The Weekly Reload Podcast

This week, we're focused on the backlash to US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's recent comments about locking up "law-abiding" gun owners who travel to Washington, DC. Pirro said she would send anyone who carried a gun into the city straight to jail. Her comments came on the heels of President Donald Trump, who appointed her, saying he didn't like that Alex Pretti was carrying a gun before being shot to d...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's recent comments promising to crack down on gun carry in Washington DC, which drew widespread criticism from gun-rights supporters. We discuss how they arrived as DC police still haven't resumed publishing data on gun crime arrest statistics despite pledging to do so. We also cover the relatively uncontroversial confirmatio...

This week, we're taking a close look at the key moments in the Alex Pretti shooting. To do that, we've got one of the best use-of-force experts out there: John Correia. John has run Active Self Protection for years, where he has analyzed countless videos of self-defense and police-involved shootings over the last decade. He is also a gun-safety instructor and expert witness. He said there are seve...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the ongoing fallout from the Alex Pretti shooting as it relates to gun politics, including the fact that Trump administration officials have repeatedly questioned common gun carry practices. Meanwhile, prominent Democrats and gun-control advocates have rhetorically defended Pretti's Second Amendment rights, even as their allies in Virginia are advanc...

This week, we're taking a deep dive into the Supreme Court oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez. To do that, we have one of the people who was directly involved: Wolford's lawyer, Alan Beck. He joined the show to give us a preview of the case before oral arguments. Now, he's back to give us a rundown of how everything went from his perspective. Beck said being in the room was an entirely different e...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down last week's oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez, which saw a majority of the Supreme Court justices express skepticism toward the legality of Hawaii's "Vampire Rule" gun carry law. We also talk about the ATF's new proposal to redefine who counts as an "unlawful drug user" for the purposes of federal gun law.

This week, we're looking at one of the most bizarre and fascinating results of the recent tax cut to the National Firearms Act (NFA): a fully registered potato silencer. To help explain the phenomenon, we have the man who made the device with us on the show. Zachary Clark appears to be the first person to get official Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) approval for a silenc...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover a new Department of Justice legal opinion claiming that the US Postal Service's ban on mailing handguns is unconstitutional. We also cover a new campaign from a rare pro-gun Democrat that could shake up the battle for the US Senate in November.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I detail some of the biggest potential stories in guns that we are watching for in the new year. We also cover a new ruling out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that found California's practice of limiting open carry unconstitutional. We also discuss the NRA's new lawsuit against its own foundation, which accuses the charity of misusing NRA trademarks and...

This week, we're taking a look at the state of knife laws across the United States. The Department of Justice recently made headlines, and garnered backlash, after it defended the federal Switchblade Act in court on the same day it filed suit against Washington, DC's "assault weapons" ban. To discuss the state of play in that case and against other switchblade regulations, we have Knife Rights Inc...

This week, we're discussing the seemingly contradictory gun litigation moves the Department of Justice (DOJ) just made. On the one hand, the DOJ filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit challenging Washington, DC's "assault weapons" ban. On the other, it defended the federal switchblade carry ban. To make sense of the two moves, we have Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards back on the show. Cam said he is impressed...

This week, we saw two federal appellate courts weigh in on the Second Amendment rights of people in the country unlawfully. The opinions covered a variety of positions on the question. Of course, they aren't the first courts to address the issue, and it's only become a more common challenge in the wake of 2022's New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. So, to dissect the state of the...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I assess the political reaction to a pair of terrible mass shootings in Australia and Rhode Island. We also cover two separate federal appeals court rulings that came down this week, each upholding the federal gun ban for illegal immigrants.

This week, we're covering a topic that may give you a bit of deja vu. Or, even, deja deja vu. That's because we've seen this all before. Twice. On Wednesday, a Fifth Circuit panel reissued its opinion in US v. Peterson for the second time. That makes it the third revision. To discuss the difference between the three, we have federal litigator and legal commentator Gabriel Malor back on the show. H...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover a new legal brief from the nation's largest gun-control groups filed in support of the Trump administration's position regarding the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act. We also discuss the DOJ's new Second Amendment division officially going live with an interesting take on who gun rights apply to.

This week, we're taking a deep dive into the new Second Amendment history course that the Department of Education just granted funding. To give us insight into what the University of Wyoming's Firearms Research Center, which received the grant, hopes to accomplish, we have Ashley Hlebinsky back on the show. She is the Executive Director of the center, wrote the grant request, and will be one of th...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I detail the latest monthly gun sales data, which showed Black Friday failed to juice gun sales as it has in recent years. We also cover the reaction from gun-rights groups to the Department of Justice's new dedicated Second Amendment office in its Civil Rights Division. Plus, I chat with a Reload subscriber in a new member segment.

This week, we're fielding questions from Reload Members! One of the perks of a membership is the ability to ask questions during our Q&A podcasts (and to join the show in a member segment). It's been long enough now that a new Q&A makes sense. After all, a lot has happened in the world of gun policy and politics. Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I cover questions on all sorts of topic...

This week, we got a surprise nomination for the top role at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). On Tuesday, President Donald Trump quietly submitted Robert Cekada's nomination to the Senate. Cekada is currently ATF's Deputy Director and has worked at the agency for the last 20 years. To dissect what the pick means for gun politics and policy, we've got Bearing Arms' Cam...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss this week's announcement by President Trump of his nomination of career law enforcement officer Robert Cekada to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. We cover what we know about Cekada's background, how the gun industry is reacting to his nomination, and what to watch for as his nomination moves forward.

This week, we're taking a close look at what's going on with the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA was swamped by its rivals in the gun debate during the 2025 elections just as it was announcing a major restructuring effort that featured dozens of staff furloughs. To provide insight into the group's plans, we've brought on NRA board member Amanda Suffecool. She is a member of the internal...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the Connecticut Attorney General's new lawsuit threat against Ruger if the company doesn't agree to redesign its popular RXM pistol. We talk about how that demand came the same week that gun-control advocates were able to pierce the PLCAA in a separate lawsuit against the company that seeks to hold it responsible for the 2021 Boulder shooting.

This week, we're taking a closer look at US v. Hemani. Last week, we had Second Amendment scholar David Kopel on to discuss the big picture of the upcoming Supreme Court term. The week before that, we had gun-rights lawyer Alan Beck on the show to discuss his Supreme Court case, Wolford v. Lopez.  Now, we're looking at the other Second Amendment case with a man who has followed the issue at i...

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I recap the results of the off-year elections this past week, which saw Democratic candidates and gun-control ballot measures alike win big. We discuss what that might portend for likely changes in gun policy moving forward. We also cover Everytown's latest attempt to replicate its success in pressuring Glock to redesign its handguns, this time by going after...

This week, we're taking a big-picture view of the Supreme Court's upcoming slate of Second Amendment cases. That's because this slate will be the biggest yet. Now, sure, that still only means they have two Second Amendment claims to consider. But that's more than ever before, and it comes just a few months after many gun-rights activists thought the Court was wavering on the deciding key cases. So...