Factual America | Mass Shootings and Gun Violence in America | Ft. Dr Peter Squires

In this episode, we discuss mass shootings and gun violence as we address the gun problem in the USA.
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America’s love affair with guns is one of its defining attributes, and the number of mass shootings hit an all-time high in 2019. While politicians vow to tackle the problem, a powerful gun lobby stands in the way.

To help us understand why the US struggles with gun violence on such a massive scale, Dr Peter Squires, an expert on gun violence, joins the show. He is a sociologist and professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Brighton, who has carried out research with many different police forces and is revered for his work with firearms and crime.

Peter screens British director Marc Silver’s acclaimed 3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015) in his classes. This film focuses on the 2012 shooting of Jordan Russell Davis and the trial, media coverage and public reaction following this event. This particular shooting brought up a lot of questions surrounding gun laws in America, particularly the ‘stand your ground’ law (Florida).

With Peter’s depth of knowledge around gun crime, we examine the case and talk about why gun violence is so much more prevalent in America compared to elsewhere. We also investigate how America got to this position and more importantly how we can fix the state that America is now in.

Like Peter's students, we too can make up our own mind about what is really behind the culture of fear afflicting so many Americans.

“People can become a dark celebrity very quickly by a horrific act against society.” - Dr Peter Squires

00:00 - The topic we’re looking at today.
01:46 - Introducing our guest today.
02:58 - The film we will be looking at.
03:44 - Why Peter choose this particular film.
05:17 - A brief synopsis of the film.
06:39 - Why shots were fired and Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law.
08:37 - The different issues this documentary deals with.
10:16 - The gun fight of the O.K. corral.
11:02 - Peter’s impressions of America as a child.
12:21 - A clip from the film.
15:38 - Why gun violence is so much more prevalent in America compared to European countries.
18:42 - Assault rifles and their use in mass shootings.
19:43 - Having a homogenous society and the ‘copycat’ phenomenon.
21:56 - The importance of mental health support.
25:18 - The reasons why gun possession is so high in America.
28:50 - The marketing of the gun industry.
30:30 - What stopped school shootings in England.
33:33 - Reducing gun violence in America.
38:38 - The ‘Why did you keep shooting’ clip from the film.
41:54 - If Peter lived in America would he own a gun.

Resources:
3 ½ minutes, ten bullets: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt4126312/
The gun violence archive: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
Gun crime in global contexts: https://www.amazon.ca/Crime-Global-Co...
Marc Silver, the director: https://www.marcsilver.net/
Dr Peter Squires' website: https://www.petersquires.net/

#Podcast #GunViolence #MassShooting

▬▬ FACTUAL AMERICA PODCAST ▬▬

Factual America explores the themes that make America unique through the lens of documentaries about America. Each episode a guest chooses a film and then discusses it with host, Matthew Sherwood. Guests include leading documentary filmmakers as well as experts on the American experience.

Matthew Sherwood was born and raised in Texas. He came to the UK in 2001 to work for The Economist. Matthew has worked in journalism and publishing and has a wealth of experience writing for publications, interviewing world leaders, and chairing conferences. Formally he spent his time helping diverse audiences understand the global trends impacting upon their lives.

Emmett Glynn is the producer of Factual America. Known to many in the broadcast world, Emmett is a London-based sound designer and producer who has delivered over 100hrs of TV documentaries for Channel 5, Channel 4 and the BBC. He produces three other podcasts and is developing documentaries alongside Alamo Pictures.

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