Guns Unpacked | Podcast Guru

Overview

Episodes

Recent Episodes

Dr. Cedric Dark On US Gun Violence from the Perspective of an Emergency Room Doctor

DEC 1, 2025

Dr. Cedric Dark On US Gun Violence from the Perspective of an Emergency Room Doctor

<p>In today’s episode of Guns Unpacked, we welcome Dr. Cedric Dark, an associate professor of history in the Henry J.N. Taub Department of Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Jackson co-hosts the “This Day” podcast and is also the co-executive producer of “You Get a Podcast.” (Hyperlinks to both podcasts) Today’s conversation examines Dark’s work, and his experience in public health. Dark dives deeper into perceptions of the NRA, but also public health as it relates to firearms, and uses his unique perspective to provide suggestions about policy. Dr. Dark also offers advice for people seeking to enter his field of work. For more of Dr. Dark’s work, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://cedricdark.com/">visit here for his books and other writing.</a></p>

42 MIN

Dr. Emily Farris and Dr. Mirya Holman On County Sheriffs and US Gun Culture

NOV 17, 2025

Dr. Emily Farris and Dr. Mirya Holman On County Sheriffs and US Gun Culture

<p>In this episode of Guns Unpacked, we are joined by Emily Farris and Mirya Holman, who address the unique role of sheriff within the American justice system and the influence they possess in the world of politics, and how that role shapes US gun culture.Farris is an associate professor in political science, and core faculty member in comparative race and ethnic studies” at Texas Christian University. Mirya is an associate professor at Hobby School of Public Affairs at The University of Houston. They are co-authors of "The<em> Power of the Badge: Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States” with the University of Chicago Press</em> (2024). This conversation focuses on the topics of the duty of sheriffs, accountability, local elections, white conservatism, gun control, red flag gun laws, and the possibility of future research. And the significance sheriffs’ hold in the debate on gun culture and local power within America.</p>

48 MIN

Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson On the History and Politics of the AR-15

NOV 3, 2025

Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson On the History and Politics of the AR-15

<p>In this episode of Guns Unpacked, host Alex Trimble Young welcomes Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson, co-authors of American Gun: The True History of the AR-15 (2023). Their book traces the rifle’s invention by Eugene Stoner, its troubled military adoption, and its evolution into one of America’s most polarizing symbols. Today’s conversation explores the AR-15’s technological development, its transformation from a failed weapon of war into a cultural and political icon, and how both rights advocates and regulation activists have contributed to the mythology surrounding it. The guests also examine media coverage of mass shootings, the impact of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, and the future of regulation in a nation with more than 20 million AR-15s in circulation.</p>

41 MIN

Dr. Michelle Phelps on Lessons from Minneapolis on Policing and Community Violence Intervention

OCT 17, 2025

Dr. Michelle Phelps on Lessons from Minneapolis on Policing and Community Violence Intervention

<p>In today’s episode of Guns Unpacked, we welcome Dr. Michelle Phelps, a professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. Phelps is an expert on probation, criminal justice reform, and the politics of policing. Her first book is titled <em>Breaking the Pendulum: The Long Struggle Over Criminal Justice, </em>which is co-authored by Philip Goodman and Joshua Paige<em> </em>and published by Oxford University Press in 2017. Phelps joins us today to discuss her book, <em>The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America. </em>Today’s conversation examines Phelps’s work, and how she ties her work involving the politics of policing in America into violence and police abolition. Phelps also provides insight into her research timing and process, detailing important moments from her work, as well as the real-world impact of police abolition policy. For more of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/phelps">Dr. Michelle Phelps</a>, visit the links <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/Minneapolis-Reckoning-Violence-Politics-Policing/dp/0691245983">here </a>and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Pendulum-Struggle-Criminal-Justice/dp/0199976058">here </a>for her background and writing.</p>

59 MIN

Dr. Jan Dizard on The Cultural History of Hunting in the United States and Beyond

SEP 20, 2025

Dr. Jan Dizard on The Cultural History of Hunting in the United States and Beyond

<p>This episode of <em>Guns Unpacked</em> features Jan Dizard, Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Amherst College, a pioneering thinker about hunting, gun culture, and the environment. Dizard authored groundbreaking works such as <em>Going Wild</em>, <em>Mortal Stakes</em>, and <em>Hunting: A Cultural History</em> (MIT Press, 2022, co-author Mary Zeiss Stange). The interview represents his work on hunting, his exploration of the cultural construction of nature, and the convergence of conservation and gun culture. Recorded in February, we believe this was Dizard's last public interview before passing away in June 2025.</p>

49 MIN