The Daily Show: Ears Edition - What Can America Learn from Swiss Gun Culture?| Beyond the Scenes

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

In light of the recent tragedy at the Covenant School in Nashville, we revisit our examination of  how Switzerland can have so many guns per capita but no mass shootings. Host Roy Wood Jr. sits down with correspondent Michael Kosta, field producer Stacey Angeles, and their producer from Switzerland, Pierre-Adrian Irlé, to discuss how the country’s approach to military service and common sense laws have created a safe gun culture.  #DailyShow #BeyondTheScenes Watch the original segments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjlT4BME2aE Beyond the Scenes is a podcast from The Daily Show. Listen to new episodes every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts, or watch at YouTube.com/TheDaily Show See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey, Ears Edition, listener. It's Roywood Jr. correspondent for the Daily Show. You're about to hear an episode of one of our original Daily Show told the show of one of our original daily show podcast beyond the scenes. It's the show where we dive deeper into segments and topics that originally aired on the Daily Show,

and the show's writers, producers, and experts. In this episode, I sit down with Daily Show correspondent, Michael Costa, segment director Stacey Angelis, and producer Pierre Adrian Early to discuss how Switzerland's approach to military service and common sense laws have created a safe gun culture. We also want to offer our deepest condolences to those affected by the recent tragedy at the Covenant School in Nashville.

Hey, what's up? I'm Roy Wood Jr. Now, have you ever gone to the music store to buy a CD? Remember CDs, young people? Back in the day you had to show up the music store to buy a CD? Remember CDs, young people? Back in the day, you had to show up to a building to buy music. Well, they used to have something called bonus tracks. You would have a CD, and then at the end of the CD, would be music that you didn't even know was on the CD. Bonus tracks. That's what this podcast is. This podcast is the bonus track to what is the daily show. We're talking about correspondence, writers, producers, and past guests who've been on the show

to go a little deeper into topics that we've already seen explored on the show and to also see where we are today on those issues. We go beyond, beyond the scenes. So this week we want to talk about a two-part segment where Michael Costa went over to Switzerland to explore the gun laws. And so, you know, they don't really have a lot of mass shootings in Switzerland, but everybody owns a gun. Here's a little piece from that segment. When it comes to gun culture, Switzerland has a few more regulations than America. And thanks to these gun regulations and strict ammunition control, Switzerland has a murder rate of nearly zero.

Sure, that's a great statistic, but how safe can it really be? How many school shootings have there been? No. What about malls? People get shot up at major holidays here? Nothing. This is the dream. Shooting guns without the fear of getting shot?

This is where America should be. All we need to do is keep ammo separate and have universal, criminal and mental background checks. Have extremely strict open carry laws, justification for ownership, send written requests to authorities, and... Basically just change our entire gun culture. We can do that, right? All right, so to help us go beyond the scenes, we have correspondent and stand-up comedian and, you know what, just an all-around good damn guy, Michael Costa. That's nice. I was wondering what

you were going to say, but thank you Roy. You know we fucking, we go way back to our Los Angeles today pre-daily show. I don't have a lot of friends in that bu bu bu. that that that that that that that that that th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thate to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their the. the. the. the the. the. the. the. the. to to to the. to to to to to to th fucking, we go way back to our Los Angeles today, pre-Daily show. I don't have a lot of friends in that building that predate my employment there. So it's always good. You've always been supportive of my comedy and I appreciate it. Now here we are in the Beyond the Scenes. Going beyond the scene. Did you ever think when we were at In and Out Burger after bombing somewhere on Melrose. No, I did not think that.

Also joining us, I feel producer, Stacey Angelie. Stacey, how are you doing? Good. Thanks for having me and for that depressing intro about CDs. Oh, because you remember CDs as well. Now, I want to also introduce our guests. He was one of our producers, of a slash fix-it. Look, when we do international episodes and we travel abroad, we need somebody over there to make

sure that the shit don't go south. And we need someone to make sure that we know what the hell we're doing while we're in the country. And they can also help us connect the dots because they have a deeper understanding of the issue because they're actually boots on the ground. Pierre Adrian Ehrlich, welcome to us from Switzerland, sir. How are you? Good, thank you for having me. So let's just jump right into it. Costa, what was the genesis of this piece, besides you really wanting to go out of the

country for free on Viacom's dance? That's true. Well, you know, you, you, you, you th, you th, you th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th tho, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, I would tho, I would tho, I would thus, thus thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, th, th, th, th, th, th, th on Viacom's guns. That's true. Well, you know, I would love to claim that this piece originated from the mind of Michael Costa, but as can happen at the Daily Show, I got to the office late probably, and I saw an email that Stacey had pitched to the field department about how Switzerland owns more guns per capita than America and has so few, if any, mass shooting.

