New Books in Political Science Jens Ludwig, "Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Feb 2, 2026
Jens Ludwig, a University of Chicago crime-and-policy scholar and director of the Crime Lab, discusses why many shootings stem from heated, fleeting interpersonal conflicts rather than premeditated malice. He explores neighborhood differences, behavioral causes like rapid System 1 reactions, low-cost preventive tactics, data-driven time-and-place targeting, and how community programs and policing can work together.
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Gun Violence Is A Persistent Outlier
- Homicide has stubbornly resisted long-term decline while most causes of death fell dramatically over the last century.
- Even recent drops leave the U.S. a global outlier with violent 'unforgiving places' that need targeted action.
Guns Multiply Violence, Not Solely Cause It
- Gun availability raises the lethality of conflicts even if it sometimes deters crime or enables self-defense.
- Ludwig: 'Gun violence equals guns plus violence' — both supply and willingness to shoot matter.
Most Shootings Are Arguments Gone Wrong
- Most shootings are arguments that escalate, not carefully premeditated crimes of profit or desperation.
- That means momentary automatic reactions, not rational calculation, often drive shootings.
