A republic of fear: Jack Beatty on America’s broken social contract

33:41

October 27, 2023

Jack Beatty
Meghna Chakrabarti

In this Monday, July 7, 2014, file photo, Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they have confiscated so far this year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago. The recent mass shooting at an Oregon community college has put the debate over gun violence and gun control into the center of the presidential race. At least some of the Republicans who are running have pointed to Chicago as proof that gun control laws don't work. (M. Spencer Green/ AP)

Listen: Find all episodes of Jack Beatty's 2024 notebook here.

After a mass shooting in Maine, On Point news analyst Jack Beatty turns to 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes to try to understand why gun ownership is so prevalent in the U.S.

Guest
Jack Beatty, On Point's news analyst. He was a longtime senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly, which he joined in September of 1983, having previously worked as a book reviewer at Newsweek and as the literary editor of The New Republic.

The Jackpod: History, literature and politics with Jack Beatty