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Reach Truth PodcastTechnology and Poetry with Jake ZegilTasshin talks with Jake Zegil (@JakeZegil) about Fractal Tech, motivation and being hungry, the NY tech scene, humanity in technology, poetry, and more.Jake on XFractal Tech on XFractal TechYou can sign up for Tasshin's newsletter here.If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting Tasshin and the Reach Truth Podcast on Patreon.2025-04-261h 22
The Weekly Reload PodcastGun Sales Continue to Decline; Study Finds 2A Sanctuaries Resist 'Red Flag' OrdersOn this week's News Update, Jake Fogleman and Stephen Gutowski examine why gun sales have declined through the first three months of 2024.
They also highlight a California journalist's examination of the "assault weapon" ban, Massachusetts lawmakers taking gun discussions behind closed doors, and an AP poll showing Americans find gun rights important. Jake also details the findings of a recent study on Colorado's "red flag" law usage in "Second Amendment sanctuary" counties. Plus, Steve previews his upcoming range trip with students at the National Journalism Center.2024-04-0447 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastThe View From the Courtroom as the NRA Corruption Trial EndsThis week, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman interviews me about what it was like in the courtroom as New York's civil trial against the NRA and its leaders reached closing arguments.
Thanks to the support of Reload Members, I've been able to cover much of the case from inside the Manhattan court where it's happening. This is vital because there is no live stream of the proceedings and the transcripts aren't made available until well after the events of the day, if at all. So, spending the resources to be up there is vital to understanding what is...2024-02-191h 19The Weekly Reload PodcastFormer NRA News Host Cam Edwards on the Gun Group's Corruption TrialThe NRA's corruption trial carried on last week with Wayne LaPierre taking the stand for the first time. So, I invited one of the best gunwriters in the country on the show to talk about it.
Cam Edwards is not only the editor of Bearing Arms, but he's a former NRA News and NRATV host. That means he worked for Ackerman McQueen, which is the contractor at the center of the NRA corruption allegations. That gave him some special insight into how the relationship between the two sides.
Cam was willing to be very candid...2024-01-291h 25The Weekly Reload PodcastMark W. Smith on the Game Being Played With the Maryland AR-15 Ban CaseThis week, we are discussing a number of legal developments. So, we've got one of the preeminent pro-gun legal minds on the show.
Mark W. Smith, host of the Four Boxes Diner and member of the Supreme Court bar, joins me to talk about some complicated but fascinating cases. First and foremost, Smith explains why the case against Maryland's "assault weapons" ban has been moved on to be heard before the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals without the lower court panel that already held arguments issuing any decision. Smith predicted that might happen.
He...2024-01-221h 16The Weekly Reload PodcastFormer NRA Board Member on His Testimony in the Corruption CaseThe National Rifle Association's corruption trial in New York began this week, and we have the first witness called in the case on the show with us.
Rocky Marshall is a former NRA board member and the first to receive votes for executive vice president against Wayne LaPierre in decades. He has also been a vocal critic of LaPierre, other key members of leadership, and outside counsel Bill Brewer. He blames their mismanagement and misconduct for the NRA's current downward spiral.
Marshall laid out the questions he was asked during his testimony. The questions were...2024-01-151h 23The Weekly Reload PodcastGun-Rights Lawyer Explains Recent Win Against California's New Carry RestrictionsThis week, we're looking at a federal judge's ruling against the Golden State's latest "gun-free zones."
So, we've got one of the lawyers who won the case on to explain it. Kostas Moros, who represented the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), joins the show to recount his arguments and the judge's decision.
The decision was a total victory for Moros and the plaintiffs. The judge enjoined all of the challenged sensitive places restrictions. He even went a bit beyond what the plaintiffs asked for and struck down the parking lot ban associated with many...2024-01-011h 11The Weekly Reload PodcastA Candid Conversation on Gun Suicide With The Trace's Mike SpiesThis week's episode is a bit different than normal.
I'm speaking with Mike Spies from The Trace about his latest article. But, unlike a regular episode, this story impacts me personally. The subject of Mike's piece was Bob Owens.
Bob was a gun-rights writer, but, more importantly, he was also a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, like many other Americans, Bob took his life several years ago.
Mike agreed to come on the podcast to talk about Bob and gun suicide. It was honestly a difficult conversation to have. But I think we...2023-12-261h 15The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Problem With Chaos Spiking Gun Sales (Ft. Discourse Magazine's David Masci)This week, we're taking a look at record gun sales from a different point of view.
The spike in new gun owners seen from 2020 through 2022 is one we've spent a lot of time examining because it's very likely to have a significant impact on American society, culture, and politics. Gun owners generally see the addition of millions more Americans to their ranks as a positive thing, even while understanding uncertainty is what likely drove many of them to the store.
But Discourse Magazine editor David Masci wrote a piece recently noting the straightforward problem of...2023-12-181h 23The Weekly Reload PodcastNBC Pollster Unpacks Gun Ownership Spike, Political ImplicationsNBC News recently released one of the most impactful polls on gun ownership in America. So, it's time to take a deep dive into what it tells us.
Who better to do that with than one of the analysts who actually conducted the poll? That's why we have Micah Roberts of Public Opinion Strategies on the show this week. He and his company run surveys for NBC, CNBC, and a number of political operations.
He said the biggest takeaway from the latest NBC poll on guns was the substantial spike in ownership, especially among Democrats...2023-12-111h 26The Weekly Reload PodcastMaryland Gun-Rights Leader on Series of Recent Court VictoriesWe're back after our Thanksgiving break, and we've got some big news out of Maryland.
Not only was the state's pistol purchase law ruled unconstitutional, but the gun-carry restrictions imposed by the state's largest county were blocked too. Mark Pennak was at the center of both cases, which is why we've got him on the show this week. He's the president of Maryland Shall Issue and its lead litigator as well.
He outlined the gun-rights group's arguments in both cases and how the two judges came down on them. He said the state didn't have...2023-12-041h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastCritiquing the Washington Post's Graphic Mass Shooting Pictures (ft. Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards)This week, we're discussing The Washington Post's controversial decision to publish graphic images from certain mass killings.
That's why I reached out to Cam Edwards, editor of Bearing Arms and longtime newsman, to give his opinion on the story and discuss mine as well. Cam recently interviewed Parkland father Ryan Petty about The Post's decision and how some families have reacted to it. He said Petty and several other families were disturbed by The Post publishing the images, especially since not everyone affected was directly contacted by the paper.
Cam argued that The Post's decision...2023-11-201h 10The Weekly Reload PodcastGun Scholar David Kopel Explains SCOTUS Oral Arguments in Second Amendment CaseThe Supreme Court just finished oral arguments in its latest Second Amendment case. So, this week on the show, we've got scholar David Kopel with us to give his perspective on the arguments made and the questions asked by the Justices in United States v. Rahimi.
