It's the Ryan Lair Show on WNYC. Good morning again everyone. We're gonna talk now about

things you may not know about the AR-15. What you probably do know is that it's become

the weapon of choice for mass shooters in the United States. It was used in Sandy Hook,

Parkland, Las Vegas, Duval Day, and in Buffalo, for example. That gun unsurprisingly was created

not for civilians, but for the military. You probably know that much. Under the name of

M-16, it was first used in the Vietnam War. Following a confluence of events after 9-11,

gun manufacturers saw an opportunity to market the weapon to civilians for some Americans

it became and still is seen as the symbol of freedom. Joining me now to tell the story

of American gun culture through that of the AR-15 are Cameron McWerter, an Atlanta-based

national reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and Zousha Ellenson, Wall Street Journal reporter

covering America's gun culture in industry. They are the co-authors of a new book called

American Gun, The True Story of the AR-15. Welcome to WNYC, Cameron, and Zousha, thanks for

coming on with us. Thanks for having us. A real honor. Yeah, real honor.

And your book begins with the story of Eugene Stoner, a Marine in World War II, who came

up with the idea of the AR-15 I see in his garage in Los Angeles. So you can decide who's

going to answer, but who was Eugene Stoner and was his initial vision for the AR-15 what

we see today? Yeah, so everything began and this detached garage in Los Angeles. Eugene

Stoner was an amateur tinkerer. He was a Marine veteran. He was a very gentle guy. He never

spanked his kids. He never swore. When he was upset, he would say, boy, that frosts me.

And he was fascinated with the way that guns work and how to improve guns. He would constantly

be scribbling gun designs down on restaurant tablecloths, napkins, anywhere he could find.

He was just obsessed with engineering challenges. And that had started at a very early age. When

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