teacher 2023

In a brand new study in the Washington Post, the paper found that at least 41 American children lose at least one biological parent to gun violence a day.  Pulitzer-finalist journalist and author John Woodrow Cox did a deep dive into the lives of some of those children left behind, including siblings Kaleigh (7) and Kavon (11), in his latest piece, "Orphaned by gun violence: Two kids, two shootings, two parents gone." John joined hosts Kelly and JJ to detail how this study came about, what life is like after losing a parent to gun violence, and what it means to know that "there [were] only 11 days in 2020 when The Post did not find a child whose parent had been shot and killed."

Mentioned in this podcast:
Children Under Fire: An American Crisis (Harper Collins)
"Four years ago, I met two extraordinary children" (John Woodrow Cox, Twitter)
Unequal Burdens of Loss: Examining the Frequency and Timing of Homicide Deaths Experienced by Young Black Men Across the Life Course (American Journal of Public Health)
Children in Baltimore facing harsh reality of losing a parent to gun violence (Fox) 

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and 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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

On November 30, 2021, four students at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan, were shot and killed by a classmate. Their names were Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. 8 additional students, teachers, and staff members were injured. Horrifically, it was just one of the 676 mass shootings in 2021.

In the days that followed the Oxford shooting, the shooter's parents were also charged with involuntary manslaughter for failing to secure the handgun used in the shooting. To discuss what those charges mean, what responsibility parents and guardians take on when they bring a firearm into the home, and what we all can do to help make our homes and our communities safer, hosts  Kelly and JJ are joined by: Kris Brown, President of Brady; Jonathan Lowy, Vice President of Legal and Chief Counsel at Brady; and Darcel Clark, the 13th District Attorney for Bronx County, New York, and co-chair of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence. 

Mentioned in this podcast:
Statement from Prosecutors Against Gun Violence Co-Chairs on the 9th Anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting (Prosecutors Against Gun Violence)
Prosecutor lays out disturbing timeline in explaining why school shooting suspect's parents were charged (CNN)
Brady applauds Oakland County prosecutor (Brady)
Since Oxford Shooting, At Least 519 Schools Have Closed Nationwide Due to Threats (Newsweek)

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.

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)

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Since March 16, a day marked with shootings across Atlanta spas, there have been over 45 mass shootings in the United States. You, our listeners, reached out to  Kelly and JJ to ask how to talk to the young people in your lives about these mass shootings, and gun violence more broadly. To best answer your questions, we reached out to the great Nancy Kislin, LCSW, MFT, who has been a therapist specializing in helping adults reach anxious kids for almost 30 years. She is also the author of the book  "LOCKDOWN: Talking to Your Kids about School Violence," and frequently educates on how adults can help children navigate a difficult world. In this very special episode, Nancy answers your questions directly, and provides very important guidance that can help us all.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• How to talk to children about shootings: An age-by-age guide (Time)
• How to support survivors and people impacted by gun violence (Brady)
• The End Family Fire toolkit (End Family Fire)
• How to talk to kids about mass shootings and attacks (Psychology Today)

Help support the podcast and Brady's mission by clicking here!

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.

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)

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

In Children Under Fire: An American Crisis, John Woodrow Cox lays out the myths surrounding gun violence in the United States as it pertains to children. By exploring the stories of a handful of American children, Cox explains how  “children who are killed or maimed dominate headlines, but they represent only a fraction of the problem in the United States, where not thousands, but millions of children are affected every year...the kids who weren’t shot and aren’t considered victims by our legal system but who have, nonetheless, been irreparably harmed by the epidemic.”

Cox details everything from lockdowns to the gun lobby to suicide, underscoring each point with the conceit that children are not “naturally resilient,” and survivors of gun violence need care. To help explore his book, and these myths, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined not just by the Pulitzer-finalist author, but by y Brady President Kris Brown and the Director of  End Family Fire , Dr. Ted C. Bonar, Psy.D.