Kopel was on the show about a month ago describing his brief in the case. And the issue in that brief came up in oral arguments. Kopel reacts to the discussion around the more problematic section of the federal law that bars those subject to domestic violence restraining orders from owning...2023-11-131h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastMass Shooting Researcher on What Went Wrong in MaineThis week, we're examining some of the failures that led to the worst mass shooting in Maine's history.
Despite making multiple threats, hearing voices, and being committed to a mental institution; the shooter was about to obtain and keep his guns. Federal law bars anyone who was involuntarily committed from possessing firearms, and Maine has a version of the so-called red flag laws he should've qualified. So, why was he able to carry out the attack with guns he shouldn't have legally had?
To help answer that question and give expert insight into how these...2023-11-061h 14The Weekly Reload PodcastVCDL President Gives Outlook on How Guns Impact the 2023 Virginia ElectionsThis week, we're looking ahead at Virginia's off-year elections. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R.) is halfway through his first term, and now the entire state legislature is up for election.
Republicans currently have a four-vote majority in the House of Delegates, while Democrats have a two-vote majority in the Senate. That's led to very little movement on gun policy since the Democrats lost their trifecta after passing universal background checks, a one-gun-a-month limit, a "red flag" law, local gun-free zones, and other restrictions in 2020.
The outcome of the election will either preserve the status quo or...2023-10-3059 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastJewish Americans Turn to Guns After Hamas Slaughter (Ft. The Pew Pew Jew)This week, we're discussing how the unprecedented terror attacks in Israel have motivated Jewish people in America to seek out firearms.
Our guest is a longtime Jewish gun-rights advocate who lives in Texas. Yehuda Remer, who goes by The Pew Pew Jew, joins the show to detail the incredible increase in demand for guns and training he's seen from people in his community.
He said the influx has been unlike anything he's experienced. Remer said the number of people he's had reaching out to him and, importantly, following through on their desire to obtain guns...2023-10-231h 04The Weekly Reload Podcast2A Scholar David Kopel on the Supreme Court's Latest Gun CaseThis week, we're turning our attention back to the Supreme Court. It is deciding the first gun case since its landmark decision last year. And we have one of the most influential Second Amendment scholars in the country on the show to discuss it.
David Kopel joins the podcast to explain his amicus brief in United States v. Rahimi. He is one of the most accomplished scholars on the topic. His work has been cited in countless federal court decisions and all of the Supreme Court's major Second Amendment rulings.
In Rahimi, Kopel argued the...2023-10-161h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastInside a Nationwide Gun-Carry Group's New Political Efforts (Ft. USCCA's Katie Pointer Baney)This week, we're taking an in-depth look at a new player in the gun politics space.
Although, the main reason this group is worth paying attention to is that they aren't new to being an influential gun group. The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) has been a significant presence in concealed-carry insurance and firearms training for a decade. They created a Super PAC two years ago as their first foray into organized political activism, and now they've followed that up by forming a new 501(c)(4) non-profit.
Katie Pointer Baney, the head of the new...2023-10-091h 12The Weekly Reload PodcastCalifornia Rifle and Pistol Association's Chuck Michel on Blocking the Magazine BanThis week, we're looking back at the Golden State.
It's once again in the news because a federal judge has found one of its strict gun-control laws unconstitutional. This time, it was the ban on magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. So, we decided to bring on the head of the group that beat the ban.
California Rifle and Pistol Association President Chuck Michel gave us his insight into the case. He said the outcome was expected because this was effectively a retread. Duncan v. Bonta was initially decided in favor of...2023-10-021h 15The Weekly Reload PodcastA New AI Promises to Help You Build a Gun (Feat. Cody Wilson)This week, we're looking at a new AI product that promises to do what ChatGPT can't: talk to you about building guns.
The cleverly named GatGPT went into beta this week. I got an early look at it. And, now, we're having the head of the company behind it on the show to explain why they created it.
Defense Distrubuted's Cody Wilson said the end goal is to build an alternative to big tech initiatives in search and advertising. He argued AI could be a consequential tool in that effort. He said the kind of...2023-09-251h 05The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Second Amendment Foundation's Adam Kraut on Blocking New Mexico's Gun-Carry BanThe emergency gun-carry ban implemented by New Mexico's governor has been blocked by a federal judge. This week on the show, we have one of the men responsible for securing that order.
Adam Kraut is the Second Amendment Foundation's Executive Director. They were one of at least five groups to successfully challenge Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's (D.) order.
He said the case is simple. The order was clearly an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment, especially given the Supreme Court recently ruled that gun carry is specifically protected just last year. Governor Lujan Grisham pulled...2023-09-181h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Atlantic's Andrew Exum in Defense of HuntingThis week, we're talking about the importance of hunting.
In a bit of a surprise move, The Atlantic published a superb article explaining why America needs hunting more than many might imagine. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have the author of the piece on. That's why Andrew Exum is joining the show.
He describes the role that hunting plays in conserving American wildlife. He notes that it's not just important for wildlife population control either. Taxes on guns, ammunition, and hunting license fees are also a primary contributor to conservation...2023-09-111h 09The Weekly Reload PodcastBiden Moves to Expand Who Needs a Gun Dealing License (Featuring Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms)This week, President Joe Biden announced new executive action aimed at tightening gun laws.
This time, he wants to expand who must get a license to legally sell used guns. So, I brought back Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards to review the ATF's proposed rule.
We go over the new details of what the agency says will trigger the license requirement. Much of the rule codifies what the ATF has claimed for years about who might be prosecuted for selling guns without a license. But Cam notes the agency is seeking to expand its authority...2023-09-041h 01The Weekly Reload PodcastLaw Professor Who Wants Heller Overturned Explains His View of New SCOTUS Gun CaseThis week, we have Professor Dru Stevenson of the South Texas College of Law on the show to give his analysis of the Supreme Court's latest Second Amendment case.
A few weeks back, we had pro-gun author and lawyer Mark Smith on to give his view of United States v. Rahimi. But I want to make sure we offer you all a wide variety of perspectives on where the case is headed. Stevenson certainly comes from a very different point of view, and he has an intimate knowledge of the case.
He joined a brief...2023-08-281h 06The Weekly Reload PodcastAn Interview With the Lawyer Dismantling Hawaii's Strict Gun LawsThis week, we're talking with one of the most prolific independent gun litigators in the country.
Alan Beck set about successfully undoing the country's stun gun bans in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2016 Caetano ruling. He also challenged Hawaii's effective ban on gun carry in Young. Now, he's back taking on the Aloha State's strict gun laws in the wake of 2022's Bruen.
And he's winning.
This week alone he notched victories in two different cases against Hawaii. First, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled the state's total ban on...2023-08-141h 07The Weekly Reload PodcastNational Review's Charles Cooke on the Courts Dismantling President Biden's Gun AgendaThe last domino to fall in President Joe Biden's gun agenda was toppled by a Fifth Circuit panel.
