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 it mildly.

Of course the ‘manosphere’ of which Tate is part has broken massively into the wider consciousness recently. Last year the hard-hitting Netflix drama Adolescence went viral, followed just a few weeks ago by Louis Theroux’ documentary Inside the Manosphere. Many people – including Lewis – questioned whether that film should have done more to challenge the men making a fortune out of packaging idealised, unobtainable and sometimes toxic versions of masculinity on social media and podcasts.

People outside of that world – and especially parents of boys – can find it both terrifying and bewildering, in terms of its appeal.

So this week we’re seeking to get into why it’s so attractive and what its impact is. We’ll ask be exploring what Lewis – who has a book out, called Masculinity in Schools – believes a more positive vision of masculinity can look like.

The Bristol Cable is Bristol's community-owned cooperative newsroom – fiercely independent journalism that puts people before profit. Since 2014, we've been holding power to account through investigative reporting, community campaigns, and democratic media ownership. Because when journalism serves the community, not shareholders, real change becomes possible.

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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 services working with families where a parent is in prison – something Kerri, a mum herself, has been at the heart of. It leads on supporting families affected by parental offending across South Gloucestershire, Somerset and, via a contract with Avon and Somerset Police, Bristol.

So what is the impact on a child when their parent is jailed – something that’s been likened to a bereavement? What’s it like working with mums and dads to open up about their own feelings and relationships – and parenting – in the tough environment of a prison? And looking at the big picture, what needs to change in how we work with children and families, to give people the best chances in life?

Neil and Kerri get into all this and more, in this week’s Bristol Unpacked – hope you enjoy.

The Bristol Cable is Bristol's community-owned cooperative newsroom – fiercely independent journalism that puts people before profit. Since 2014, we've been holding power to account through investigative reporting, community campaigns, and democratic media ownership. Because when journalism serves the community, not shareholders, real change becomes possible.

Support independent journalism and help us bring more vital conversations to Bristol: become a Bristol Cable member.

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 communities.

Heather Williams is CEO of Knowle West Park, and has spearheaded the organisation through a turbulent time in the south Bristol estate in the aftermath of the tragic murders of young boys Max Dixon and Mason Rist.

Coming from across the local postcode divide as a longtime Hartcliffe resident, Heather’s approach has been informed by her own 30-year personal journey to break the chains of abuse she experienced as a child. Bringing up her daughter as a young single mother, she became the first member of her family to go to university before moving into community work and then becoming the leader of a local organisation doing vital work around health in its widest sense.

In another essential episode, she and Neil get deep into questions of harm, healing, and how people can be empowered to lead their own communities and tell their own stories. Enjoy.

The Bristol Cable is Bristol's community-owned cooperative newsroom – fiercely independent journalism that puts people before profit. Since 2014, we've been holding power to account through investigative reporting, community campaigns, and democratic media ownership. Because when journalism serves the community, not shareholders, real change becomes possible.

Support independent journalism and help us bring more vital conversations to Bristol: become a Bristol Cable member.