Why is America Uniquely Obsessed with Guns? with Stephen Gutowski

Alive with Steve Burns

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture

5.0 • 588 Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*** DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND BECOME A PART OF THE ALIVE FAMILY*** In this episode of Alive with Steve Burns, Steve sits down with journalist and firearms expert Stephen Gutowski for a calm, clear-eyed conversation about how guns came to occupy such a powerful place in American life and identity. Together, they unpack how firearms shifted from practical tools into national mythology - and where that has landed us as a nation today. ** if you like this episode, then check out these ** What is Masculinity with Richard Reeves https://youtu.be/g2TZ7FNFsrg The Dangers of Charisma https://youtu.be/feh3bAha3P0 ——————————————— Alive with Steve Burns - Season One Episode 19 | Steve Gutowski Instagram: @alivewithsteveburns TikTok: @alivewithsteveburns ———————————————— Exclusive Offers For Our Listeners: Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at ziprecruiter.com/alive. Go to zocdoc.com/alive to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. Head to MarleySpoon.com/offer/ALIVE for up to 25 FREE meals! Hero Bread is offering 10% off your order. Go to hero.co and use code STEVE at checkout. Sign up and get 10% off at http://betterhelp.com/stevealive. ————————————————— There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back. Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream gone? What’s the future of truth? Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together. Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive. Keywords: Steve Burns, Steve Gutowski, American Identity, gun control, second amendment, firearms, gun ownership facts, gun ownership statistics, gun culture, alive with Steve burns —--------------------------------------- You are not alone. You are cared for. If you need someone to listen, reach out: National Suicide and Crisis Hotline: https://988lifeline.org/ NAMI Helpline: https://www.nami.org/support-educatio... Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/ —--------------------------------------- Watch full episodes of Alive on YouTube. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content from Steve. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Lemonada.
0:06.0	Hey there. Before we dive in, just a quick heads up, this episode explores America's deep-rooted
0:12.0	relationship with guns and how they have become just so intertwined with our national identity
0:20.0	and culture. And when we recorded this one, I guess
0:24.6	it was late last summer, it was already fairly complex for me because I'm very pro-gun control
0:31.4	and I've always been fairly wary of firearms. But given recent tragic events in Minnesota, this episode might hit a little
0:42.5	differently for some. So if an objective conversation about guns and gun culture feels a little
0:50.7	too much or overwhelming, believe me, understood. I get it. So I just wanted to acknowledge that and give you a heads up before we jump in.
1:00.4	And you look fantastic, by the way.
1:15.2	Hey, there you are.
1:16.8	Great to see you. Come on in.
1:20.7	Welcome to alive.
1:22.2	Okay.
1:25.8	Here's a question for you today.
1:26.6	You ready?
1:32.1	How do you feel about guns?
1:41.0	Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:49.0	I think it's nearly impossible not to have a strong reaction to that question.
1:52.7	There's tea if you want tea.
1:53.6	I'm making tea.
1:57.9	So here's something that might surprise you.
2:02.2	I am a gun owner.
	...

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