Myths of Violence: How Guns Became Sacred in America

Brad sits down with Dr. Rachel Wagner, Professor of Religious Studies at Ithaca College and author of Cowboy Apocalypse, for a sobering and necessary conversation about why guns hold such powerful meaning in American life. Prompted by recent mass shootings, the episode explores how firearms have become more than tools or political symbols and instead function as sacred objects tied to religion, masculinity, and apocalyptic imagination. Dr. Wagner introduces the idea of the “cowboy apocalypse,” a myth rooted in frontier nostalgia, the fantasy of the lone hero, and the belief that violence can restore order in a chaotic world. Toge...