The Gun Machine

The byproduct of producing the world's most lethal guns is that criminals have them, too. We go back to the birthplace of the industry, Springfield, Mass., where nearly every young person we speak with has a story about big guns and the terror they cause in their community. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

The Gun Machine host Alain Stephens and producer Grace Tatter dig into the scandal-ridden biography of the man who cracked the mass civilian market for guns, and who helped create an iconic genre defined by falsehoods that are misremembered as facts today. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

In episode two of The Gun Machine, host Alain Stephens travels down to Florida to attend the Pew Party, where he talks to Black gun owners about why they carry and examines the link between our nation’s fraught history and why it’s so easy to sell us guns today. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Our country would look very different without the gun industry. And without the federal government? The gun industry might not exist at all. The premier episode of The Gun Machine introduces the story of how the U.S. has shaped, and been shaped by, the gun industry — and how we all play a role. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Every time there is a mass shooting in America, the first question is why. When we look for answers, we tend to focus on the incident itself - who the shooter was, why they did it, and who parachutes in to debate the state of regulation — or lack thereof — that allowed it to happen. What we forget is the centuries of history that got us to this long emergency of gun violence in America. Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships between mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government created the gun industry in the Northeast, and how that industry has been partners with the government ever since. Host Alain Stephens examines how this 250-year relationship underpins all Americans’ interactions with guns — including our failures in dealing with the fallout of gun violence. The Gun Machine debuts on Oct. 4, 2023. Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

This September, we're bringing you a story that most Americans never learned in history class — a new podcast about the gun industry’s grip on our country. And their biggest partner, since the Revolutionary War: The government. Introducing The Gun Machine: How America was forged by the gun industry. Coming soon to Short Run. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Some experts say that while populism can metastasize into authoritarianism, it doesn't have to. They argue that the roots of American populism made this country's democracy better. And that it's time to resurrect progressive populism. But other observers strongly disagree. The fifth and final episode of On Point's special series 'The power of populism' explores whether populism can make better democracies. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

America’s urban-rural divide. It’s easy to think of American populism as disempowered rural residents versus the urban elite. But when it comes to influencing national policy, who has the real power? Episode four of On Point's special series 'The power of populism' is all about flipping the script on the urban-rural divide. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

It felt for a while like Wisconsin was ground zero in American politics. How has populism flourished in the Badger state? In the third episode of On Point's special series 'The power of populism', hear all about Wisconsin and the politics of resentment. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Populism is on the rise across the globe, from Turkey to Hungary to Brazil. And in the world's largest democracy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered in a sweeping, economic modernization plan for all Indians. But he's also cracked down on the nation's civil society. India takes center stage in episode two of On Point's special series 'The power of populism'. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Populism is a defining force in American politics, and around the world. But what exactly is populism? Where does it come from, and where does it take us? In the first episode of On Point's five part series 'The power of populism', host Meghna Chakrabarti discusses the origins of the word and concept of populism, and exactly what makes a leader a populist. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

We want to share a first listen of a new podcast we're working on at WBUR. Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores America's opaque parole system and asks: How much time in prison is enough? Who gets to decide? And, when someone commits a terrible crime, what does redemption look like? Listen to the trailer and if you like what you hear, head over to the Violation feed wherever you get your podcasts and hit subscribe so you'll get new episodes when they drop, beginning March 22. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

All of a sudden, it’s less clear if Nixon’s wager is paying off. After years of collaboration and mutual economic benefit, relations between China and the U.S. are at a low point. What does the start of this important relationship reveal about its next chapter? In the fifth part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager," host Jane Perlez considers how Nixon's actions are reverberating today. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

The relationship between China and the U.S. is off and running — and now the two countries are collaborating on secret, sensitive intelligence. The fourth part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager" includes exclusive information about how Chinese and American intelligence officials agreed to work together against their common rival of many years. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

The news of Nixon’s trip to China is public, and he’s getting credit for pulling off such a historic event. Now, he and his advisers have to work with the Chinese to forge a relationship between two very different countries. In the third part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager," host Jane Perlez revisits when Nixon met Mao. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger make contact with China. But in the midst of the Cold War, they don’t want anyone to know. How will Kissinger get to Beijing without alerting anyone — and what’s Frank Sinatra got to do with it? In the second part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager," host Jane Perlez digs into how Kissinger pulled off a secret trip to China. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

President Richard Nixon has a plan: He wants to go to China. The only problem? The U.S. and China have had zero contact since the Communist Party took over China two decades before. In the first part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager," host Jane Perlez digs into the beginning of Nixon’s improbable diplomatic mission. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

In the final episode of Endless Thread's series "Good Bot, Bad Bot," co-hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell visit Google, the frontier of AI, to see just how close the field is to creating bots with minds of their own. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

In the fifth episode of Endless Thread's series "Good Bot, Bad Bot," co-hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Nora Saks dive into the ways artificial intelligence is changing modern love and online dating. Trying to find love (or even lock in one date) on dating apps is no easy task, especially with the onslaught of fake accounts and catfishing scams. But what if you had a digital dating coach installed right in your phone's keyboard — an AI Cyrano de Bergerac or Alex "Hitch" Hitchens — to automatically generate a perfectly crafted, personalized message for every conversation? Not just openers to get the conversation started, but witty, flirty banter to keep it going? As Endless Thread producer Nora Saks reports, lots of companies are developing apps that use AI-generated communication to optimize users' love lives and connections — online and off. Nora and co-host Ben Brock Johnson talk to the founder of one such start-up, as well as a dating app researcher, and single friends to probe the pros and cons of having an AI wingman in your pocket. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine

In the fourth episode of Endless Thread's series "Good Bot, Bad Bot," co-hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Quincy Walters share a cautionary tale about Tay, a Microsoft AI chatbot that has lived on in infamy. Tay was originally modeled to be the bot-girl-next-door. But after only 16 hours on Twitter, Tay was shut down for regurgitating white supremacist, racist and sexist talking points online. Tay's short-lived run on the internet illuminated ethical issues in tech culture. This episode uncovers who gets a say in what we build, how developers build it, and who is to blame when things take a dark turn. About: Stare down the barrel of America’s most controversial, protected and lethal industry: guns. Find out how America was forged by the gun industry on this new podcast series from WBUR & The Trace, The Gun Machine. You're listening to The Gun Machine in Short Run — the best long-form audio series from WBUR, Boston's NPR, all in one feed. We’d appreciate your help to better understand The Gun Machine's listeners and get feedback on the podcast — it’ll take you about 10 minutes or less! Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/thegunmachine