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The Weekly Reload Podcast

The Weekly Reload Podcast

Written by: Stephen Gutowski
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 A podcast from The Reload that offers sober, serious firearms reporting and analysis. It focuses on gun policy, politics, and culture. Tune in to hear from Reload Founder Stephen Gutowski and special guests from across the gun world each week.© 2026 Stephen Gutowski Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • The Man Who Registered a Potato Silencer

    The Man Who Registered a Potato Silencer
    Jan 19 2026
    This week, we're looking at one of the most bizarre and fascinating results of the recent tax cut to the National Firearms Act (NFA): a fully registered potato silencer. To help explain the phenomenon, we have the man who made the device with us on the show. Zachary Clark appears to be the first person to get official Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) approval for a silencer made primarily of a russet potato. He said he did it for the lols, but not just them. Clark, who is a social media manager at the National Association for Gun Rights, argued there is a very real risk to using a potato as a silencer without going through the full registration process. He noted that the ATF has repeatedly argued anything attached to the muzzle of a firearm that reduces the report of a gunshot could be considered a silencer under the NFA. He said without going through the fingerprinting and registration process, it's possible anyone who attempts to use a potato as a silencer could be charged with a federal felony carrying a decade in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. So, Clark said he registered a pair of potatoes as a form of political protest. Or, perhaps, political performance art is a more apt description. Either way, he said he's not expecting backlash from the ATF, even with all the attention he's receiving, but he thinks the agency changing its mind may just make the situation all the more humorous. Special Guest: Zachary Clark.
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    55 mins
  • DOJ Says Federal Gun Mail Ban Unconstitutional; Last NRA-Endorsed Dem Runs for Senate

    DOJ Says Federal Gun Mail Ban Unconstitutional; Last NRA-Endorsed Dem Runs for Senate
    Jan 16 2026
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover a new Department of Justice legal opinion claiming that the US Postal Service's ban on mailing handguns is unconstitutional. We also cover a new campaign from a rare pro-gun Democrat that could shake up the battle for the US Senate in November.
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    50 mins
  • A Look Ahead at Guns in 2026; California Open Carry Ban Struck Down

    A Look Ahead at Guns in 2026; California Open Carry Ban Struck Down
    Jan 8 2026
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I detail some of the biggest potential stories in guns that we are watching for in the new year. We also cover a new ruling out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that found California's practice of limiting open carry unconstitutional. We also discuss the NRA's new lawsuit against its own foundation, which accuses the charity of misusing NRA trademarks and misleading NRA donors in an attempt to retaliate against reform-minded board members who recently took control of the membership organization.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
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