Three-time Pulitzer winner Mike McIntire (
@mmcintire) joins me to talk about his new book Ricochet (out today), and this one hit me hard. We've got more guns than people in this country, and I wanted to know how we got here and why we can't fix it. Mike broke down the NRA's radicalization, the Second Amendment fight all the way to the Supreme Court, and why Bobby Kennedy's assassination still echoes through this debate today. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one.
Watch on X, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Timestamps
0:00 Mike McIntire Introduction
1:39 40-year career in investigative journalism & the story that started it all
3:52 Video games, desensitization, and the link to mass shooters
5:37 The history and culture of guns in America
8:37 Why can't we get anything done despite 70–80% public support for reform?
12:14 Citizens United and the flow of money into gun policy
15:23 NRA's confidential 1980s documents on getting kids into guns
19:05 What would it take for public opinion to actually shift?
21:23 Why the U.S. is different from every other developed nation?
23:25 Are we doomed to repeat this every five years?
26:05 Five Words