Episode 912: Stephen Hunter on “The Gun Man Jackson Swagger”

Newt's World

Gingrich 360

News, Politics

4.7 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

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Summary

Newt talks with Stephen Hunter, a renowned author and former chief film critic for The Washington Post, about his latest book, "The Gun Man Jackson Swagger." This novel is a prequel set in the 1890s, focusing on Jack Swagger, an ancestor of the famous Bob Lee Swagger character. Hunter, who won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism, shares insights into his career, including his transformative experience at The Baltimore Sun during the 1970s, where he was part of a movement to modernize the newspaper. Their conversation explores Hunter's writing style, which is heavily influenced by his extensive background in film, resulting in novels that often read like movies. "The Gun Man Jackson Swagger" is described as a tribute to the American Western, filled with cinematic references and innovative portrayals of gunfights. Hunter also discusses the cultural significance of the gunfighter myth and his intent to restore this figure's place in American culture.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.5	Guaranteed Human.
0:08.8	On this episode of Nutes World, I am delighted to have one of my all-time favorite authors back on the show,
0:16.0	somebody who I admire greatly, Stephen Hunter.
0:19.4	I've been reading his books about Bob Lee Swagger, starting with
0:23.6	the very first one, Point of Impact, in 1993, to Target it in 2022. He's joining me now
0:32.2	to discuss his latest book, The Gunman, Jackson Swagger, which I think is best described as a prequel because
0:41.0	it follows Jack Swagger on a ranch in the 1890s, well before the rise of Bob Swagger.
0:48.6	I am really pleased to welcome back my guest, Stephen Hunter. He is the creator of the Bob Lee Swagger novels, as well as
0:56.8	many others. He is the retired chief film critic for the Washington Post, where he won the 2003
1:04.4	Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism. He's also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction
1:13.1	work. And his work is very wide-ranging, and I must say, I find all of it fascinating.
1:19.4	... Steve, welcome and thank you for joining me on Newt's World.
1:37.4	Thank you so much for having me, Newt. I'm very excited. I'll try and control my excitement,
1:42.7	but I don't know. Well, hopefully our listeners will pick up a little bit of
1:47.9	the mutual excitement here. You started at the Baltimore Sun back in 1971. I was born in Harrisburg
1:55.5	and grew up and was tutored by a local reporter who ended up running a sort of a weekly newspaper.
2:03.4	It was a great fan of the Baltimore Sun, which at one time had probably the two best
2:08.9	political reporters in the country. It was a great, great newspaper. What was it like to work at the
2:15.3	sun? I got there in the 70s, but the sun was still in the 30s.
2:20.6	Well, no, it was in the 50s.
2:22.7	And they didn't understand what was going on in journalism, which was under the aegis of the Washington Post style section, the rebirth of feature sections and deep, long narratives, feature stories
	...

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