What's new

"[He] introduced the gun as a character to people who don't know anything about guns," says Barrett.

That publicity helped the Glock, as did its frequent mention in rap lyrics.

"The Glock was adopted early on by some of the biggest names — Tupac, Dr. Dre. As soon as it appeared here, they began to embrace it for its dark, futuristic side," he says. "The fact that it looked tough, [had a] large magazine capacity, and, not incidentally, the fact that it rhymed so well with words you might want to use in rap lyrics. Within the space of a few years, you not only had the Glock showing up in lyrics — you had song titles with the name in it and people changing their stage names to incorporate Glock into them."

Gun Control And Debate

In 1991, the first Glock shooting spree took place in Texas. Twenty people were killed. Hours after the shooting, members of Congress were debating whether guns like the Glock should be restricted.

"It took awhile, but by 1994, a bill was passed — this is what we remember as the Assault Weapons Bill — and was signed into law by President Clinton," says Barrett. "It had a variety of restrictions. One of them was limiting the pistol magazine capacity to 10 rounds."

The legislation, which expired in 2004, was initially seen as a terrible blow to the Glock. But the company quickly found a way to use the ban on high-capacity magazines to their advantage, he says.

"Glock had seen this bill coming for years and had been running the factory nonstop — three shifts a day, seven days a week — building up the large-capacity firearms and the large-capacity magazines," he says. "When the law was enacted, it allowed for a loophole that grandfathered in pre-existing equipment before the ban went into effect. [And] Glock had this huge stockpile of the very equipment that many gun owners wanted to get because it was banned — and the value of that equipment skyrocketed."

“ Glock's executives would pop up on television and say, 'Who are you accusing of putting guns on the street? We've done business with the very business in the city that's suing us. It is their guns on the street.'

The issue in this week's podcast is about follow-through. Yes, there have been hearings on gun legislation, but what will get passed? Yes, there's a bipartisan group of senators working on immigration changes, but what will Congress ultimately do? Plus: John Kerry leaves the Senate and history is made in his (temporary) successor. And two more senators say they've had enough.

The iconic black cabs of London got a lift Friday when a Chinese company rescued the British automaker that manufactures the taxis. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said it will pay $17.5 million to buy Manganese Bronze Holdings, which has been making the cabs since 1899.

"We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of MBH's business and we are determined to restore the fortunes of this totemic marque which is known, recognised and admired all around the world," said Li Shufu, group chairman at Geely, according to The Telegraph.

Last year, Manganese had to recall 400 of its newest vehicles after a mechanical defect was found, leaving hundreds of cabbies unable to ply their trade, as Vicki Barker reported for Weekend Edition Saturday.

The company went into administration — a form of creditor protection — on Oct. 30, Bloomberg News said. Prior to that, Manganese had 274 workers. That number has fallen to 107 employees.

The Two-Way

Scientists Find Studying For Test To Become London Cabbie Enlarges Brain

The grim headlines just keep coming. This week it's former NFL kicker Tom Dempsey. Age 66, Dempsey suffers from dementia. During his football career he endured three diagnosed concussions and, almost certainly, several undiagnosed ones. As The New York Times notes, his neurologist was "astonished by the amount of damage" visible on Dempsey's brain scans.

Earlier this month researchers announced that the brain of Junior Seau, the former NFL linebacker who committed suicide last spring, showed signs of the kind of neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head trauma. A causal link between the type of skull-jarring hits that professional football players experience and long-term degenerative brain disease, including dementia, is no longer in serious question (see this technical report from the scientific journal Brain and this blog post about traumatic brain injury in women).

As NPR reports, more than 3,800 football players have by now sued the NFL over their head injuries. That's a staggering number.

And here it is again, time for the biggest, splashiest football event of the year. On Sunday, this year's Super Bowl contest is to be played in New Orleans between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. As anthropologists are fond of reminding us, Super Bowl watching is a cultural ritual. Even the glitzy new commercials can be fun to scrutinize, making it easy enough to kick back with some good food and drink and forget the brain-trauma news.

Sweetness And Light

Love Of Football May Kick America Down The Path Of Ruination