So, we're bringing one of the best political writers in the country. Nationals Review's Charles Cooke is one of the top conservative analysts on both the legal and political side of guns in America. He joins the show to talk about why Biden's pistol-brace ban was tossed.
Hint: It wasn't because of the Second Amendment.
Instead, Cooke noted the courts have objected to the ATF overstepping its bounds when creating Biden's gun policies. He said...2023-08-071h 07The Weekly Reload PodcastReason Magazine's JD Tuccille on Study Showing Some Americans Don't Tell Pollsters They Own GunsThis week, we're looking at a recent study that found a substantial number of gun owners may be unwilling to tell pollsters they own guns.
To help illuminate some of the significant implications of the research, we have Reason Magazine's JD Tuccille joining us. He did a great piece on the study over at Reason and had several important insights.
For one, he said the study may undercut almost everything we think we know about guns in America. After all, it raised the possibility that as many as half of the people who told the...2023-07-311h 07The Weekly Reload PodcastCan a Short Video Stop Accidental Shootings Among Kids? (With OSU's Sophie Kjaervik)This week, we're taking a close look at a new study that suggests showing kids a minute-long video stops them from handling a gun while unsupervised.
We are lucky enough to have Ohio State University PHD student, and lead author of the study, Sophie Kjaervik with us for this episode. She explained that kids in her experiment that watched a short gun safety video featuring a uniformed police officer were far less likely to pick up a real, but disabled, gun in a controlled setting than kids shown a car safety video with the same cop. And...2023-07-241h 15The Weekly Reload PodcastIs the Murder Rate Finally Falling? (Featuring Crime Analyst Jeff Asher)This week, we're taking a closer look at the data that indicates the murder rate is finally on a downward slope. And there's no better guest to have than the man who has documented the decline.
Crime analyst Jeff Asher joins the show to give us insight into his methodology for tracking murder across the country. His numbers show what could be a historic reversal of the recent murder spike. The data from over 100 city police departments indicate murder may be down as much as 10 percent.
But Asher also explains the limitations of real-time data...2023-07-171h 19The Weekly Reload PodcastAuthor Mark W. Smith Explains the New Supreme Court Gun CaseThe Supreme Court just agreed to take up a brand new Second Amendment case. So, we've got author and member of the Supreme Court bar Mark W. Smith on the show this week.
Smith, who also hosts the Four Boxes Diner YouTube channel, joins to talk about the ins and outs of United States v. Rahimi. The Supreme Court will have to decide whether the Second Amendment protects the right of those subject to a domestic violence restraining order to own guns. And, as Smith notes, it will be doing so for one of the least sympathetic...2023-07-101h 10The Weekly Reload PodcastExamining the Ruling Upholding NYC's Synagogue Gun Ban With a Jewish Gun Club RabbiThis week, we're examining a new ruling in favor of New York's ban on carrying a concealed gun in places of worship. It's a somewhat surprising decision that comes after the state already abandoned the total ban and several other judges have struck it down. So, the whole situation is a bit confusing.
That's why we have New York State Jewish Gun Club member Rabbi Tzvi Hershel Goldstein on the show. He is directly affected by the new ruling, and his group helped fund the case against it.
He argues the ban on worshipers carrying...2023-07-031h 21The Weekly Reload PodcastExamining Hunter Biden's Gun Deal With Popehat's Ken WhiteThis week, we're looking closely at the deal Hunter Biden struck with federal prosecutors over his 2018 gun purchase while he was using illicit drugs.
That's why I brought on a former federal prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Ken White. He's also a podcast host and writes under the name Popehat. So, he's able to explain the ins and outs of the indictment and give some analysis of the politics of it all too.
White noted that the felony charge Hunter struck a deal on is rarely pursued as a standalone charge. It's also almost...2023-06-261h 20The Weekly Reload PodcastBiofire Founder Kai Kloepfer Answers Questions About His New 'Smart Gun'This week, we're joined by the man behind the first "smart gun" that's going to come to market.
Kai Kloepfer is the founder of Biofire, a company that has been getting a lot of attention since announcing it will ship a 9mm pistol with integrated biometric locks this year. He answered a wide array of different questions on smart guns and the Biofire model in particular.
He explained how Biofire intertwines the operation of the firing mechanism with biometrics. Instead of using an electronic device to block a traditional trigger setup, they have eliminated the...2023-06-191h 31The Weekly Reload PodcastNRO's Jim Geraghty on Biden's Brace Ban BustThis week, National Review's Jim Geraghty comes back to the show to give us his reaction to President Joe Biden's pistol-brace ban.
As we reported first at The Reload, only a tiny fraction of the guns required to be registered actually were. Geraghty said he thinks Americans are distrustful of the government and unwilling to tell them what guns they have. He argued that effect is especially strong with Joe Biden in office given how aggressively he is trying to expand gun restrictions.
That's part of the reason his gun policy approval numbers have tanked...2023-06-121h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastAuthor Radley Balko Explains Why Courts Are Starting to Reject Firearms Ballistic AnalysisOn this week's episode, The Watch's Radley Balko details the landmark decision of a Chicago judge not to allow firearm forensic experts to testify in a criminal case.
Balko said the court's decision comes after years of criticism aimed at the field of forensic pattern matching. He argues many of the techniques made famous on shows like CSI have little scientific basis. Many, he said, are based on little more than the best guesses of examiners who are mainly just eyeballing evidence.
He explained the idea that matching a mass-produced bullet to the mass-produced gun...2023-06-051h 19The Weekly Reload PodcastWill DeSantis Attacks on Trump Gun Record Work? (Featuring Hot Air's Ed Morrissey)This week, we have one of the people who inspired me to get into political writing all the way back in college.
Ed Morrissey, the managing editor of Hot Air, has long been one of the most insightful conservative political analysts out there. He joins the show to break down the early days of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, especially his latest attacks on frontrunner Donald Trump's gun record. In one of his first interviews after launching his campaign, DeSantis said Trump's 2018 call to ‘take the guns first, go through due process se...2023-05-291h 17The Weekly Reload PodcastSecond Amendment Foundation's Alan Gottlieb Responds to Financial QuestionsThis week, Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) joined the show to respond to questions about the group's finances.
As I promised on the previous podcast, I asked Gottlieb about the ins and out of how the two non-profits he's a director of interact with the private entities he operates and what safeguards are in place to ensure the groups aren't being overcharged. He said SAF and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) have boards that approve the contracts with the private companies he owns, and he has no...2023-05-221h 23The Weekly Reload PodcastExamining Tennessee's 'Red Flag' Proposal & Trump's Bump Stock Defense with Bearing Arms' Cam EdwardsWe're bringing back a fan-favorite guest this week: Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms.
He joins the show to discuss Tennessee's new "red flag" proposal. We talked about the major differences between Governor Bill Lee's (R.) proposal and other laws already on the books. The Tennessee proposal is one of the first to try and address many of the due process concerns raised by the other laws.
