Long Lead and Campside Media are teaming up again, this time with award-winning public media organization PRX and The Trace for season three of the acclaimed history podcast, “Long Shadow.”
Reported and narrated by Pulitzer-finalist journalist, historian, and “Watergate: A New History” author Garrett M. Graff, “Long Shadow: In Guns We Trust” recounts how firearms went from being an ordinary part of rural American life to a menacing element of modern society. In the multi-part podcast series, Graff will take listeners on a journey spanning generations of U.S. history, exploring the stories of people — some names you’ll know, some you won’t — who changed America’s relationship to guns, for better or worse.
“The modern story of guns in America started 25 years ago this month, on April 20th, 1999,” says Graff. “Overnight, the word ‘Columbine’ — a name taken from a beautiful wildflower prevalent in the Colorado plains — became synonymous with tragedy, shorthand for a scourge that would befall dozens more communities in the years ahead.”
“Long Shadow: In Guns We Trust” also features in-depth reporting from The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence. This special collaboration will help listeners understand how 21st-century America, clad in both camouflage and Kevlar, has become both a bastion of freedom and a land of lockdowns.
Hailed as “rigorous, authoritative and an electrifying listen” by the Financial Times and averaging 4.9 stars from reviewers, “Long Shadow” hit the top of Apple Podcasts’ history chart just weeks after its debut. Crackling with rich archival tape and riveting eyewitness and expert interviews, the narrative podcast has won Signal Awards for each of its last two seasons while examining vital threads of history relevant to our current political climate. Season two, “Long Shadow: Rise of the American Far Right,” was recently nominated for a Webby Award for best news/politics podcast.
“Long Shadow: In Guns We Trust” premieres April 9, 2024 ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting on April 20. The new season is available free across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Overcast, and iHeart.