This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH

IN EARLY December, Michael Gove approved the foundation of the first new deep coal mine in Britain for more than 30 years. Rishi Sunak’s government is enthusiastic about British coal — but why?
The Conservatives are historically associated with closing down coal mines, not opening them.
Coal is an extreme pollutant, reducing air quality and releasing greenhouse gases.

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

