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Uncover the hidden layers of New York City's youth gun culture with the Center for Justice Innovations' Basaime Spate (a Community Based Research Coordinator), Javonte Alexander (a Senior Research Associate), and Elise White (Interim Senior Director of Research and Policy), who, along with Rachel Swaner (Research Director), created the groundbreaking report, "Two Battlefields: Ops, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture." This report takes us into the heart of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to understand the struggle young people face amid peer opposition and police interactions. Through a fusion of lived experience and participatory research, their research — and therefore our conversation — reveals the fear driving gun carrying amongst young people and the importance of actionable outcomes to combat gun violence.

Together, Basaime, Elise, and Javonte break down for hosts JJ and Kelly how fear and safety form the crux of the narrative that prompts youths to arm themselves, a tale that spans personal protection to unpredictable police encounters — and how we can all be contributing to lowering that fear and firearm carrying.

Further reading:
"Two Battlefields: Ops, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture." (Center for Justice Innovation)
Community Researchers Connect with Young Gun-Carriers for Groundbreaking New Report (Center for Justice Innovation)
Safety fears prompt more Brooklyn youths to carry guns, report finds (NY daily news)
The psychology of guns: risk, fear, and motivated reasoning (Palgrave Commun 5)

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Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

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