Red, Blue, and Brady

Few know that police officers are at a higher risk of suicide than any other profession, with the number of police officers who die by suicide  greater than three times the number of those that were injured in the line of duty.  Additionally, the vast majority of officers and soldiers who take their lives do so at home, using their service weapons. To discuss why these rates are so high amongst law enforcement, and what people can do to decrease rates of firearm suicide, host JJ is joined by Brady President Kris Brown and Steve Hough of Blue HELP. Blue HELP is an organization devoted to reducing mental health stigmas through education, to advocate for benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress, and to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers lost to suicide, assist officers in their search for healing, and to bring awareness to suicide and mental health issues.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• The Price They Pay (Solomon, McGill)
• Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SAMHSA)
• Breaking the Silence: Suicide Prevention for Law Enforcement Video Facilitation Guide (National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Enjoy some treats from Hu's Kitchen, like chocolate free of dairy, gluten, refined sugar, palm oil, and cane sugar!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

63 Americans die every day due to firearm suicide. These people are not mere statistics, but are beloved family members, friends, and loved ones. Today, hosts Kelly and JJ talk to two people who lost ones they love--Adam Friedman, a Team Enough Executive Council member, and Khary Penebaker, a DNC member and Board Member at Everytown.  Adam lost his grandfather, and Khary lost his mother.  Together, we discuss what everyone should know about firearm suicide, what it's like to be a survivor left behind, and initiatives like Brady's End Family Fire that seek to prevent these tragedies. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Rates of Gun Suicide (Annals of Internal Medicine) 
• We Lose 63 Americans a Day (End Family Fire)
• Know the Signs (Know the Signs)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Enjoy some treats from Hu's Kitchen, like chocolate free of dairy, gluten, refined sugar, palm oil, and cane sugar!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Is America destined to be, and remain, a violent nation? Why does the US have such high rates of gun violence? To discuss, JJ and Kelly are joined by Jon Lowy, Chief Counsel and Vice President of Legal at Brady, and Senator Chris Murphy, a United States Senator for Connecticut. While Senator Murphy devotes himself to public service, he has been very outspoken about fighting for gun violence prevention. Today, we're discussing his new book, “the Violence Inside Us,” and the role the gun lobby and legislation has played in shaping America. 

Mentioned in this podcast:
The Violence Inside Us (Random House Books)
"This Country Has Been Bathed in Violence." (Time)
The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Politics and Prose)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Support the show (https://www.bradyunited.org/donate)

Firearms are the most common means of suicide in the United States, and Brady's End Family Fire program addresses the heartbreaking facts that:

• Firearms are by far the deadliest method of suicide -- 90% of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal, while suicide attempts with other methods are (on average) only fatal in 4% of cases, and;
• The vast majority of people who survive a suicide attempt -- 90% -- don’t go on to die by suicide. 70% never make another attempt.

Yet, too few Americans know this--or are comfortable talking about it. To discuss firearm suicide in general, and to get into the data on how and why gender matters, JJ and Kelly are joined by Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, Sarah Brady Fellow at Brady, and Dr. Eric Mankowski, a Professor of Psychology at Portland State University. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Characteristics of adult male and female firearm suicide decedents (BMJ)
• Gender and the impact of gun control on suicide and homicide (Archives of Suicide Research)
• The Accessibility of Firearms and Risk for Suicide and Homicide Victimization Among Household Members (Annals of Internal Medicine) 
• State Firearm Laws and Rates of Suicide in Men and Women (National Library of Medicine)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Support the show (https://www.bradyunited.org/donate)

On September 9, 1971, 1,281 of Attica prison's approximately 2,200 inmates rioted and took control of the prison, taking 42 staff hostage. That riot--and the following four days of negotiations, followed by a massacre--had a major impact on prisons and policing in the United States. In particular, it changed how people thought about the rights of currently and formerly incarcerated and firearms. To discuss this all, and how it relates to 2020, Kelly and JJ are joined by the Pulitzer-prize winning historian Heather Ann Thompson. Dr. Thompson is the author of the celebrated text Blood in the Water: The Attica Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy and the fantastic book Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City. She is here today to talk with us all about gun violence, segregation, policing, incarceration, and the Voting Rights Act.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Blood in the Water (Heather Ann Thompson)
Why Mass Incarceration Matters to our Cities, Economy, and Democracy (Ash Center)
The Ugly History of Racist Policing in America: Interview with Heather Ann Thompson (Vox)
How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America (Atlantic)
Inner-City Violence in the Age of Mass Incarceration (Atlantic)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Support the show (https://www.bradyunited.org/donate)

Native and Indigenous communities in the US have long borne the pain of gun violence, from mass shootings to high rates of suicide, firearms used in gender-based violence, and police violence. Yet, many in these communities find themselves cut off from the democratic processes that would allow them to bring about changes necessary for basic public safety. 

