October 5, 2023

Sneak Peek: America loves the AR-15. Here’s how that happened.

00:02:24

Summary

Main Topic: The History and Impact of the AR-15 in America

Key Points:

The AR-15 has become the most popular rifle in the US, and its widespread adoption has led to increased gun violence.
Two Wall Street Journal reporters, Zusha Elinson and Cameron McWhorter, investigated the history of the AR-15 after attending the SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
Their reporting trip led to a years-long investigation, which resulted in a book titled "American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15."
The book explores how the AR-15 went from being a virtually unknown weapon to a symbol of gun culture in the US.
The authors believe that understanding the history of the AR-15 is crucial to finding a solution to the country's gun violence problem.

Participants:

Shamita (host of Apple News in Conversation)
Zusha Elinson (Wall Street Journal reporter and co-author of "American Gun")
Cameron McWhorter (Wall Street Journal reporter and co-author of "American Gun")

Takeaways:

The AR-15 has become a cultural phenomenon in the US, with its widespread adoption contributing to increased gun violence.
The history of the AR-15 is complex and multifaceted, and understanding its development can help inform solutions to the country's gun violence problem.
The authors of "American Gun" believe that their book can help Americans move forward and find a path towards a country with less violence.

Show Notes

In the United States, AR-15s grace bumper stickers, mugs, and politicians’ Christmas cards. They’re also the weapon used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history. Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson trace the rifle’s rise in their new book, American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15. They spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how this weapon became a symbol of both gun rights and horrific tragedies. Listen to the full interview on Apple Podcasts.

Transcript

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Shamita Basu: Hey there, it's Shamita. This week on our interview podcast, Apple News in Conversation, we're talking about how the AR-15 became America's gun.

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Shamita Basu: For over a decade now, Las Vegas has been home to the largest annual gun trade show in America. This is not necessarily, shall we say, an improvement over Stoner's design. This is an addendum to it to help, I think, the gun more shootable for more people.

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Shamita Basu: In 2020, two Wall Street Journal reporters found themselves walking the floor of the SHOT Show, Zusha Ellenson and Cameron McWhorter. It was for research, a reporting trip. After the event, they decided to visit the site of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country music concert, killing 60 people and injuring hundreds more. It's still the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Here's Zusha.

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Zusha Ellenson: It was very haunting because what we saw when we went there was just this empty field, just this emptiness. There was a little makeshift memorial on the side of a fence commemorating all the people who had died. We saw that, and it was jarring to say the least.

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Zusha Ellenson: We had just come from this massive gun show, where it seemed like the AR-15 had completely taken over and inspired a whole class of assault-style weapons. Here's Cameron.

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Cameron McWhorter: We just kept asking, what's going on here? How did we get here? How did this happen? Where everyone's fighting about this object?

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Cameron McWhorter: This reporting trip became a years-long investigation. Zusha and I are out now with a book called American Gun, the true story of the AR-15. We say fully understanding the history of this gun, how it went from a virtually unknown weapon to the most popular rifle in the U.S., can help us figure out what it's going to take to move forward, past the gridlock, and toward a country with less violence.

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Shamita Basu: To hear the full episode, check out Apple News In Conversation in the Podcasts app.