meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

405. Anatomy of an (almost) School Shooter | Aaron Stark

The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

DailyWire+

Education, Science, Society & Culture

4.634.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2023

⏱️ 98 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with public speaker and mental health advocate Aaron Stark. You might recognize Aaron’s name from his deeply impactful TED Talk, “I was almost a school shooter.” They walk through his life story and discuss the all-too-real result of deep parental trauma, the psychology of abuse that shapes self loathing and self harm, the drivers that nearly pushed Aaron from victim into monster, and the real, tangible act of kindness that saved lives. Aaron Stark was almost a school shooter. As a dark and destructive teen, Stark almost committed a terrible attack. Today he is a happy father of four, and he wants to do all he can to help anyone on that path to find a way into the light again and to see that they matter. After watching the news coverage of the Parkland school shootings, Stark wrote an open letter, “I was almost a school shooter.” This was sent to local news 9KUSA in Denver and was the feature story on “Next with Kyle Clark.” This story gained national attention and over 17 million views in a very short time, which propelled him into a life of activism for mental wellness awareness. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and has published an article in the Washington Post. These features were followed by his viral TEDx talk, “I Was Almost a School Shooter” that currently has over 14 million views and is shown in schools, colleges, and universities, all the way up to the Dept. of Education. - Links - For Aaron Stark: Instagram https://instagram.com/aarongstark79?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aaron.stark1313?mibextid=eHce3h Youtube https://youtube.com/@aaronstarkauthor?si=1uJFYkVDysFuWETz

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This podcast contains graphic discussions about abuse, violence, and self-harm.

0:06.0

Sensitive content may not be appropriate for listeners under 18. Hello. Hello everyone watching and listening. Today I'm pleased to be talking to

0:29.3

Mr Aaron Stark you might recognize him from his TED Talk on YouTube, which has got about 13 million views.

0:37.0

Aaron went to some very dark places when he was a kid and a teenager and came from some very dark places.

0:44.1

At one point in his life, he had formulated

0:47.9

very detailed plans that related to shooting up a school.

0:53.0

And he decided not to do it.

0:55.0

And what we're talking about, what we're going to talk about is

1:00.0

how he came to make those plans, let's say, what the rationale for it was and the cause of those

1:06.4

plans, and then also why he decided to back away from the precipice and what the consequence of that backing way has been.

1:16.1

So Mr Stark, you turned your life around.

1:18.8

Yes, sir.

1:19.8

Okay, so let's go back to when it wasn't turned around.

1:23.0

Now you've been touring around and talking to people

1:26.3

for how long, how long have you been in the public eye?

1:29.6

About five years.

1:31.6

How old are you now? 44.

1:33.0

Okay, and so, well, why don't you just tell us the story and then I'll start delving into, well, the details.

1:41.0

Well, so I was almost a school shooter when I was really young my I went through a really

1:48.7

violent aggressive family my first five years are like living in a Stephen King movie, my birth father was the most violent,

1:55.0

the brave person I've ever met.

1:56.4

Beatings and rapes and just violence and aggression the entire time running from

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from DailyWire+, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of DailyWire+ and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.