But Cam argued the changes aren't enough to satisfy gun-rights advocates. He said the problem stems from the basic approach of trying to reform red flag laws, which center...2023-05-151h 34The Weekly Reload PodcastExamining the Supreme Court's Renewed Interest in AR-15 Bans With Author Mark W. SmithThe Supreme Court is back in the spotlight because it showed a sign it might soon act on so-called assault weapons bans.
But the sign comes in the form of a complex legal maneuver that needs some explaining. That's why we have author and pro-gun lawyer Mark W. Smith on the show to suss out exactly what's going on and what it means.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the Seventh Circuit, asked Naperville, Illinois, to defend its ban on AR-15s and similar firearms against an emergency request to block the law. Smith said...2023-05-081h 09The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Fate of 'Assault Weapons' Bans According to Gun-Rights Scholar David KopelAnother federal judge ruled on Friday that so-called assault weapons bans likely violate the Second Amendment.
So, the Illinois ban is blocked for now. But Washington's was just signed. And Delaware's 2022 ban is still standing. Elsewhere, bans on the popular guns, including the AR-15, have been forestalled by political reality.
Independence Institute's David Kopel understands the fight well having just gone through it in his home state of Colorado, where Democrats who control the government weren't able to push a ban over the finish line. But he has also filed many court briefs and written...2023-05-011h 26The Weekly Reload PodcastFormer NRA Board Member Frank Tait on Reform EffortsThe NRA's 2023 Annual Meeting was last week. The group was resurgent, and leadership got a mostly warm welcome.
That doesn't mean the NRA's problems are solved. To the contrary, it still seems to be bleeding membership revenue at the same time it racks up increasing legal bills from dealing with multiple corruption suits over allegations of financial impropriety. That's why we have Frank Tait, who just finished his term on the NRA board, on the show this week.
Tait, who joined the board as a vocal critic of Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, admitted attempts...2023-04-241h 25The Weekly Reload PodcastMass Shooting Patterns and Potential Solutions With The Violence Project's James DensleyThe beginning of the week featured another horrible mass shooting in America. This time at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.
That's why I wanted to bring on one of the leading experts currently studying mass shootings. Metro State University Professor James Densley is one of the co-founders of The Violence Project, which has the most detailed and comprehensive database of mass shootings dating back to 1966. He is also the co-author of the book by the same name that outlines potential real-world solutions to the phenomenon.
Professor Densley explained why he believes the count they use...2023-04-171h 19The Weekly Reload PodcastWe Answer Your Gun QuestionsIt's time for another Q&A podcast episode!
This week, we're taking some of the best questions from Reload Members. Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman joins me to offer up our best answers to those questions.
And those questions covered all sorts of topics. One member asked how realistic confiscation of at least some firearms, such as AR-15s, is and what protections against the federal government implementing such a policy exists. Another asked about the long-term prospects for the gun-rights movement, especially in blue states.
We also explain how circuit splits work and...2023-04-101h 15The Weekly Reload PodcastYouTuber Reno May on His Win Over California's Handgun RosterThis week, California gun owners received positive news when a federal judge ruled the state's handgun restrictions are unconstitutional.
So, we decided to reach out to one of the most prominent plaintiffs in the case: YouTuber Reno May. He said he is happy with the outcome of the case. He even expressed optimism that the ruling might go into effect without an appeal.
Federal District Judge Judge Cormac J. Carney agreed with May and the other plaintiffs' argument that the state's "Unsafe Handgun Law" violates the Second Amendment. He found the requirement that all new...2023-03-271h 12The Weekly Reload PodcastWhat Does President Biden's New Executive Order on Guns Do? (Feat. Heritage's Amy Swearer)President Joe Biden announced a set of new executive orders this week that could have wide-ranging effects.
But what does his order actually do? Well, that's what we brought Amy Swearer on to explain. She's the conservative Heritage Foundation's gun policy expert who regularly testifies on Capitol Hill.
She said three of the initiatives have the potential to have a severe impact on gun owners across America. The effort to broaden the requirement for those selling guns to obtain a federal license, the directive that federal agencies and the military try to add gun-control requirements...2023-03-201h 11The Weekly Reload PodcastAshley Hlebinsky on the University of Wyoming's New Firearms Research CenterOn this week's episode, we're exploring a new effort to make firearms law and history a specific academic pursuit.
Ashley Hlebinsky joins the show to tell us about the University of Wyoming's Firearms Research Center. She is the former curator of the Cody Firearms Museum who helped found the new center. She explains what she and a top law professor at the school hope to accomplish with the effort.
Hlebinsky said the goal is to develop gun research as a unified topic of study. She said the center is hoping to bring scholars from around...2023-03-131h 09The Weekly Reload PodcastNational Review's Charles Cooke on Florida's Desantis Pushing Gun ReformsCharles Cooke is back on the show this week.
The National Review senior writer is an expert on gun policy and politics. He is also a Florida Man. So, he's the perfect person to come on and talk about Governor Ron Desantis's (R.) latest push to institute new gun reforms.
Cooke said Desantis's push to implement permitless gun carry and banking reforms designed to pressure financial institutions into continuing to work with gun businesses is likely to succeed. Republicans have supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature and Desantis has worked more closely with...2023-03-061h 20The Weekly Reload PodcastShould Gun Suicides be Counted as Gun Violence? (Feat. Gun Lawyer Kostas Moros)This week, we're examining the way that most gun-control groups count "gun violence."
Kostas Moros, a gun-rights lawyer, joins the show to discuss the piece he wrote for The Reload about why the decision to include gun-related suicides in those counts is misleading. He explained that the majority of gun deaths, and usually up to two-thirds of them, are suicides. He said gun-control activists' claims about the correlation between strict gun laws and lower levels of "gun violence" don't hold water without including suicides.
Moros argued states with strict gun laws often don't have lower...2023-02-271h 02The Weekly Reload PodcastAuthor Mark W. Smith on the Post-Bruen Legal LandscapeWe're doing another unique episode this week.
Instead of exploring a specific story from the week, we're taking a step back and looking at the state of the legal fight over guns. That's why I reached out to one of the best legal commentators out there: Mark W. Smith. He is an author, lawyer, and host of The Four Boxes Diner on YouTube.
Smith gives us the state of play around gun restrictions in federal courts. He said there has been more significant movement from the courts in the seven months since SCOTUS handed down...2023-02-201h 14The Weekly Reload PodcastForgotten Weapons' Ian McCollum on YouTube's Silencer Video TakedownsThis week we're focused on YouTube's erratic moderation of silencers.
The social media giant began deleting videos and even whole channels that featured silencers, often called suppressors, from their site a few weeks back. Then, after public outcry and an inquiry from The Reload, the company reversed course. But the damage to trust many gun creators had in the platform was already done by then.
Ian McCollum, who had one of his suppressor videos from Forgotten Weapons deleted, joins the podcast to talk about the ordeal. He explains how this is not the first time...2023-02-131h 10The Weekly Reload PodcastMonster Hunter Author Larry Correia on Defending the Second AmendmentThis week we're trying something a little bit different.
Usually, we have a guest on to talk about a recent gun story we've been reporting on. I thought it would be a good time to shake things up a little bit. When New York Times best-selling fantasy author Larry Correia's agent reached out about his new non-fiction book on the Second Amendment, it seemed like a good idea.
Correia was amenable. So, I read his classic book Monster Hunter International and his new book In Defense of the Second Amendment to prepare for the conversation...2023-02-061h 09The Weekly Reload PodcastBearing Arms' Cam Edwards on Pistol Brace Ban Updates and ATF InconsistencyThis week we have one of my favorite guests back on the show: Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms.
There are few people who follow gun politics as closely as Cam. And even fewer are capable of the intelligent analysis he commonly offers. So, I'm glad he's back to talk about the complicated ins and outs of the ATF's recent rule proposals and public statements.
The ATF clarified several points regarding its upcoming pistol brace ban this week. It said foreign-made braced guns can be either dismantled or registered as short-barrel rifles to comply with the...2023-01-301h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastPistol Brace Inventor Alex Bosco on the ATF's New BanThis week, we're diving into the details of the ATF's pistol brace ban.
That's why we have pistol brace inventor and SB Tactical owner Alex Bosco on the show. He gave his view on how many guns will be affected by the ban, whether any braced guns avoid the prohibition, and the legal case he's building against it.
Bosco said he believes there are at least 10 million braces in circulation despite the ATF's claim the number is closer to 3 million. He said the new rule appears to effectively reclassify all braced guns with rifled barrels...2023-01-231h 33The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Problems With Gun Insurance Mandates According to Expert RJ LehmannThe podcast is back after a holiday and illness break. This week, we're covering the pair of gun insurance mandates that have recently gone into effect.
R.J. Lehmann, a senior fellow at the International Center for Law and Economics, joins us to discuss the details of New Jersey's gun-carry insurance mandate and San Jose, California's gun ownership insurance requirement.
He said the requirements, which are the first of their kind, won't accomplish the goal lawmakers have claimed. Namely, insurance companies can't provide coverage for criminal acts. That basically leaves damage caused by accidental shootings...2023-01-161h 14The Weekly Reload PodcastGun Violence Archive's Mark Bryant on His Role in the CDC Gun Defense DramaLast week, we broke news of the CDC removing gun defense use estimates and a review paper it commissioned from its website after meeting privately with a group of advocates.
This week, we have one of those advocates on the show. Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, was involved in the private meeting with CDC officials. He attacked Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck's estimate of 2.5 million defensive gun uses per year as misleading. And he said it was preventing new gun restrictions from making progress.
The CDC initially rebuffed the request...2022-12-231h 15The Weekly Reload PodcastManhattan Institute's Robert VerBruggen on the CDC Caving to Gun-Control AdvocatesThe CDC came under fire this week after we broke news they had deleted defensive gun use (DGU) stats from their website under pressure from gun-control advocates. It's an extremely important story, but one that involves some complicated science.
So, I wanted to bring on somebody who has extensive knowledge of the topic to help us get a better understanding of the controversy. That's why I asked Manhatten Institute fellow Robert VerBruggen to join me. He has written about the strengths and weaknesses of different methods for estimating DGUs, including the Gary Kleck surveys at the center...2022-12-191h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastGOA's Sam Paredes on Blocking Oregon's New Gun-Control LawOregon's gun-control ballot initiative has put it at the center of the fight over guns in America. As the political battle ended with victory for Measure 114 and the deadline to implement a non-existent permit-to-purchase system closed in, a new front opened in the courts.
Sam Paredes, a Gun Owners of America (GOA) board member and treasurer of the Gun Owners Foundation, was on the frontline of that legal battle. While multiple federal suits were unable to secure a Temporary Restraining Order against the law, GOA was able to convince a state judge the measure violated the Oregon...2022-12-121h 04The Weekly Reload PodcastNew York State Jewish Gun Club Founder Explains Their Suit Against the State's Synagogue Gun BanThis week on the podcast, we're discussing one of the many lawsuits currently trying to take down New York's latest gun-carry restrictions.
Joining us on the show is Tzvi Waldman to discuss the New York State Jewish Gun Club's challenge to the ban on guns in places of worship. He argued the law, which keeps even those who are licensed by the state and authorized by their faith leader to carry from doing so, is unconstitutional. And he said it puts worshipers at greater risk of attack.
Waldman said the law forces Jewish worshipers to...2022-11-2157 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastBearing Arms' Cam Edwards on the Election's Impact on Gun PoliticsThe election is over, and it's time to read the tea leaves.
That's why I'm bringing Cam Edward from Bearing Arms back on the show to interpret the results. How did the races we were watching turn out? How much impact did guns have on them? How much impact will the election have on guns?
Cam says gun-rights advocates fared better than Republicans.
While Republicans couldn't regain control of the Senate and appear to only have barely recaptured the House, gun-rights positions in ballot initiatives outperformed even popular Republican candidates on the same...2022-11-141h 02The Weekly Reload PodcastAxios's Josh Kraushaar on Guns and the MidtermsThe midterm elections are upon us.
As we've discussed previously, Americans are far less interested in gun policy than they were this summer. So, how will we be able to tell the effects of guns on the election? Axios Senior Political Correspondent Josh Kraushaar joins the show to talk about where we should focus our attention.
There are a few races where guns are playing a more prominent role. The ballot initiatives in Iowa and Oregon that deal directly with gun policy are obvious examples. The gubernatorial races in Texas, Georgia, and New York are...2022-11-0754 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastOpen Secrets' Anna Massoglia on How the Gun Groups are Spending in 2022The midterms are just over a week away, and the outcome will have a significant impact on the likely hood of new federal gun restrictions.
If Democrats hold control of the House and gain seats in the Senate, the possibility they blow up the filibuster and pass new gun laws rises. If Republicans gain control of either house of Congress, the likelihood of new gun laws falls to near zero.
The gun groups know this, and they're spending as much as they can to push the outcome in either direction. So, this week, I've got...2022-10-311h 05The Weekly Reload PodcastThe History of Individual Gun Rights With Lawyer Kostas MorosOn this week's episode, we're doing something a little bit different.
Instead of interviewing somebody about something they wrote, I'm talking about a piece I wrote with my co-author. Gun-rights lawyer Kostas Moros joins me to talk about our look at what second-generation Americans thought of the Second Amendment.
We set out to answer a pretty simple question: did gun-rights advocates recently invent the idea that the Second Amendment protects an individual right?
The answer is no.
Moros explains how he used digitized 19th-century writings to show Americans have long viewed...2022-10-171h 22The Weekly Reload PodcastManhattan Institute's Robert VerBruggen on the Murder Spike and Bad FBI Crime DataThe FBI just released its full 2021 crime report. So, this week on the podcast, we're talking about the spike in nationwide homicides.
