170: The Social Lives of Firearms: How Guns Are Made — And What They Mean

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What is a firearm? Is a gun just a weapon, or is it also a symbol of freedom? A mark of masculinity? A token of white supremacy? Just a tool? Or can a gun be all that and more, depending on the wielder?

Anthropologist Brandon Hunter-Pazzara joins hosts Kelly and JJ to discuss how guns can have "social lives"— how they can be transformed into a multitude of identities and uses, and how understanding that transformation (and it's many contexts) can better help us fight back against gun violence.

Mentioned in this podcast:
The possessive investment in guns: towards a material, social, and racial analysis of guns
(Palgrave Communications)
What guns mean: the symbolic lives of firearms (Palgrave Communications)
Gun that killed Trayvon Martin 'makes $250,000 for Zimmerman' (BBC)  
Gun Control: It's Really About Guns As Symbols, Not Weapons (Psychology Today)
Men, Dogs, Guns, and Cars--The Semiotics of Rugged Individualism (Journal of Advertising) 

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

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For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady