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Nearly all mass shootings are committed by men. Why isn’t masculinity a bigger part of the debate?

Nicki DeMarco reports on the often-overlooked connection between masculinity and gun violence. And Geoff Edgers on a run of Vegas shows that defined Elvis’s legacy.

Friday, August 9, 2019
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What’s missing from our gun-violence conversations
Conversations around gun violence in America tend to sidestep one element that nearly every mass shooting since 1966 has in common: the role of masculinity in grooming the shooter. 

Video producer Nicki DeMarco and her colleague Erin Patrick O’Connor have been studying the connection between guns and definitions of manhood to try to figure out why men overwhelmingly commit these acts. Researcher Scott Melzer told them, “When we expect boys and men to be dominant, powerful, in charge, to not give in – we’re coaching them, training them to commit violence when they feel like they’ve lost control.”

More on this topic:
  • Why is American masculinity at the center of gun culture but not the gun debate?
  • The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting


Elvis has reentered the building
When Elvis Presley took the stage at International Hotel in Las Vegas in July 1969, it was his first time performing in nine years. 

His 57-show run at the International would punctuate a comeback that would become the last stage of his career, launched after a decade of poorly received movie appearances. 

“Cosmically, we always associate him with Vegas,” reporter Geoff Edgers says. “The jumpsuits. The handkerchiefs. There’s something about that whole slick, glittery, Vegas look – that Cadillac rolling down the Strip – that we now associate with Elvis.”

More on this topic:
  • The summer of 1969: When Elvis made his true comeback
  • 50 years ago, Elvis had fallen from grace. But one comeback TV special changed everything.
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Nearly all mass shootings are committed by men. Why isn’t masculinity a bigger part of the debate?

Nicki DeMarco reports on the often-overlooked connection between masculinity and gun violence. And Geoff Edgers on a run of Vegas shows that defined Elvis’s legacy.

Friday, August 9, 2019
Loading...
What’s missing from our gun-violence conversations
Conversations around gun violence in America tend to sidestep one element that nearly every mass shooting since 1966 has in common: the role of masculinity in grooming the shooter. 

Video producer Nicki DeMarco and her colleague Erin Patrick O’Connor have been studying the connection between guns and definitions of manhood to try to figure out why men overwhelmingly commit these acts. Researcher Scott Melzer told them, “When we expect boys and men to be dominant, powerful, in charge, to not give in – we’re coaching them, training them to commit violence when they feel like they’ve lost control.”

More on this topic:
  • Why is American masculinity at the center of gun culture but not the gun debate?
  • The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting


Elvis has reentered the building
When Elvis Presley took the stage at International Hotel in Las Vegas in July 1969, it was his first time performing in nine years. 

His 57-show run at the International would punctuate a comeback that would become the last stage of his career, launched after a decade of poorly received movie appearances. 

“Cosmically, we always associate him with Vegas,” reporter Geoff Edgers says. “The jumpsuits. The handkerchiefs. There’s something about that whole slick, glittery, Vegas look – that Cadillac rolling down the Strip – that we now associate with Elvis.”

More on this topic:
  • The summer of 1969: When Elvis made his true comeback
  • 50 years ago, Elvis had fallen from grace. But one comeback TV special changed everything.
Previous Episode

Forced from Paradise: Finding home after California’s Camp Fire

Greg Miller unpacks the calls for a redirection of U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Frances Stead Sellers and Whitney Leaming on people’s search for home after the Camp Fire. And Monica Hesse pokes holes in the gender-reveal party trend.

Thursday, August 8, 2019
Next Episode

‘This is an issue that we can win’: Cory Booker on his gun control plan

Sen. Cory Booker lays out his gun policy proposal. Matt Zapotosky on what convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide in federal custody can tell us about the case moving forward. And Alex Horton gives us a reality check on a meme.

Monday, August 12, 2019
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