Scene on Radio · Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

Bonus: Long Shadow, In Guns We Trust

May 22, 2024·42 min·3 clips

A pastor wears a gold crown made of bullets and carries an AR-15, claiming it's a divine instrument from the Book of Revelation.

Long Shadow's third season examines how American gun culture evolved from rural tradition to divisive political symbol over five decades, with host Garrett Graff reporting for Longlead and PRX in collaboration with The Trace. The promotional episode focuses on Columbine High School, where two shooters killed 12 students and teacher Dave Sanders on April 20, 1999, injuring two dozen more before killing themselves. Principal Frank DeAngelis initially thought gunfire reports were a senior prank until his secretary confirmed the attack during lunchtime when nearly 2,000 students filled the building. Journalist Dave Cullen, who spent a decade writing his landmark book Columbine, arrived as helicopters circled and police established perimeter protocols that delayed SWAT entry for 45 minutes while the attack was already over. Students trapped with wounded teacher Dave Sanders tore their shirts into bandages during three hours before rescue arrived, though Sanders died. The shooting became the first mass tragedy Americans watched unfold live on television, with survivors streaming out hands-raised as footage aired nationwide. Graff, a Vermont native and gun owner who learned shooting on his grandparents' farm, notes this marked a transformation from his childhood culture of hunting to suburban gun ownership and constant mass shooting fears. Cullen reveals that nearly every detail Americans remember is false: the shooters weren't outcasts, weren't part of Trenchcoat Mafia, weren't bullied loners targeting jocks. They planned terrorism with cafeteria bombs intended to kill 600 people indiscriminately, inspired by Timothy McVeigh's Oklahoma City bombing and scheduling the attack for April 19th anniversary commemoration. Law enforcement found 99 explosive devices total. Columbine catalyzed modern school security—ID lanyards, visitor check-ins, lockdown drills—all starting in 1999 as the concept of school shootings entered American consciousness after several smaller incidents had already occurred. Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel died, protested the NRA's decision to proceed with its annual meeting in Denver just days after the shooting despite Mayor Wellington Webb's request to cancel. Former president Charlton Heston delivered a defiant speech inside while thousands protested outside. A leaked 1999 NRA conference call obtained by NPR reveals leaders debating whether to postpone, relocate, or establish a victim fund, with Florida lobbyist Marian Hammer insisting canceling would make the NRA look brought to its knees. The episode uses vivid audio from news coverage and direct testimony from survivors. Graff's tone balances journalistic distance with personal connection as a gun owner examining gun culture evolution. The series targets audiences interested in policy history, gun debates, and how pivotal American moments shape contemporary divisions, promising exploration of Second Amendment transformation and emerging gun safety movements in subsequent episodes.

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