Over the years at NPR's Fresh Air, we've gotten to talk with a lot of great filmmakers.

Now we've made a playlist of some of our favorites, including Martin Scorsese, Stephen Spielberg,

Ava DuVernay, Mel Brooks, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog, and others.

Find all our new playlists and more at Fresh Air at plus.npr.org slash fresh air.

This is Fresh Air. I'm Dave Davies. A 2022 Pew Research Survey found that 39% of American adults

and 47% of Christians believe we're living in the end times prophesied in the Bible.

One event that likely accelerated the spread of that belief was the violent 1992 Ruby Ridge

confrontation in Idaho between federal agents and the family of Randy Weaver,

whose apocalyptic beliefs led them to build and live in a primitive cabin on a remote mountain top.

An attempt by federal marshals to serve an arrest warrant on Weaver resulted in gunfire that

left three people in a family dog dead and two people injured.

Our guest today, writer Chris Jennings, has a new book that explores the religious

antecedents of the Weaver's beliefs

and the impact of Ruby Ridge on the spread of conspiratorial anti-government and white supremacist movements.

The deadly actions of federal agents at Ruby Ridge, including the fatal shooting of a woman with a baby in her arms,

raised some of the same questions about the use of lethal

force at issue in current immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota.

Chris Jennings is a former editorial staffer at The New Yorker and the author of a previous book

about 19th century utopian movements called Paradise Now.

His new book is End of Days, Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse,

and the Unmaking of America. Well, Chris Jennings, welcome to fresh air.

Thank you, Dave. It's a pleasure to be here.

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