In my last video (Light Over Heat #22), I reflected on the value of diversity (political, cultural, social, intellectual) in exposing us to people different from us and ideas different from our own. From these differences can come greater understanding. I applied this idea to some of the ways I have come to see theContinue reading “Light Over Heat #23: The Benefits of Intellectual Diversity and the Challenge of Achieving It”
Category Archives: My Experience
Light Over Heat #20: A Light Take in Celebration of This Milestone – Shooting Guns in Texas
Wow, this is the 20th episode of “Light Over Heat” that I recorded! I can’t believe it. It seems like I was just recording my 10th episode not long ago. This second set of videos (Season 2) was supposed to be organized thematically around t-shirts I own. It mostly was, but on a few occasionsContinue reading “Light Over Heat #20: A Light Take in Celebration of This Milestone – Shooting Guns in Texas”
Light Over Heat #22: Further Thoughts Post-Buffalo Thanks to Intellectual Diversity
In my last video (Light Over Heat #21), I commented on guns and race, racism, and white supremacy in the wake of the Buffalo mass murder. The comments I received, even the critical ones, were generally very respectful and constructive. Given the name and mission of my YouTube channel — “Light Over Heat” — IContinue reading “Light Over Heat #22: Further Thoughts Post-Buffalo Thanks to Intellectual Diversity”
“Be a Bridge”
Graduation ceremonies always lift my spirits, so after a tough weekend confronting the reality of white supremacist hate in America, I was glad to be able to set that aside and recognize the achievements of over 1,000 Wake Forest University undergraduates (including my youngest son) who completed their final two years of college under extraordinaryContinue reading ““Be a Bridge””
Light Over Heat #19: Presentation on Gun Culture 2.0 at UCONN-Hartford Authors Workshop
In Light Over Heat videos #15 (on gun research and gun policy) and #16 (on finding common ground on gun violence), I shared my thoughts on a workshop I attended in March at UCONN-Hartford. The workshop brought together authors contributing to an issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceContinue reading “Light Over Heat #19: Presentation on Gun Culture 2.0 at UCONN-Hartford Authors Workshop”
Mistakes Were Made: TSA Checkpoint Edition
As I am working on my book proposal, I have been reviewing my career as a gun owner. Over the past 11 years, mistakes have been made. None fatal or physically injurious, thankfully. But mistakes nonetheless. It’s easy for me to dismiss Madison Cawthorn for so many reasons, including for being caught twice going throughContinue reading “Mistakes Were Made: TSA Checkpoint Edition”
Light Over Heat #17: Are Gun Owners Thoughtful Risk Analysts?
The idea that guns are a risk factor – for homicide, suicide, accidental death, and injury – was a central idea at the gun violence prevention writers workshop I attended in Hartford earlier this month (see Light Over Heat #15 and Light Over Heat #16). This week I reflect more broadly on the role ofContinue reading “Light Over Heat #17: Are Gun Owners Thoughtful Risk Analysts?”
Light Over Heat #16: Finding Common Ground on Gun Violence Prevention
This week I offer a second reflection on the 2-day workshop I attended at the University of Connecticut in Harford for authors contributing to a special issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science on gun violence. (The first reflection focuses on the relationship between research on guns and gunContinue reading “Light Over Heat #16: Finding Common Ground on Gun Violence Prevention”
A Firearm Life Plan for Responsible Gun Owners
I had the pleasure of meeting, eating, and chatting with emergency medicine doctor and epidemiologist Marian “Emmy” Betz last week at the authors’ workshop I attended at UCONN-Hartford. I had seen Dr. Betz regularly on Twitter and knew something of her work from an article she published in the American Journal of Public Health onContinue reading “A Firearm Life Plan for Responsible Gun Owners”
Light Over Heat #15: From Gun Research to Gun Policy
Last week I attended a workshop at the University of Connecticut in Hartford for authors contributing to a special issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science on gun violence prevention. Of course, my specialty is in gun culture not gun violence, so I was asked to speak about theContinue reading “Light Over Heat #15: From Gun Research to Gun Policy”
Gun Curious 