Mentioned in this podcast:

 Children Under Fire: An American Crisis (Harper Collins)
"Four years ago, I met two extraordinary children" (John Woodrow Cox, Twitter)
Students' Plan to Save Teacher in Wheelchair During School Shooting Goes Viral (Newsweek)
He said he was going to watch cartoons. Instead, he opened his dad’s gun safe (the Washington Post)
Improving Gun Policy Science (RAND)
How Gun Violence Affects American Children (NPR)
What the Threat of Gun Violence Has Taught a Generation of American Children (University of Minnesota) 

Help support the podcast and Brady's mission by clicking here!

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

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Three years ago, on February 14th 2018,  a gunman armed with an AR-15 attacked Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 14 children and three staff members. In the aftermath, survivors of that shooting have stood up for gun violence prevention, fighting daily for common-sense gun violence prevention laws. But what is it like for those survivors? What do they wish all people knew about the daily struggles of these survivors-turned-activists? And, what can we all be doing better to support them?

To find out, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Ivy Schamis and Aalayah Eastmond, survivors from class 1214. Ivy was an almost 20-year veteran social studies teacher, and Aalayah was her junior student. Today, Ivy has relocated to DC where she works in school administration, and Aalayah is an executive council member of Team Enough, co-founder of Concerned Citizens D.C., an intern with PayOurInterns, and a full time college student at Trinity Washington University.  Join them, and learn about the person behind that title of "survivor." 

Mentioned in this podcast:
Parkland survivor wants a different kind of gun reform movement: One that centers Black lives (Mashable)
Parkland, One Year Later: Ivy Schamis, a Teacher of Hope (Rolling Stone)
Devastating Emotional Toll of Shooting Drove Some Teachers Away From MSD (ABC 6)
How to support survivors and people impacted by gun violence (Brady)

Help support the podcast and Brady's mission by clicking here!

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visi

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Before there was Parkland or even Columbine, there was Cleveland Elementary School. But for many, the name of the Stockton, California school is unfamiliar.

On January 17, 1989, a former student opened fire on the playground of Cleveland Elementary School. Within 3 minutes the gunman fired 106 rounds from his recently-purchased AK-47, killing 5 students and injuring another 31. The youngest student victim was 6; the oldest, 9.  Today, hosts Kelly and JJ  are joined by Julie Schardt, a founding member of Cleveland Remembers, a Brady California chapter member, and a former teacher at Cleveland Elementary School who was there that day. Julie shares with us her memories of what happened, the students who were lost, and what drives her to still be engaged in gun violence prevention work to this day.

Further reading:
Trigger Effect (Sactown Magazine)
Not One More (Cleveland School Remembers)
A Decade Before Columbine There Was Cleveland Elementary School  (Brady)
Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (Los Angeles Times)
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

On April 16, 2007, a gunman shot and killed 32 people in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at Virginia Tech. Colin Goddard and Reema Samaha were in French class that day--Colin was shot four times and survived, but Reema was killed.The horrible events of that day launched Colin into activism, as well as Reema's brother, Omar Samaha. Along the way they made friends with Christian Heyne, the Vice President of Policy at Brady, and each made undercover videos investigating the gun show loophole.

Today, all three again join host JJ to talk about Virginia Tech, gun violence, activism, and how to define a survivor. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Colin Debates for Gun Violence Prevention (Brady)
• Gun Violence Survivors Speak Out (CNN)
• Many First Responders Struggle with PTSD (Washington Post)
• Living for 32 (Living for 32)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social @Bradybuzz, or via our website at bradyunited.org. Full transcripts and bibliography available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

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

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.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

JJ is joined by Nancy Kislin, psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker and a professor with over 28 years of experience. Nancy is calling into today to talk about why lockdowns, which are meant to help students prepare in case of a shooting, are in fact damaging to the mental health of students. Nancy provides parents, caregivers, academic staff, and first responders with explanations of how lockdown drills work, as well as inexpensive, common-sense solutions to the problem of poorly-designed lockdown drills.

In this episode, we cover: 

• how lockdown drills are designed;
• the lack of research around lockdown drills;
• what lockdown drills mentally do to students and staff;
• how parents can talk to their kids about school violence; and 
• what parents should be doing about lockdown drills. 

If you have a student in school, this is NOT an episode to miss. 

For more information on Brady, follow us on social @Bradybuzz, or via our website at bradyunited.org. Full transcripts and bibliography available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

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

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady