Alain Stephens is a staff writer for The Trace, an outlet exclusively dedicated to reporting on gun violence. He is a reporter and the host of "The Gun Machine," a new podcast from WBUR & The Trace about how America was forged by the gun industry.
Trained as a law enforcement officer, Stephens served in the military for years — with the U.S. Coast Guard, followed by the Air Force — before pivoting to journalism. As a Black, biracial man who grew up in Texas, Stephens understands the racial and cultural implications of gun culture firsthand.
Recently published
'The Gun Machine' Ep. 8: The Leftovers: How do you account for the true cost of gun violence?
The gun industry is inextricable from the American government and, for many, American identity. But with more than 100 Americans dying from shootings everyday, and even more being wounded, how...
'The Gun Machine' Ep. 7: What the ATF — Why it’s so hard for the federal law enforcement agency in charge of guns to do its job
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is supposed to regulate the gun industry and protect the American public from gun crime. But the ATF often falls short of...
'The Gun Machine' Ep. 6: Why it's nearly impossible to sue gun companies – and the city that still has a case
In 1999, at the end of a decade in which Gary, Indiana, had endured being labeled as the “murder capital of the nation,” then-Mayor Scott King filed a suit against...
'The Gun Machine' Ep. 5: How the police became one of the gun industry’s biggest customers
In the fifth episode of The Gun Machine, we explore how gun companies court police departments across the country – and how those departments have become not only some of...
‘The Gun Machine’ Ep. 4: Springfield was once the center of the gun industry. Now, many guns on the street are illegal.
The byproduct of producing the world's most lethal guns is that criminals have them, too. We go back to the birthplace of the industry, Springfield, Mass., where nearly every young...
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'The Gun Machine' Ep. 3: How U.S. civilians were spurred to buy guns
The American government funded the country’s first gun companies. But as the country matured, manufacturers had to find a market beyond the government to stay afloat. This created a problem:...
'The Gun Machine' Ep 2: Fear sells guns. Here's how that culture was created
In episode two of The Gun Machine, host Alain Stephens travels down to Florida to attend the Pew Party, where he talks to Black gun owners about why they carry...
'The Gun Machine' Ep. 1: The U.S. gun industry's surprising origin story
Our country would look very different without the gun industry. And without the federal government? The gun industry might not exist at all. The premier episode of The Gun Machine...