Back to School Shootings

About Back to School Shootings

School shootings, mass shootings, extremism, terrorism, and systemic gun violence are not separate domains. They all sit at the intersection of risk, security, education, and technology/artificial intelligence (AI). riedmanreport.substack.com (https://riedmanreport.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

David Riedman, PhD

Category

education · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Jan 2024

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

102 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Sandy Hook mother asks if we’re doing the right things to prevent school shootings

   What if some of the things we’re doing to make our schools safer are actually making them less safe? That’s the uncomfortable question at the heart of Scarlett Lewis’s conversation with school safety expert Dr. David Riedman, creator of the K–12 School Shooting Database. As the mother of a six-year-old murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Scarlett has spent nearly 14 years thinking about school safety. And she has become convinced that we need to ask harder questions not just about how we respond when violence happens, but how we prevent a child from ever getting to the point of wanting to hurt themselves or someone else. David has spent years studying the data, and what he’s finding challenges some of the conventional wisdom about school safety. Here’s where their conversation gets really interesting. Have we become so focused on protecting kids from danger that we’re unintentionally taking away some of the things that help protect them in the first place? Connection. Belonging. Community. Independence. Real-world relationships. David challenges the billions spent on hardening schools and asks whether some fear-based measures actually create unintended consequences. Even more concerning, he describes a disturbing new phenomenon he calls “influencer extremism (https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/another-influencer-extremism-school?utm_source=publication-search),” where vulnerable young people who don’t feel seen or valued in the real world can find recognition, belonging and even status in online communities that glorify violence. Full episode of the Choose Love Movement Podcast: #160 - Dr. David Riedman, Are Fear-Based Approaches Making Our Schools Less Safe? (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/160-dr-david-riedman-are-fear-based-approaches-making/id1462946605?i=1000788660345) David Riedman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-riedman-90088b132/), PhD is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database (http://k12ssdb.org/) and a tenure-track professor. Listen to my podcast—Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education & Security (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/podcast)—or my interviews on Freakonomics Radio (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/school-shooting-is-final-link-in) and the New England Journal of Medicine (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/keeping-schools-safe-with-evidence). Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security at riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe (https://riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   1 Aug 2026

   Ep 75. Cultural geography of gun violence

   Guest: Colin Woodward is a NYT bestselling historian and scholar of US regionalism, the sociology of US nationhood, and how our colonial past shapes and explains the present. He is the author of American Nations, Union, American Character, Nations Apart, and the director of the Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University (https://www.nationhoodlab.org/)’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. References: * Gun violence risk isn’t equal across the country (https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/gun-violence-risk-isnt-equal-across?utm_source=publication-search) * The American Nations regions across North America (https://www.nationhoodlab.org/the-american-nations-regions-across-north-america/) * The Geography of U.S. Gun Violence (https://www.nationhoodlab.org/the-geography-of-u-s-gun-violence/) David Riedman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-riedman-90088b132/), PhD is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database (http://k12ssdb.org/) and a tenure-track professor. Listen to my podcast—Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education & Security (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/podcast)—or my interviews on Freakonomics Radio (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/school-shooting-is-final-link-in) and the New England Journal of Medicine (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/keeping-schools-safe-with-evidence). Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security at riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe (https://riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   3 Jun 2026

   Help bring 'The Relentless School Nurse' home (Ep 2 rewind)

   Robin Cogan, the former president of the National Association of School Nurses and the guest on episode 2 of my podcast back in June 2024 (Can School Nurses Prevent the Next School Shooting?) has been diagnosed with a sudden onset terminal illness while traveling out of state. Her family needs help paying for medical flight back to New Jersey. While I never met Robin in person, from my virtual interactions she was an extremely kind and caring woman who was committed to children’s wellness. Robin also setup our joint interview on the New England Journal of Medicine podcast (What We Don’t Know about School Shooter Drills — ITT Episode 18 (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2308309)). Here is the info from Robin’s GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-robin-home-r69n4?attribution_id=sl:d87150ae-729b-4c3a-9c07-2b55b0e8095a&lang=en_US&ts=1780505378&utm_campaign=pd_ss_icons&utm_content=amp17_tb-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link): Robin is one of those people who makes every room brighter — a devoted friend, colleague, and beloved member of the Nursing community. She has always been there for others, offering support and kindness in times of need. Now, Robin is facing a terminal diagnosis that came on suddenly and without warning, and she is currently hospitalized in Virginia, far from the home and family she loves in Cherry Hill, NJ. Her wish — and the wish of her family — is to bring her home, to be surrounded by the people who love her most in the place where she belongs. To make that possible, Robin needs to be transported by medical airplane. This is an expense her family simply cannot bear alone during this impossibly difficult time. The emotional and financial strain has been overwhelming, but the hope of bringing Robin home keeps everyone going. We are asking for your help to give Robin this gift: the chance to come home. No amount is too small. If you cannot give financially, please share this page — it makes a real difference. Your support means the world to Robin and her family, and together, we can help her return to the comfort and love of her community. Please consider donating to her GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-robin-home-r69n4?attribution_id=sl:d87150ae-729b-4c3a-9c07-2b55b0e8095a&lang=en_US&ts=1780505378&utm_campaign=pd_ss_icons&utm_content=amp17_tb-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link). David Riedman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-riedman-90088b132/), PhD is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database (http://k12ssdb.org/), Chief Data Officer at a global risk management firm (https://www.merrillherzog.com/), and a tenure-track professor. Listen to my podcast—Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education & Security (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/podcast)—or my interviews on Freakonomics Radio (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/school-shooting-is-final-link-in) and the New England Journal of Medicine (https://k12ssdb.substack.com/p/keeping-schools-safe-with-evidence). Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Riedman Report: Risk, AI, Education, & Security at riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe (https://riedmanreport.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

Who has been a guest on Back to School Shootings

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Muzeeb Shaik
• John Costello
• Mike Palazzolo
• Adithya Pattabhiramaiah
• Shrihari Sridhar

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.2 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Back to School Shootings

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Back to School Shootings