That's why Robert VerBruggen from National Review and the Manhattan Institute is joining us. He's been writing about the ins and outs of crime data for years and has produced some of the most insightful commentary I've seen.
With data from the FBI, CDC, and elsewhere indicating a significant increase in murder over the past two years, VerBruggen walks us through the trend and its implications. He also explains why the FBI's data...2022-10-101h 18The Weekly Reload PodcastWe Answer Your Gun QuestionsA lot has happened since the last time we took questions on the podcast.
We're living through a time of great change with guns in America. Sales moved to historic levels in recent years, and millions of people from demographics that have been traditionally less likely to own guns have decided to arm themselves. Mass shootings have shocked the nation and led to the first new federal gun restrictions in generations. At the same time, the Supreme Court has handed down a seminal ruling protecting the individual right to carry firearms in public while articulating a specific...2022-10-031h 12The Weekly Reload PodcastGMU Professor Robert Leider on a Federal Judge Striking Down the Felony Indictment Gun BanWe're focusing on a new federal court ruling calling the federal felony gun ban into question this week.
That's why we've got George Mason University's Robert Leider on the podcast. He is an assistant professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School who has clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. He has also written extensively about Second Amendment law.
He said District Court Judge David Counts was correct in his conclusion that the ban on those under felony inducement receiving firearms does not have a historical analogue. He said the same is true for the ban on...2022-09-261h 18The Weekly Reload PodcastNSSF's Larry Keane on the Industry Reaction to New Credit Card Codes for Gun StoresThe gun industry is facing a new fight over financing for firearms.
Gun companies have long struggled to obtain and keep banking services in place despite government pressure in the form of Operation Chokepoint and private pressure from big banks refusing to work with them. But now, gun buyers are facing pressure too. Gun-control advocates convinced the organization that oversees credit card merchant codes to create one for gun stores in hopes of flagging "suspicious" transactions for law enforcement.
So, we have Larry Keane on to tell us how the industry is handling the change...2022-09-191h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastGeorgetown Professor on His Groundbreaking Survey of Gun OwnersWe took a look at the largest-ever survey of gun owners this week. I covered the topline results, and Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman wrote an analysis for members on what the survey showed about AR-15s in American society. We plan to write quite a bit more on the study because of how much high-quality data is in it.
That brings us to this week's podcast. Georgetown Professor William English, who conducted the survey, joins us to discuss the details.
English said he wanted to update the evidence and address some common critiques of well-known...2022-09-121h 04The Weekly Reload PodcastGun Makers Match Organizer Rob Pincus Updates Us on the 'Ghost Gun' Kit BanThis week we're looking at the practical impact of President Joe Biden's "ghost gun" kit ban. The ban went into effect just a few days ago. So, it's a good time to check in and assess the fallout.
That's why we've brought Rob Picus on the show. Rob is one of the key organizers behind the gunmakers match, a shooting competition for people who build their own firearms. He has become engrained in the homebuilding community.
He said companies that make 80 percent frames or receivers have begun to test the new legal landscape. At least...2022-09-051h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastBearing Arms' Cam Edwards on the Upward Swing in Support for Gun ControlThis week we're talking about the implications of a polling trend and new political developments that should worry gun-rights advocates.
So, I asked Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms to join the show. He is one of the most insightful gun writers on the planet and one of the few who has a solid understanding of national politics.
We talked at length about a recent AP poll that found support for stricter gun laws was at an all-time high and, more importantly, an upward trend. Since 2013, support has climbed 19 points. That's something that I argued ought...2022-08-291h 11The Weekly Reload PodcastCam Edwards of Bearing Arms on the House 'Assault Weapons' BanDemocrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted to move an "assault weapons" ban for the first time in decades this week.
The move came as a bit of a surprise. Democrats haven't passed an assault weapons ban at the federal level since the original one expired in 2004. They didn't include one alongside the other measures in the gun-control package they passed in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.
So, I brought Cam Edwards from Bearing Arms on to discuss the changing tides. Cam is one of the most insightful pro-gun writers out there and has...2022-07-2559 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastA Q&A On the Supreme Court Gun Decision, New Federal Gun Law, and ATF RegulationsThanks to the first major Second Amendment ruling from the Supreme Court in over a decade and the first new federal gun restrictions in a generation there's a lot of uncertainty about America's gun laws. So, we thought it was a good time to answer some of your questions.
Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I took submissions from Reload Members on their most pressing concerns. We got questions on everything from how the ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen affects the other pending gun cases before the Court to how stable the new...2022-07-041h 09The Weekly Reload PodcastNational Review's Charles Cooke Reacts to Supreme Court and Senate Gun NewsTwo of the biggest gun stories in decades came to a head this week. The Supreme Court's anticipated Bruen decision invalidate "may issue" gun carry permit laws nationwide just before the federal government passed its first new gun restrictions in a generation. These shifts are monumental.
That's why this week we're joined by one of the top pro-gun thinkers out there: National Review's Charles Cooke.
Cooke has already written extensively on the ruling and the legislation. He said both would have far-reaching consequences.
He argued the ruling puts the Second Amendment back on...2022-06-271h 00The Weekly Reload PodcastPolitico's Burgess Everett Gives Insight into How Senate Gun Talks are UnfoldingSenate gun negotiations carried on this week after encountering a few speed bumps.
That's why I had another top Capitol Hill reporter on the show. This week, I'm joined by Burgess Everett of Politico. He has spent decades reporting on and talking to the key senators at the center of the gun deal.
Everett said that while the deal has a lot of momentum, he's seen many so-called must-pass bills fail. He said that red flag grants being expanded to non-red-flag laws and how gun prohibitions should be extended to those that commit violence against...2022-06-201h 07The Weekly Reload PodcastPunchbowl's John Bresnahan on Senate Gun TalksThis week we have one of the top Capitol Hill reporters on the podcast.
The House passed a package of gun-control bills and bipartisan discussions in the Senate have been making progress towards a deal. So, I wanted to bring on Punchbowl Co-Founder John Bresnahan to give us a breakdown of where this is all really headed. Bresnahan has been reporting on the Hill for as long as anybody, and nobody else has a better view of what's going on.
He said Senators John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) are the key...2022-06-131h 16The Weekly Reload PodcastDavid French on Red Flag Laws in the Wake of the Buffalo MassacreDavid French has long advocated for the adoption of red flag laws to prevent mass shootings. In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, where an unused red flag law may have stopped that massacre, he seemed like a good person to discuss the policy's advantages and drawbacks.
French argued red flag laws, otherwise known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), provide a kind of stopgap between releasing somebody who is troubled and going through the more complex process of involuntarily committing them. He said they provide a way to intervene with somebody who has demonstrated they are...2022-05-231h 04The Weekly Reload PodcastAllen West Explains Why He's Running Against Wayne LaPierreWe have an exclusive interview with Allen West for you this week.
