On this episode, contributing writer Jake Fogelman and I discuss the financial situation of the country’s largest gun group.

We recently obtained the NRA’s 2020 annual report and compared it to previous ones to get a broad view of what the group’s books look like. Despite years of operating in the red, recent internal turmoil over corruption allegations, and the pandemic, the group is back to running a surplus. A rather large one of about $54 million, in fact.

But that came about as a result of massive spending cuts. As revenues fell by more than $78 million from 2018 to 2020, the NRA cut more than $124 million in spending over that time to keep pace. Political spending took a $50 million hit. Gun safety training was slashed in half.

Then Mike Willever from the Active Self Protection podcast joined me to talk about the most incredible self-defense stories he’s chronicled so far. He also provides insight from his 25-year-long law enforcement career and how those skills translate to the podcasting world. He also talks about the overheated and misleading nature of political and gun news.

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