discuss the history of Bristol's overseas trade, from its foundation to the present day.

This week I met with author and journalist Melissa Chemam to discuss her book 'Out of the Comfort Zone: From Bristol to Massive Attack.' Melissa looks to Bristol's social and political history as a way of understanding its artistic output. We talked about the culture that spawned the music of Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky, as well as the street art of Banksy.

This week I met with Dr. Keith McLoughlin of Bristol University to discuss the remarkable story of Concorde - the first supersonic passenger aircraft. We discussed the postwar origins of the project; difficulties with financing in the 60s and 70s; and why Concorde retains such a hold over the public imagination today, more than fifteen years on from its final flight.

This week I met with Bristol-based author and artist Benjamin Dickson to discuss his graphic novel 'A New Jerusalem' - a moving and stark tale of a family struggling to come to terms with life following the end of the Second World War. We discussed (among other things) the bombing of Bristol during the war, post-traumatic stress disorder and the birth of the welfare state in 1945.

This week I met with Bristol Bears' Club Historian (and verified superfan) Mark Hoskins to talk all things Bristol Rugby. We discussed the evolution of the club from its origins in the late-Victorian era and its role in the community during the World Wars, through to the pioneering captaincy of John Blake in the 1950s and the club's eventual adaptation to the age of professionalism.

This week I met with Dr. Jessica Moody of Bristol University to discuss the ways in which Bristol has publicly addressed its involvement in the Transatlantic slave trade. We touched on methods of commemoration (using Liverpool as a point of comparison)and explored some of the reasons behind Bristol's changing attitude towards her slaving past.

This week I met with author, historian and one man Bristolian institution: Mike Manson. In a whistle-stop tour through his literary career we discussed the importance of local history, the differences between writing fiction and writing history, and Mike's exploration of some of the less well known parts of Bristol's history.

Being Brunel is one of Bristol's newest and most innovative museums. An addition to the existing SS Great Britain site, it attempts to get behind the myth and into the mind of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the country's most famous engineers. I visited Being Brunel and spoke with Head of Collections Nicholas Booth about the idea behind the project, how it was realised in practice, and about the enduring appeal of IKB.

The English Civil War is often reduced to a stereotype of haughty Cavaliers and humourless Roundheads. Yet in reality it was was one of the bloodiest and most disruptive conflicts in our nation's history. I met with Dr. John Reeks of Bristol University to discuss the causes, course and consequences of the war from a Bristolian perspective.

This week I met with acclaimed historian and historical fiction writer, Lucienne Boyce. We discussed the history of the women's suffrage movement in Bristol, the continuities between the 18th century and our present day, and to what degree historical fiction can contribute to historical understanding.

As the fifth oldest zoo in the world, Bristol Zoological Gardens has been introducing Bristolians to wild animals since 1836. I met with Dr Andy Flack, Teaching Fellow in Modern History at Bristol University, to discuss the origins of the zoo, its role in civic identity and the extent to which our attitude towards animals has (and hasn't) changed over the past two centuries.

This week I met with author Jane Duffus, to discuss her new book 'The Women Who Built Bristol'. This work of collective biography tells the story of some 250 women connected with Bristol, ranging from the 12th century to the present day. We discuss the origins of the project, the history of the women's suffrage movement in Bristol and Jane gives a preview of a few of the most interesting women who feature in her book.

This week I met with Steve Poole, Professor of History at UWE to discuss his book 'Bristol from Below' (co-authored with Nicholas Rogers). We explore the life of ordinary Bristolians in the long 18th century, discussing - among other things - riots, radicalism, arson and sodomy.

This week the podcast will feature the audio from a short film telling the extraordinary tale of those people - mainly young women - who worked filling shells with mustard gas at two Avonmouth factory sites during the First World War. Many thanks to Diana Taylor for allowing us to use the audio from her short film: Gas Girls.

This week I met with Bristolian author Derek Robinson - creator of 'A Darker History of Bristol'. We discussed his life and career as a writer; what it takes to write good historical fiction and Bristol's changing attitude towards its own history.

W.G. Grace was born in Downend in 1848. Through his remarkable achievements on the cricket field he became one of the most famous faces in Victorian Britain. I met with cricket writer Scyld Berry to discuss the life, career and impact of W.G. on his sport and British society more generally.

Part two of my conversation with the Bristol-based writer ACH Smith. In this episode Anthony and I discuss writing creatively about Bristol's history; working with muppets-creator Jim Henson; cricket; and what counts as success in the world of literature.

The writer ACH Smith is a London boy who fell in love with Bristol. I met with him to discuss his long and illustrious career as a novelist, playwright, poet, memoirist, TV arts presenter, university lecturer and cricket writer.

'Trip hop' is the term most frequently applied to the creative explosion in the Bristol music scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s - centered around artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky. I spoke with composer and academic Jeff Wragg to discuss the cultural origins of 'Trip hop' and explore the way that these artists went about creating such enduring music.

John Locke was born in the small Somerset town of Wrington in 1632 and went on to become a philosopher of global renown. I met with Dr Andrew Pyle of Bristol University to dicuss Locke's contributions to politics and philosophy, and to understand the impact of his work in the divided and dangerous place that was 17th century England.

Alcohol has always been important to Bristol and Bristolians. I met with Dr Evan Jones of Bristol University to discuss the changing economic and social dimensions of boozing throughout the city's history. How have our drinking habits changed over time? And who was more fond of a tipple - us or our ancestors?

From 2020, Bristol's Colston Hall will change its name - the venue wants to disassociate itself from the 17th century slave trader and philanthropist Edward Colston. Here I share some of my thoughts on the renaming in a mini audio essay.

The Avon Gorge is one of the most striking sights in British geography - but how was it formed? Was it due to an ancient river blasting through layers of limestone or… was it instead the result of an epic competition between two giants attempting to win the hand of a fair maiden? This week I met with Oliver Rigby, children's author, to discuss the myth of the Bristol giants.

This week I met with Professor Madge Dresser to discuss women throughout Bristol's history. How did women’s roles change as the city grew? Were they able to avail themselves of the economic opportunities that increasingly opened up to their male counterparts? Professor Dresser tackles these and other questions.

In this second part of our look at Bristol's riotous past, I met with Dr Roger Ball of the Bristol Radical History Group and Dr Steve Poole of UWE to discuss riots, uprisings and disturbances in Bristol's more recent past, with a particular focus on the events in St. Paul's in 1980 and Stokes Croft in 2011.

Bristolians have often been condemned or commended for their riotous history. For this podcast I met with Dr Roger Ball of the Bristol Radical History Group and Dr Steve Poole of UWE to discuss Bristol's 'riots' in the 18th and 19th centuries. What constitutes a 'riot'? Can we discern political intentions behind crowd activity? And how do popular disturbances and uprisings fit into modern Bristol's image of itself?

This week I explore the medieval origins of Bristol with Dr Evan Jones of Bristol University. When and why was Bristol founded? And what factors led to it becoming one of England's largest and most powerful urban centres by the end of the fifteenth century?

Hannah More was a Fishponds girl who went on to become one of the most famous women in Georgian England. She was many things: a playwright; a poet; a religious writer and a philanthropist. I spoke with Dr Anne Stott to discuss More's upbringing, achievements and reputation.

This week I explore the life of Bristol's Nobel Prize winning physicist, Paul Dirac. Born in Bishopston in 1902, educated at what is now Cotham School, by his early twenties Dirac was writing papers that have profoundly influenced our understanding of how the world works. Professor Sir Michael Berry and Dr Vincent Smith of Bristol University's School of Physics join me to tell this remarkable story.

This week I met with Dr Edson Burton to discuss the history of Bristol's West Indian Community. The first Caribbean immigrants arrived in Bristol following the Second World War and have since had a major impact on the city and its development. We talk about the challenges and opportunities facing migrants, both then and now: assimiliation, discrimination, cultural expression and innovation.

This week I present a short essay entitled 'Thinking Historically', in which I explore some of the ways in which history is perceived and outline why I think that engaging with our past is so important.

Slavery played an important role in Bristol's economy from the late 17th through to the early 19th century. How did this trade - so palpably barbaric to modern sensiblities - begin and then flourish? How was it eventually abolished? And what is the legacy of slavery in Bristol today?

This week I talked with historian Adrian Vaughan and discussed his work on the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 'Izzy' enjoys a stellar reputation, both in Bristol and throughout the UK - but how much is this popular perception based on historical reality? Adrian has sought to challenge some of the myths that have grown up around Brunel.

In this week's episode I met with Roger Ball of the Bristol Radical History Group to discuss the history of Eastville Workhouse. What kind of burial could a Victorian pauper expect? What were the ideas and ideologies behind the workhouses? And how far have attitudes towards poverty changed since the Victorian era?

Welcome to the first episode of the Bristol History Podcast. This week I met with Laura Hilton of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust to discuss the history of Bristol's most iconic landmark. We discussed the origins of the Bridge; its funding and construction, as well as how it was built and who was responsible for its design. We also explored the continuing cultural significance of the Bridge and reflected on some of the more remarkable incidents in its history.