Jens Ludwig, Crime Lab Pritzker Director and author of “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,” pens an op-ed for TIME Magazine arguing that the root cause of gun violence is not what we think it is — rather than a deliberate, rational act, most shootings start with arguments that escalate and end in tragedy because someone has a gun.

The Indicator from Planet Money: What we misunderstand about gun violence

Podcast

NPR

May 2025

The Indicator from Planet Money: What we misunderstand about gun violence

Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig joins NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money podcast to discuss why he believes many of us fundamentally misunderstand the problem of gun violence and how behavioral economics reveals some potential solutions.

Rethinking Gun Violence

Q&A

Vital City

May 2025

Rethinking Gun Violence

Vital City sat down with Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig to discuss his new book, Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,” which shows how changing individual behavior is possible — and that these changes can result in declines in gun violence.