Mike Weisser Talks to Evan Osnos About the N.R.A.

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Obama, Washington, Politics, President, Barack, Lizza, Wnyc, News, Wickenden

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2016

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike Weisser runs a blog called Mike the Gun Guy and describes himself as a “gun nut beyond all gun nuts.” He joined the N.R.A. when he was eleven years old, a budding sportsman with a rifle for sport shooting. He later worked in his uncle’s gun business building revolvers, sold guns wholesale to law enforcement, and eventually opened a retail shop. He has written six books about guns. He’s also an N.R.A.-certified firearms instructor, and was interviewed by the New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos for his recent story on the business and politics of selling guns. Osnos found that Weisser has an unusual position: while he’s in favor of gun rights, he also writes critically, on his blog, about the N.R.A. and how it works to create a climate of fear to advance its agenda. The two sat down to talk how about the N.R.A. has changed since it was founded as a hunting and sportsman’s club.

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0:44.1	Things people love.
0:49.0	On this week's Politics and More podcast, New Yorker's staff writer Evan Osnos talks to Mike Weiser.
0:55.4	Weiser is a former gun dealer and gun safety instructor and blogs under the name Mike the
1:00.3	gun guy. He's also an outspoken critic of the NRA.
1:07.1	What is this?
1:09.4	Whoa, wake up. It's a gun. That's the answer.
1:12.4	All right? Now, how does this work? It works by putting a magazine in here, which I'm not going to do.
1:19.4	Mike Weiser is a gun guy. That's not my description. It's his. Mike, the gun guy, is the name of his blog.
1:26.4	Weiser joined the NRA when he was just 11 years old,
1:29.1	and he later worked in his uncle's gun business building revolvers.
1:32.5	He sold guns wholesale to law enforcement,
1:34.9	and eventually he opened a retail shop.
1:37.8	He's a certified firearms instructor,
	...

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