He announced on Monday he would accept the call of current and former board members to challenge Wayne LaPierre for the control of the NRA. He will be pitted against the long-time head of the organization in a fight for the group's future. The results will determine how the NRA moves forward after years of controversy coupled with financial and legal struggles.
West says the gun-rights group is in desperate need of reform. He pledged to bring transparency to how the group handles...2022-05-1654 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastLara Smith On the Liberal Gun Club's MissionLara Smith joins the show this week. She's the national spokesperson for a stereotype-defying group: The Liberal Gun Club.
Smith talks at length about the group's philosophy. Rather than focusing on gun bans or restrictions, they believe in addressing the root causes of violence. They lobby against strict new gun-control laws and for alternative approaches to solving gun violence.
She said the group has grown substantially over the past two years as the number of new gun owners has increased, especially those from demographics that skew more liberal. Smith argued that trend will impact not...2022-05-091h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastNAAGA President Philip Smith Criticizes Biden's ATF ShakeupPhilip Smith of the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA) joins the podcast to discuss President Joe Biden's recent moves to change ATF leadership.
Biden recently picked a second nominee to head the agency. Then he demoted the acting director and replaced him with a third candidate. Smith said NAAGA is unhappy that Marvin Richardson, a Black agent with 33 years of experience, has now been passed over three times for White candidates who are less qualified for the permanent director position.
Smith said Richardson is well-liked by ATF agents and the industry alike. He argued...2022-05-0253 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastCam Edwards on President Biden's Controversial ATF MovesCam Edwards of Bearing Arms joins the show this week after the ATF saw a significant shakeup.
After President Biden announced he would nominate a new permanent director last week, he took to punishing the acting director. Marvin Richardson, a 30-year career agent, was moved down to acting deputy director for the last few months of his time at the agency. The move comes just a month after gun-control advocates and The New York Times attacked Richardson as too friendly towards the gun industry.
Cam argues those complaints were weak. He says the gun-control groups...2022-04-2558 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastGhost Gunner's Cody Wilson Responds to Biden's 'Ghost Gun' Kit BanPresident Biden went hard after "ghost guns" and the companies that make them this week. So, on this episode, we've got one of the most prominent men who is squarely in his sights: Defense Distributed's Cody Wilson.
Wilson is a pioneer in 3D-printed guns having developed the first prototype called The Liberator. His Ghost Gunner mini-CNC machine is among the popular ways to finish the unfinished gun receivers commonly available on the market.
As such, he read through the entire 364-page final guidance on the new ban from the ATF. We discuss the ins and...2022-04-181h 06The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Washington Post's Radley Balko on the Killing of Amir LockeAuthor and Washington Post Columnist Radley Balko joins the show this week to talk about how police militarization impacts gun rights.
Balko has spent a career documenting questionable police tactics, and he provides some unique insight into the Amir Locke case. Minneapolis Police killed Locke during a no-knock raid in February because he reached for a gun during the confusion caused by his apartment door being kicked in without warning. Locke wasn't the subject of the warrant and had no record, but he ended up dead.
Now, the police officer who shot him has been...2022-04-111h 19The Weekly Reload PodcastNational Review's Charles Cooke on Florida Permitless Carry and Biden's Supreme Court NomineeFlorida is going to have a special session where Governor Ron DeSantis (R.) says he hopes permitless gun-carry is added to the agenda. So, who better to bring on the show to discuss this news than Florida Man Charles Cooke?
The National Review senior writer joined the podcast to give some insight into the state of the proposal. He said it will likely be an uphill battle to get the policy through the legislature even with the backing of DeSantis. He also explained the unique nature of Florida's gun laws which lag behind those of other red...2022-04-041h 08The Weekly Reload PodcastErick Erickson on how Guns Might Decide the Georgia Governor's RaceNationally-syndicated radio host and author Erick Erickson joins the show this week to talk about the Georgia election, NRA, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Erickson, who lives in Georgia, has closely followed the gubernatorial election. The Republican primary has been particularly heated this year with former-president Donald Trump enticing former-senator David Purdue to run against incumbent Brian Kemp as a form of payback over rebuffed attempts to flip the 2020 election results. With Kemp facing stiff opposition he's turned back to a policy he first ran on in 2018: permitless gun-carry.
Whether Kemp can get the bill over...2022-03-281h 06The Weekly Reload PodcastInterviewing the Lawyer Who Dismantled America's Stun-Gun BansRhode Island's statewide stun-gun ban was overturned by a federal court this week. It was the last of its kind, and the latest to fall in what's becoming a systemic dismantling of the prohibitions across the country.
The effort to liberalize stun gun and taser laws wasn't undertaken by any of the major gun-rights groups or civil-rights organizations. It hasn't been backed by anyone with deep pockets. Instead, it's been something of a passion project for a lawyer who started off with a $10,000 budget.
That lawyer is Alan Beck, and he's our guest on this...2022-03-221h 13The Weekly Reload PodcastReload Members Q&AWe're doing something different this week.
Instead of interviewing an expert on a single topic, we're letting Reload members interview us on a bunch of different topics. It's our first Q&A episode!
Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I answer questions on a wide range of stories. What is going on with gun laws and armed civilians in Ukraine? How could it affect American gun politics?
How much control does Wayne LaPierre have over the NRA board?
What's happening with President Biden's pistol brace ban proposal? How does grandfathering play into...2022-03-141h 06The Weekly Reload PodcastFormer NRA Board Member Rocky Marshall on the Group's Legal StrugglesThe NRA will not be forced to close down due to the New York Attorney General's corruption suit.
However, the case remains active. So, former NRA board member Rocky Marshall joined the show this week to discuss the internal fight over the corruption allegations against NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other members of leadership.
Marshall is one of the few board members to publicly oppose LaPierre and make efforts to remove him from leadership. Last year, he became the first person to run against LaPierre for Executive Vice President.
He said...2022-03-0556 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastCam Edwards on How Bad the Sandy Hook Settlement is for the Gun IndustryInsurers for the defunct Remington Outdoor Company paid out a $73 million settlement to families of the Sandy Hook victims. It was the first time any gun company, even a bankrupt and dismantled one, has ever paid money to plaintiffs who claimed they were at least partially responsible for the criminal acts of a third party. It's an unprecedented situation that raises a ton of questions.
That's why I brought on one of the best gun writers out there: Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards.
Cam and I go through the 6-year timeline of the case and...2022-02-2159 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastGeorgia Governor Brian Kemp on Why Gun Owners Should Re-Elect HimGeorgia Governor Brian Kemp (R.) joined the podcast this week to discuss his approach to gun policy and why he thinks gun owners should vote for him.
We started off by discussing his background with guns. He talked about how he got into hunting and how members of his family have become concealed carriers themselves.
Kemp also explained getting permitless gun-carry passed this year is his top priority. He said he was confident the policy would pass this year because lawmakers will be more motivated after the rioting of 2020. He said voters would prefer his...2022-02-1453 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastOSU Accounting Professor on NRA Revenues Falling by Half Since 2018, Legal Fees Ballooning in 2021On this week's episode, we drill down into the details of the internal financial document The Reload obtained from an NRA source.
Ohio State University Accounting Professor Brian Mittendorf joins the show to give insight into what the document says and what the massive drops in revenue and membership reveal about the future of the country's most influential gun group. He says the NRA has actually improved its financial position, but only by drastically cutting back on its core services. That puts it in danger of entering a kind of "death spiral" with fewer members leading to...2022-02-071h 10The Weekly Reload Podcast'Ghost Gun' Pioneer Cody Wilson on How He Makes AR-15s From Blocks of Raw MetalCody Wilson joins the show this week. He is the founder of Defense Distributed and one of the main innovators in homemade guns. His Liberator 3D-printed gun brought him to prominence years ago and he's continued to push the boundaries of what's possible in simplified gun-making with increasingly-common technology.
In fact, he and his company have even focused on making some of that technology more common. Defense Distributed is now selling the third iteration of its "ghost gunner" mill. The miniaturized CNC machine can finish AR-15 receivers from blocks that are about 80 percent finished.
And...2022-01-311h 00The Weekly Reload PodcastRecapping the World's Largest Gun Show With Outdoor Writer Gabby HoffmanSHOT Show is back after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
I was able to attend the show and so was this week's guest Gabby Hoffman. Gabby has been one of the top outdoor writers in the country for quite some time. She also hosts the District of Conservation Podcast where I've been a guest several times.
Gabby and I compare how attendance at this year's show stacks up to years past, some of the covid mitigation efforts, and how a number of large companies dropping out affected everything. It was certainly...2022-01-241h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastMatt Stoller Argues Industry Consolidation Contributes to the Ammo Price SurgeOn this episode, Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project Matt Stoller joins the show to talk about the ongoing ammo shortage and the resulting price hikes we've all been experiencing lately.
Stoller recently wrote a widely-circulated piece on his Substack arguing the market dominance of Vista Outdoors and Olin Corporation contribute to the supply problems and price hikes. Those companies own many of the most popular ammo brands including Federal, American Eagle, CCI, Winchester, and Remington. Stoller says the companies use consolidation, such as Vista's recent purchase of Remington's ammo business, to better control...2022-01-171h 08The Weekly Reload PodcastCanadian Gun-Rights Lawyer Ian Runkle on AR-15 Confiscation EffortOne of the persistent debates in American gun politics is over AR-15s and other "assault weapons." Policy around ARs has stagnated since the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004. However, gun-control advocates have begun to expand proposals into outright confiscation, with Beto O'Rourke being among the most prominent.
Now, our neighbors to the north are testing out these expanded proposals in practice. It isn't going well so far. Program costs have already run over budget for the buyback portion of the mandatory buyback and details for it haven't even been announced yet despite a looming April d...2022-01-091h 00The Weekly Reload PodcastDebating Gun Salesman Turned Gun-Control Activist Ryan BusseRyan Busse joins the show this week to talk about his transformation from Kimber sales executive to Giffords senior advisor.
Busse spent decades in the firearms industry but left last year and has now published a tell-all book slamming his former employer, Kimber, and many former colleagues. Kimber has since denounced him, and many I've spoken to in the gun-rights movement have questioned how important he was to the company and the industry as a whole. Still, his book has received a great deal of attention throughout the media.
After reading the entire book, I...2021-12-201h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastProfessor Evan Bernick on Charges Against the Michigan School Shooter's ParentsOn this episode, I talk to Northern Illinois University College of Law professor Evan Bernick about the unprecedented charges against the parents of the 15-year-old who allegedly murdered 4 of his classmates in Michigan late last month.
We discuss his recent piece in The Washington Post warning of the dangers of the case. Bernick is skeptical of the logic being employed by prosecutors to charge the parents with negligent manslaughter in an attempt to hold them responsible for their son's criminal acts. He argues the prosecution could set a troubling new precedent that will be used against vulnerable...2021-12-131h 03The Weekly Reload PodcastThe Heritage Foundation's Amy Swearer On California's Magazine Confiscation Law Being UpheldThe Heritage Foundation's Amy Swearer joins us this week on the podcast. As a Second Amendment policy wonk at one of the top conservative think tanks in D.C., she provides some salient critiques of the logic behind many of the most prominent gun-control policies.
We talked about the reasoning in the Ninth Circuit's majority opinion upholding California's magazine confiscation law as an example of that logic. Amy explains why she believes arguments for restricted "assault weapons" or magazines that hold more than ten rounds based on the idea they are "designed for the battlefield" don't hold...2021-12-061h 01The Weekly Reload PodcastInvestigative Reporter Tim Mak Explains How the NRA Ended Up at the Edge of DisasterOn this episode, investigative reporter Tim Mak joins me to talk about his new book Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA.
I first met Tim at the 2019 NRA annual meeting where he was one of the only other reporters in the room when dissident members tried to oust CEO Wayne LaPierre over allegations of corruption. He has been at the forefront of covering the NRA for the last several years and produced some of the most impactful stories about the gun-rights group. That includes breaking the news that a Russian spy had infiltrated the group as...2021-11-081h 07The Weekly Reload PodcastMovie Armorer Steve Wolf on Alec Baldwin's On-Set ShootingOn this episode of the podcast, I interview movie armorer and stunt coordinator Steve Wolf about the disastrous shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin's latest film.
Wolf has worked on a number of major tv and movie sets with some of the top actors and directors in the business. He knows exactly what the proper safety protocols on set are when handling firearms. And he explains the many ways a properly-run production is set up to avoid firearms accidents.
He said he always tries to minimize the use of real firearms and blank-firing props...2021-10-311h 04The Weekly Reload PodcastCam Edwards on Virginia's Election Tightening as Guns Become FlashpointCam Edwards of Bearing Arms joins the show this week as the Virginia elections enter their homestretch. He argues Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has actually surged into the lead over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
We talk about how Dominion Energy's underhanded attempt to discourage gun owners has backfired and helped Youngkin close the gap. Cam and I both live in Virginia, though very different parts of the state, and have been targeted by the disingenuous ads that attack the Republican from the right on guns despite being created by a liberal consulting group.
But, the...2021-10-2559 minThe Weekly Reload PodcastNational African American Gun Association President Philip Smith on Biden's ATF Nominee David ChipmanThis week, I'm joined by Philip Smith who is the head of the National African American Gun Association.
He talks about President Joe Biden's (D.) nominee to head the ATF, David Chipman, and the allegations of racism levied against him by former agents. Smith says Chipman is the wrong man for the job and talks about why the acting director is a better pick.
Smith also responds to recent assertions that the Second Amendment itself is the result of racism. He also discusses the group's Supreme Court brief calling for the end of New York's...2021-08-2152 min