Armed and Socialist

Endless Thread

WBUR

Reddit, Technology

4.2 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 October 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gun ownership in America has long been associated with the political right. Forty-five percent of Republicans and conservative independents own a firearm, compared to 20 percent of their liberal counterparts, according to a 2023 Pew survey.

But in recent years, gun ownership has been changing. More liberals are buying firearms, and left-leaning gun groups emphasizing inclusivity are cropping up across the country.

One group is the Socialist Rifle Association. With roots online, the organization started as a place for funny memes and became a collective aiming to arm the working class.

As the 2024 election approaches, Endless Thread's Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson scope out a firing range in central Massachusetts with the SRA.

*****

Credits: This episode was produced by Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus. The co-hosts are Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Our managing producer is Samata Joshi.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, just wanted to let you know, this episode is about guns, which means you will hear some gunfire.
0:06.3	So consider this a heads up to any young ones in your midst, your pets,
0:10.7	and take care.
0:32.0	W-B-U-R Podcasts, Boston. And Marie and I are just down a little country road from suburbia and Massachusetts and preparing to do something brand new. Were you excited? I don't know that that's the word. I wasn't
0:35.8	not excited though, you know?
0:37.8	All right. You know what I mean?
0:41.8	I was not not excited. That's exactly it. I was not not excited that's exactly it I was excited and then I was partially deaf
0:47.3	and then I was freaked out like and whatever the opposite of trigger happy is, I was that.
0:53.6	Trigger sad.
0:54.6	Yeah.
0:55.6	Trigger bad.
0:56.6	Should we shoot some guns?
0:57.6	Yeah.
0:58.6	It was scary and thrilling and terrifying and looking back at this moment, I get it.
1:03.6	But I'm also still confused because Amory and I shooting guns wasn't just to shoot,
1:09.6	at least not for us, it was to get a window into a rifle association. Maybe not the one you're thinking of.
1:17.0	The Socialist Rifle Association. And then. It's an overcast Sunday in May.
1:34.0	Ben and I. It's an overcast Sunday in May.
1:44.0	Ben and I have traveled into the woods of Massachusetts to meet some people we've never met before
1:50.0	and wholesome triggers with producer Dean Russell.
1:54.0	Have you ever been to a shooting range before?
1:56.0	No, never been to a shooting range, never shot a gun.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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

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