Stories of Resistance

From riots in 1831 to the Colston statue and Kill the Bill protests, Bristol has long been a city renowned for radical action. Now, as then, radicalism has been accompanied by an outpouring of creative responses - from poetry to illustration to performance.

Now, Stories of Resistance, a new nine-part podcast series has been launched, uncovering some of Bristol’s lesser-known stories of contemporary activism. From the story of how one moment changed the direction of a grassroots boxing club, to a mother’s journey into disability activism, to changing the face of environmentalism and pushing for better gender representation in the music industry, these podcasts explore the stories of ordinary people fighting for change.

"What I noticed was by taking part in this project people discovered that there are so many people battling injustices and fighting against social injustices and yet so often don’t see themselves as an activist." Miranda Rae, Community Journalist

The series was created by Bristol residents during workshops with award winning journalist and broadcaster Miranda Rae (Sound Women SW and Ujima Radio). Over four months Miranda hosted group and 1-2-1 training sessions where participants learned how to produce, research, record and present a podcast.

The podcasts were commissioned as part of Art of Resistance, our two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project that has been exploring, documenting and celebrating the human stories behind activist movements in Bristol.

The podcasts will be distributed on Ujima Radio on Sundays  throughout January at 11am starting on 08 Jan throughout January 2023 and will include interviews with the creators as well as Dr Edson Burton, who is the driving force behind the project. Please note that the episodes may include language and topics that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Listen now on Anchor FM:

Episode 1 - Disability Activism in Climate Change by Ruth Nortey

Episode 2 - Fighting Chance by Charlie West (please note that this episode talks about suicide and that may not be suitable for all audiences)

Episode 3 - The Lack of Equality in the Music Industry by Roisin Wootton

Episode 4 - Cargo Queen by Gary Thompson

Episode 5 - My Year as an Activist by Olivia Sweeney

Episode 6 -Positivity Disability Activism by Jacqueline Braithwaite

Episode 7 - Literary Activism by Sharon Angela

Episode 8 - Sustainable Fashion by Immie Lapsley

Episode 9 - Art as a Tool of Resistance