Red, Blue, and Brady

Send us Fan Mail Armed extremists in so-called “militia” groups (from the organized Three Percenters to the more decentralized Boogaloo Bois movement) have gained increasing media attention in 2021, as they used firearms as tools of intimidation and violence in events across the US. And who better to comment on those who participate in these militias than those who served in the US military? As su...

Send us Fan Mail Is a gun a tool, or is it something more? Documentarian Sue Hilderbrand addresses the national gun debate not by tackling statistics and talking points, but instead through compassionate and detailed dialogue with diverse communities of gun rights advocates, researchers, gunshot violence survivors, and gun violence prevention activists. Hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Brady Presi...

Send us Fan Mail On March 11th, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 , two bills designed to expand and strengthen Brady Background Check s. H.R. 8 specifically addresses the selling and transferring of firearms and private sales, whereas H.R. 1446 provides the background check system with additional time to make a final determination on a potential firearms purchaser before...

Send us Fan Mail As gun violence has risen across the US, so too has art dedicated to ending gun violence. In this space are art-activists, who combine the creative power of artistic expression (be it dance, music, theater, painting, etc.) with the strategic planning of activism that is necessary to spark, and then shepherd, social change . Today, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by two art-activists...

Send us Fan Mail What roles should survivors play in gun violence prevention? What is it like to fight for justice, when justice has been denied to you? To find out, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Mattie Scott and Suzanne Kelley . Mattie and Suzanne both lost multiple family members to firearm homicide, and the murders that got them involved remain unsolved years later. Nevertheless, both of the...

Send us Fan Mail Three years ago, on February 14th 2018,  a gunman armed with an AR-15 attacked Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida , killing 14 children and three staff members. In the aftermath, survivors of that shooting have stood up for gun violence prevention , fighting daily for common-sense gun violence prevention laws . But what is it like for those survivors? What d...

Send us Fan Mail Wholesalers, big box retail chains, and local gun shops conduct the overwhelming majority of firearm sales in the U.S. each year, but collectors and enthusiasts know that wandering from this beaten path has its rewards. In cities and towns across the country, merchants of a more eclectic bent work the fringes of the firearms business, buying and selling everything from today'...

Send us Fan Mail So-called "gun truthers" — hoaxers — believe that mass killings such as the one at Sandy Hook are government-run plots designed to gin up support for restrictive gun laws, among other things. Some of these individuals even believe such massacres to be entirely fictitious productions in which no one involved is hurt, let alone killed; actors, they will tell you, masquerad...

Send us Fan Mail How do you teach a child about gun safety? About hunting? And how young is too young? In today's episode, you'll find out. Hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by David and Karin Holder of Raised Hunting , Raised At Full Draw , and Raised Outdoors. Together, they run Raised Hunting, a television show all about how American families can use hunting as a platform to teach ethics...

Send us Fan Mail Gun rights groups, headed by the National Rifle Association , have argued since the early 1990s that the spread of firearms is essential to maintaining freedom in America, making  a very wide interpretation of the Second Amendment necessary to protect all other rights . But is this argument true?  Do guns indeed make us free? To find out,  hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Brady Pr...

Send us Fan Mail Before there was Parkland or even Columbine , there was Cleveland Elementary School . But for many, the name of the Stockton, California school is unfamiliar. On January 17, 1989 , a former student opened fire on the playground of Cleveland Elementary School. Within 3 minutes the gunman fired 106 rounds from his recently-purchased AK-47 , killing 5 students and injuring another 31...

Send us Fan Mail More than 37 states in the US allow a person to use deadly force against an intruder or attacker under the guise that they are defending themselves or their property. This is due to what are called  “Stand Your Ground'' laws-- but those laws are highly controversial. In this episode, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by three amazing guests: Alyssa Ackbar , the legislative c...

Send us Fan Mail Season two of "Red, Blue, and Brady" kicks off with an in-depth discussion of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, when insurrectionists illegally entered the US Capitol building while violently objecting to the certification of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' electoral victory as the incumbent President and Vice President of the United States. In doing so, this mob...