To unpack a long history of mistreatment, firearms, and disenfranchisement--and the fight to get out the vote--Kelly and JJ are joined by Sikowis aka Christine Nobiss (Plains Cree/Saulteaux, George Gordon First Nation), a Decolonizer and a current co-chair and founder with Great Plains Action Society.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Left, Right and Center Presents: Diaries of a Divided Nation 2020 (Kcrew)
  Native Voter Project (Great Plains Action Society)
• Every Native Voice Counts (Native Vote)
• Here’s How Indigenous Women Are Fighting For Legislation That Protects Women From Violence (Bustle)
• Learn and Decolonize (Seeding Sovereignty) 
• The Second Amendment : A Sacred Covenant of Ethnic Cleansing and Slavery Between the Nation State and Settler Militias (Zine)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

It needs to be said: communities cannot simply vote their way out of oppression. Too many citizens have been denied access to fair and safe elections due to economic barriers, burdensome new laws, a prior conviction, voter purges, inaccessible polling locations, or a host of other reasons. These stories are common, and dismissing them fails to recognize the heart of the problem. So, how do we solve these problems? And, why do communities impacted by gun violence need access to the ballot box?

To discuss, JJ and Kelly are joined by Michelle Zuluaga, a Civic Participation Manager with Latino Community Action Fund Georgia and Latinos for Democracy. Together, they're tackling the big questions--for example, is democracy a gun violence prevention issue?

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Amplifying Your Voice (Latino Community Action Fund Georgia)
• Census information (US Census)
• Why Vote (Latinos for Democracy)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

The events unfolding in Kenosha, WI, are drawing national attention. We are living in two Americas — one where intimidation by armed, white vigilantes is glorified and where protesters decrying police violence are vilified. And the other where Black lives matter and police violence is gun violence. Our legal and grassroots advocacy experts convened to discuss the threats posed and the solutions to protect our communities.

JJ and Kelly are joined by President of Brady Kris Brown and Anneliese Dickman, Brady's Milwaukee Program Manager, to discuss what happened, why it matters, and what you can do. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Voting Access Saves Lives (Brady) 
• Attack on protesters in Kenosha (Brady)
• The shooting of Jacob Blake (BBC)
• Killings in Kenosha (Atlantic)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Team Enough, Brady, and March For Our Lives have partnered on a new initiative--getting out, and supporting, the vote. Based on the fact that Black and Latinx communities that are the most affected by gun violence also face the greatest barriers to voting, and that it is vital that the citizens most impacted by this epidemic are able to vote for elected officials who will take concrete steps to protect them, the "Voting Access Saves Lives" program is aimed at improving access to the US electoral system. To discuss how the program works, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Robert Schentrup, a Team Enough fellow and survivor of gun violence. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• State Action Toolkit (Brady)
• Voting Access Saves Lives (Brady)
• Accessing Democracy: a Gun Violence Prevention Issue (Brady)
• How to Vote (Rock the Vote)
• Register to Vote (USA.gov)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Support the show (https://www.bradyunited.org/donate)

Hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Christian Heyne, the Vice President of Policy at Brady and by Stasha M. Rhodes, a Campaign Director of 51 for 51, a pro-D.C. statehood coalition of groups committed to equal rights and representation for the more than 700,000 residents of Washington, D.C. Together, they're discussing how democracy is a gun violence issue, and why access to democracy is vital in 2020.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Join the Movement (51 for 51)
• Why Change the Senate Rules? (Why We Can't Wait)
• Heroes Act (US Congress)
• Voting Access Saves Lives (Brady)
• Voting Access Saves Lives Toolkit (Brady)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady