logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
14m 3s

As Lawmakers Debate Gun Control, What Po...

NPR
About this episode
President Biden urged Congress to act and the House is preparing to pass multiple gun control measures. But the Senate is where a compromise must be made. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is reportedly discussing policies like enhanced background checks and a federal red flag law.

While it's unclear what Congress might agree to, researchers do have ideas about what policies could help prevent mass shootings and gun violence. NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce explains. Hear more from her reporting on Short Wave, NPR's daily science podcast, via Apple, Google, or Spotify.

NPR's Cory Turner reports on what school safety experts think can be done to prevent mass shootings, and former FBI agent Katherine Schweit describes where Uvalde police may have erred their active shooter response. Schweit is the author of Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis.

Help NPR improve podcasts by completing a short, anonymous survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Today
After devastating floods a Central Texas community comes together
It's been nearly a week since devastating flooding tore through Kerr County, Texas killing more than a hundred people.Now, after unimaginable tragedy, residents are coming together to help each other move forward.NPR's Juana Summers and producers Erika Ryan and Tyler Bartlam visi ... Show More
10m 53s
Jul 8
The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated
The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.In the U.S., that numbe ... Show More
10m 12s
Jul 7
Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different
Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials. Twenty-six feet in less t ... Show More
11m 23s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Police Reform Failed In Congress, So Biden Takes What He Can Get
An opt-in police misconduct database and new conduct standards for federal police: President Biden's police reform executive action enacts reforms that fall well short of what advocates hoped for. Lawmakers previously failed to agree on a more substantial effort. This episode: co ... Show More
13m 15s
Jun 2022
A last-chance deal on gun control?
Ten Republicans. Ten Democrats. One bipartisan gun-control deal. Could this be the last chance for any meaningful action on federal gun reform? Read More: Over the weekend, Republicans and Democrats announced a monumental agreement on addressing gun violence. They had a nine-poin ... Show More
27m 8s
Jul 2022
Massively Popular Ideas Can't Pass Congress. Is It Time To Reform The System?
The overwhelming majority of gun owners are in favor of universal background checks, of raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 and so-called "red flag" laws to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, a new NPR/Ipsos survey finds. That mirrors the support among the rest ... Show More
14m 22s
Apr 2021
Biden Announces Gun Safety Agenda
President Biden announced a series of policy actions on Thursday aimed at curbing gun violence. Congressional action remains unlikely unless Democrats reform or eliminate the filibuster. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, political reporter Juana Summers, and ... Show More
14m 2s
Mar 2021
More Police, More Fencing: Here's What The Capitol Riot Report Recommends
A new assessment commissioned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recommends a dramatic expansion of security measures at the U.S. Capitol. And Republican state lawmakers have introduced a spate of bills aimed at blocking trans women and girls from participating in girls' sports—the le ... Show More
15m 11s
Jun 2022
Senator Chris Murphy on the Bipartisan Gun Safety Deal
The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal that could lead to the most significant federal response to gun violence in decades.Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, was deeply involved in the negotiations. Today, he tells us how news of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left ... Show More
33m 46s
Mar 2021
Biden Passed The Recovery Plan. Now What?
Infrastructure could be the next big focus, if an influx of children and teens at the U.S. souther border doesn't force action on immigration legislation. But without filibuster reform, the chance of passing legislation on racial justice or voting rights are low. This episode: po ... Show More
14m 59s
May 2022
Sound On: NRA Convention, Uvalde Shooting Police Response
 Joe Spoke with Bloomberg's Joe Carroll live from the NRA convention in Houston, Bloomberg Congress reporter Steven Dennis discussed negotiations for a gun control package in Congress, and panelists Adam Goodman, Republican media strategist, and Edward R. Murrow senior fellow at ... Show More
36m 56s
Nov 2020
To Double Back or Double Down: Shannon Watts Works to End Gun Violence in America
Please be aware, this episode contains discussion of gun violence and suicide as it pertains to adults, children and teens. It may be surprising to learn that among national polls, 90% of Americans favor stronger gun laws that require background checks before any gun sale takes p ... Show More
20m 19s
Apr 2022
How Congress Is Investigating January 6th — And Preparing For Any Future Attacks
Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to the former president, voluntarily testified before House investigators for more than eight hours this week about the insurrectionist riot in the Capitol. And Congress debated how the government would survive if half its members died or were i ... Show More
23m 9s