Send us Fan Mail With COVID-19, many schools are still offering--or requiring-- virtual instruction. But what many people don't realize is, even remote students are participating in active shooter drills. Why? Well, at least 40 states require schools to hold them, even if they’re using blended or hybrid instruction.  How should parents be speaking to their children about these drills? And, wh...

Send us Fan Mail So, what exactly is a crime gun anyway? In this episode, host JJ chats with some members of the Brady crime gun initiative team on what everyone needs to know about crime guns , what a supply-side approach to ending gun violence is, and why gun dealers need to be involved in the conversation . Joining JJ is Josh Scharff, Erica Rice , Anneliese Dickman , and Steve Lindley of the Br...

Send us Fan Mail We're sure you've heard this false claim before--t hat video games are linked to gun violence .  But how did video games become scapegoats for gun violence ?  To help hosts Kelly and JJ navigate these confusing waters, they're joined by Stephen Machuga (Founder and CEO of the nonprofit StackUp. Org , which supports the mental health of military and veteran communiti...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, hosts Kelly and JJ take on another number of firearm suicide myths--including the one that states that suicide rates increase during the holiday season. To do so, they're joined by  three great experts--who also happen to be great friends—Sarah Brady Fellow Dr. Kyleanne Hunter , PsychArmor 's Dr. Heidi Kraft , and clinical psychologist Dr. Ted Bonar . To...

Send us Fan Mail On the evening of 8 December 1980 , John Lennon was shot and killed in the front entrance of his home in NYC.  His murderer was a one-time Beatles fan who had traveled from Hawaii to New York with a .38 special revolver that he had purchased six weeks prior from  a shop in Honolulu, Hawaii for 169 dollars.  However, the shooter had planned the killing over several months, and had...

Send us Fan Mail In 2020 so far,  nearly 2.5 million Americans bought a firearm for the first time . Meanwhile, as COVID-19 continues --as does physical isolation , unemployment , concerns about domestic violence , and more--many have worried that suicide rates may increase as well. So, does buying a gun during COVID increase your risk of suicide? Well, new research does show that those who bought...

Send us Fan Mail How does structural racism intersect with gun violence? Does the Second Amendment apply to all individuals in the same way? And, when it comes to policing, how does the law view gun owners of different ethnic groups? To discuss all this and more, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Dr. Jennifer Carlson ,  an Associate Professor of Sociology and Government & Public Policy at the U...

Send us Fan Mail Joe Biden has been elected the 46th president of the United States , and with his election comes the obvious question: what does his Presidency mean for gun violence prevention? To find out, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Dr. Richard Spitzer , author and distinguished political science professor at the State University of New York Cortland; Chelsea Parsons , the Vice President o...

Send us Fan Mail Timothy "TJ" Ryan served just under 13 years in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger, from 2005 to 2017. He had 8 combat deployments to countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered moral injury, and was later diagnosed with PTSD--and then became an advocate and artist dedicated to eliminating the stigma of mental health care and gun violence. Today, he joins hosts Ke...

Send us Fan Mail In this very special minisode, hosts Kelly and JJ discuss are joined by Brady President Kris Brown , Brady VP of Policy (and frequent podcast guest ) Christian Heyne , and special guest the Governor of Michigan , Gretchen Whitmer. Together, we're talking all about the violent plot launched against the Governor , the increasing risk of armed insurrection , and why voter intimi...

Send us Fan Mail Native and Indigenous communities in the US have long borne the pain of gun violence, from mass shootings to high rates of suicide , firearms used in gender-based violence , and police violence . Yet, many in these communities find themselves cut off from the democratic processes and a larger public awareness that would allow them to bring about changes necessary for basic public...

Send us Fan Mail Tragedies in places like El Paso , Charleston , Charlottesville , Oak Creek , Pittsburgh , Louisville , and many others, have led many to the same conclusion: that in many cases, gun violence and white supremacy are tied together. To begin to untie that knot, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by two individuals who know supremacy groups inside and out: Seth Daire and Corinna Olsen . S...