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America, guns and violence; Remembering Beaumont-Hamel; The "backfire" effect

Why the U.S. will never fix its gun problem - Michael's essay: In most countries, a mass shooting leads to an outpouring of grief, vows to ensure it never happens again, and tougher gun laws to make sure it really doesn't. Not in the U.S. Here's an excerpt: "Mass shootings in the United States are as American as Sunday afternoon baseball, the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the National Rifle Association." America's culture of violence: Rebecca Solnit, author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost and Men Explain Things to Me, and Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon and Far From The Tree, explore the connections between domestic violence, sexual violence, homophobia, terrorism, and America's steadfast love affair with guns. A young journalist looks back on the terrible routine of reporting about mass shootings: When Polly Mosendz was a breaking news writer at Newsweek, she had a mass shooting story pre-written at all times, ready to be filled in with details. "A mass shooting has been reported at ___?, where ___? people are believed to be dead and __? more are injured, according to __? police department." After filling in the blanks dozens of times, Ms. Mosendz left Newsweek to write about business and culture for Bloomberg Digital. Remembering Beaumont-Hamel through song and story: July 1st marks the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme, in which the Newfoundland Regiment suffered terrible losses. Michael talks to writer David Macfarlane and musician Douglas Cameron about their show, "The Door You Came In," based on Macfarlane's memoir, The Danger Tree. Many members of Macfarlane's family died on the battlefields of World War 1. Does the backfire effect explain Donald Trump's startling success? The fact-checking site "PolitiFact" rates a majority of Mr. Trump's statements as false. Yet even when the facts disprove his statements, his followers continue to believe him. It's called the backfire effect; debunking falsehoods often strengthens the conviction that they're true. Brendan Nyhan is a co-author of All The President's Spin: George W. Bush, The Media and The Truth. Music this week by: Keith Jarrett, Arvo Pärt, Antonio Vivaldi, Thomas Tallis, Marie-Nicolle Lemieux, Doug Cox, Douglas Cameron and Lenny Breau.
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Sunday Edition1:42:28America, guns and violence; Remembering Beaumont-Hamel; The "backfire" effect

Why the U.S. will never fix its gun problem - Michael's essay: In most countries, a mass shooting leads to an outpouring of grief, vows to ensure it never happens again, and tougher gun laws to make sure it really doesn't. Not in the U.S. Here's an excerpt: "Mass shootings in the United States are as American as Sunday afternoon baseball, the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the National Rifle Association."

America's culture of violence: Rebecca Solnit, author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost and Men Explain Things to Me, and Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon and Far From The Tree, explore the connections between domestic violence, sexual violence, homophobia, terrorism, and America's steadfast love affair with guns.

A young journalist looks back on the terrible routine of reporting about mass shootings:  When Polly Mosendz was a breaking news writer at Newsweek, she had a mass shooting story pre-written at all times, ready to be filled in with details. "A mass shooting has been reported at ___?, where ___? people are believed to be dead and __? more are injured, according to __? police department." After filling in the blanks dozens of times, Ms. Mosendz left Newsweek to write about business and culture for Bloomberg Digital.

Remembering Beaumont-Hamel through song and story: July 1st marks the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme, in which the Newfoundland Regiment suffered terrible losses. Michael talks to writer David Macfarlane and musician Douglas Cameron about their show, "The Door You Came In," based on Macfarlane's memoir, The Danger Tree. Many members of Macfarlane's family died on the battlefields of World War 1.

Does the backfire effect explain Donald Trump's startling success? The fact-checking site "PolitiFact" rates a majority of Mr. Trump's statements as false. Yet even when the facts disprove his statements, his followers continue to believe him. It's called the backfire effect; debunking falsehoods often strengthens the conviction that they're true. Brendan Nyhan is a co-author of All The President's Spin: George W. Bush, The Media and The Truth.

Music this week by: Keith Jarrett, Arvo Pärt, Antonio Vivaldi, Thomas Tallis, Marie-Nicolle Lemieux, Doug Cox, Douglas Cameron and Lenny Breau.

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