I was interested to learn recently about the SOUL Study — SOUL here standing for SOial gUn cuLture. The terrible acronym here, unfortunately, is matched by the poor quality of the survey being fielded. Although I am particularly sensitive to those who say they are studying American gun culture, here I think an objective analysis … Continue reading
Earlier this week I recorded segments for a future episode of Dr. Celine Gounder’s “In Sickness and In Health” podcast. Her third season in production is on gun violence as a public health problem. I made clear to her that my scholarly expertise is on American gun culture not gun violence, and she welcomed me … Continue reading
Although I have not made as much progress on it as some of the other chapters, one of the planned chapters of my Gun Culture 2.0 book will address the issue of risk. Hence, my scattered blog posts about the issue of risk. These include my thoughts about assessing risk in the decision to carry … Continue reading
I am not a health scholar, but I cannot help but think about the issue of guns in connection with various health outcomes. In particular I think alot about assessing risk in the decision to carry a gun, notably what I call gun culture’s version of Pascal’s Wager: “It’s better to have a gun and … Continue reading
I love whisk(e)y. My love knows almost no boundaries. American, Canadian, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Scotch, Texas. Barley, corn, rye, wheat. Neat, rocks, mixed. To fuel my love I have been reading Reid Mitenbuler’s recent book, Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey. Early on, Mitenbuler introduces the first alcohol distiller among the British … Continue reading
One of the most controversial and confusing topics when it comes to guns is the issue of risk. The determination of risk is central to the public health approach to (gun) violence, going back to Arthur Kellermann’s influential and controversial work such as “Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home.” I … Continue reading
Fed up with hearing his economic advisers tell him, “One the one hand. . . But on the other hand,” legend has it that President Harry Truman declared, “What I want is a one-armed economist.” I often think about Truman’s statement when I try to wrap my head around America’s gun cultures and find myself … Continue reading
