This past week Aspen Institute Radio focused on guns in American society, featuring talks on gun violence, the Second Amendment, and how we can keep communities safe.
Aspen Institute Radio, our two-hour radio show, airs every Saturday and Sunday on SiriusXM Insight (channel 121). Each episode dives into the topics that inform the world around us. Here in our weekly Listen Longer posts, we’ll recap each episode and show where you can read, watch, and listen to more. Don’t have SiriusXM? Try it free for a month here.
The Second Amendment: A Debate
As recently as 2008, the Supreme Court recognized an individual’s right to own a gun for self-defense in the home. Yet as guns outnumber the US population, and horrific events like Aurora and Newtown stun us all, is this ruling threatening public safety or protecting liberty?
Guns, Congress, and the American People
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, discusses why Congress acts against 90 percent of Americans in its deference to gun lobbyists.
Gabrielle Giffords & Mark Kelly: Keeping Our Communities Safer
In 2011, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly had their lives changed forever by a madman with an arsenal of deadly weapons. Two and half years later, they discuss the results yielded by their gun-safety organization Americans for Responsible Solutions, what it feels like to be public figures again, and what the future holds in terms of keeping our communities safer.
Americans, Guns, and the Future
Dick Metcalf was an ardent gun proponent for more than 40 years. But after penning an article that explored the line between firearm regulation and Second Amendment infringement, Metcalf received backlash from what he calls the “radical extremists” of the firearms movement—a movement he’d always considered himself a part of. Metcalf, along with The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein, discuss guns, culture, and the future of firearms in America.
