Who does the Second Amendment protect? In this episode, we trace its racist roots and learn why a former firearms executive blames the gun industry for sowing fear, division, and maybe even anarchy in our country.
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
Let’s talk about what’s killing us, the stuff that’s hard to comprehend and getting worse every day. Join host Stephanie Wittels Wachs, as she confronts massive epidemics with humanity, wit, and a quest for progress.
Season 3 is out now. This season we dive into the gun violence epidemic in America and answer the question of how to live more safely in a country full of guns.
Explore our resource guide to find a list of organizations that are here to help you navigate different types of gun violence.
While Season 1 chronicled the opioid crisis in America, Season 2 delves into the growing suicide rate, telling real stories, talking to experts, and asking everyone along the way, “How did we get here, and what could we have done differently?”
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A private philanthropy that creates a brighter future for the nation’s children and youth by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity, and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. Click the link above to learn more.
A non-profit organization that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults in the United States. Click the link above to learn more.
The Kendeda Fund has been investing in transformative leaders and ideas for nearly three decades. To learn more about Kendeda’s work, including how they are helping keep all Americans safe from gun violence, click on the link above.
Levi Strauss & Co., one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear, is committed to supporting organizations addressing gun violence through advocacy and community violence interventions, and to mobilizing the business community on the issue. Click the link above to learn more.
Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation supports high impact programs that seek to transform individuals, families, and communities through innovative, collaborative, and scalable approaches. Through collaboration with passionate community leaders and thoughtful execution, we support our partners’ goals to make a positive difference in the quality of life for families and communities throughout Chicago.
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Description Stephanie sits down with the parents—Stefano’s and her own—to dig into where everyone is with their grief, understanding, and
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Description We circle back to where this story began — on the ground, in Boston, with Jess. Joined by new

Who does the Second Amendment protect? In this episode, we trace its racist roots and learn why a former firearms executive blames the gun industry for sowing fear, division, and maybe even anarchy in our country.

Yelling At Each Other Isn’t Working
Suicide contagion, secure storage, and breakfast meats. This week, we figure out how to get cowboys to talk about their feelings with help from experts on the ground and suicide prevention advocates.

The Kid Who Fell Through The Cracks
Who’s to blame in the aftermath of a tragedy? This week, we meet a family asking that question after their beloved son died when his college failed to intervene.

Violent crime is up in American cities. Does that mean it’s time to return to the aggressive policing of the 90s? Not exactly. How can we make our cities safer and empower communities with the tools they need to save more lives? This week, we travel from Atlanta to Los Angeles to Chicago to meet seasoned leaders who are taking an innovative approach to harm reduction, violence interruption, and violence prevention. Plus, we explore where police fit into all of this.

Growing up in an Atlanta neighborhood that’s been “thrown away” and “forgotten,” Derriontae’s survival hinged on joining a gang and packing heat, so you might be surprised to also find him practicing yoga and tending to a vegetable garden. In this episode, we get our hands dirty at an urban farm dedicated to tackling the root causes of gun violence and poverty. It has all the signs of a feel-good story, but things aren’t as simple as they seem.

This week, we’re pulling apart the idea of a “bad neighborhood” and learning about community trauma. We travel to Southwest Atlanta, where Sharmaine Brown’s son, Jared, was killed after being struck by a stray bullet. We dig into deescalation, changing identities, and old school parenting.

What do you do when the thing that makes your kid the happiest is also putting him in danger? Larry and Shannon Martell took the guns away after their son Austen suffered a traumatic brain injury – but you have to go back to normal eventually, right? In this episode, we travel to a Montana town of 272 people, sit down with a dad who wouldn’t have talked to us a year ago, and cry harder than we ever have before.

In episode 1, our team travels to Montana, where cowboy culture reigns supreme, everyone is armed, and 86% of firearm deaths are suicides. There, we meet a couple that represents all the contradictions at the root of America’s gun debate: One is a suicide prevention advocate, and the other is the most adamant Second Amendment supporter we’ve ever met. Plus, our team tries out shooting some big-ass guns.

12: Stephanie Wittels Wachs Revisits What I Know Now
Description Stephanie sits down with the parents—Stefano’s and her own—to dig into where everyone is with their grief, understanding, and

11: Jackie Danziger Revisits Wake Me Up
Description We circle back to where this story began — on the ground, in Boston, with Jess. Joined by new
Host:
Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Supervising Producer:
Jackie Danziger
Associate Producers:
Giulia Hjort
Claire Jones
Technical Director:
Kegan Zema
Executive Producers:
Jessica Cordova Kramer
Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Music:
Hannis Brown