So I read Stacy's email and was excited and hoped that I would be the correspondent that could do this piece and it turned out to be true. But Stacey is really the one that I think fired the first shot, if you will. Yes. I see what you did there. Nicely done. Where did this come from, Stacy? Where did this come from Stacey? Well, it was after the Parkland shooting and I mean, I'm from Texas also where there's a lot of guns so I have my opinion about guns were. And then I remembered, I wanted to do a piece because it just felt like it was getting worse and worse. And I loved the John Oliver old Daily Show piece in Australia.

It was like a great example of, you know, successful gun control legislation. But I was like, there's no way in hell America is going to get rid of all their guns. That's just not going to happen. So I started like Googling countries that had a lot of guns, but you know know no mass shootings or very minimal you know gun violence. Do you hear that listeners? She did some god damn research. I googled. Oh okay well yeah that's still research. And then I it at the time the top three places that had gun that was that had guns was I forgot what number one was, oh, it was America. And then number two was Yemen,

and then three was Switzerland. And I was like, well, Yemen's in a civil war and I did, I too wanted a free trip to another country if it got approved, so that's how it happens. But really, like, if you would have picked countries, if you would have a lot of gun, the toeeeeeaaauffffffffffffffffffiiauffia, thion, thion, thia, thia, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, th.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th.. th.. th. th, th..... th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that, that, was, that, was, was, that, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, theea. thea. the, the countries that didn't have a lot of gun violence, the easy answer would have been, yeah, but they don't have any guns. The beauty of this pitch and story is that Switzerland has a lot of guns and a lot of assault rifles. And that surprised me too because it's obviously a very depressing topic,

but I was like, when you think of Switzerland, you think of like, you know, neutral, sorry, Pierre if I'm insulting, you know, but you think of like, you know, chocolate and and fun. You just, you don't think of guns. And so I was like, maybe this is the best way to approach a dark topic by putting it in a, in a vehicle that has like, that is known for like, you know, pure bliss. Welcome to Switzerland, a neutral country most known for its cobblestone streets perfect for skipping, its clocks, sophisticated pocket knives and guns. Even from a place of conflict, Switzerland is like, it's almost like a euphemism for just, I'm not in it, I'm not involved. Whatever you all are arguing about over there, I'm over here. I'm Switzerland. Like that was always the perception. Pierre, before we get into, you know, kind of your role and, you know, in helping to produce

this piece and your thoughts on it, first, what is the perception of America in Switzerland when it comes to violence, just in general? I think it's, it's, it's, it's the perception is that it's kind of the jungle law when it comes to gun ownership and how people can actually go to the supermarket and buy a gun. And that seems a little bit shocking from Europe, not only from Switzerland, but from a European perspective, because there is so many of these what so-called common sense rules that you have to provide background check and so on and so forth. So I think that's the main perception and maybe also misunderstanding of the culture of guns in the US is how the hell can you go in a supermarket and buy a gun and then do whatever you want? You can also buy groceries at that same supermarket, Pierre.

And I don't appreciate you generalizing our... Yeah, you don't see tomatoes getting regulated, Pierre. I mean it is crazy. I remember I told Pierre, I have a friend in Texas that has over 30 guns. Like we counted them, he has over 30. And I just think that's the most, like that wouldn't happen in Switzerland. You know how easy it is to get a gun in the U.S. I just go to Walmart, give them the money a gun. I know. My uncle Paul, tho, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, I's, I's, I's, I's, I'm, I's, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I'm the the tho, I'm tho, tho, tho.ea.ea.ea'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a, tho.e. And, I'm tha, I'm tha, he's got a bunch of guns. My brother Todd is a gun. You want to use it? Boom, borrow for the weekend. That's nice.

Not really. In Switzerland, you can get a gun from your grandparents or from your father, but you still have to do the paperwork. Even if I get a gun for my grandpa, I still got to tell the cops about it? Yeah. states in America, you can buy a gun almost immediately without any background check. But not in Switzerland. You apply the permit from the police. You provide clearance of your criminal record that you don't have any convictions.

Wait for two weeks. What if it's a small crime? What if you got caught to sleeping with your cousin because you didn't know it was a cousin because it was at your family reunion and she looked like she worked at catering. What if it's like assaulting a police officer but really you were just tickling them? If you can't be responsible of following some other simple rules in society to behave why should you have a gun? All right so Kassel for the people who haven't seen the guns in Switzerland piece just walk us through some of it because I know that Switzerland has thi the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. to bea. the. I to be. I to be. I th. I to be. to be. th. to be. I to be. I their. I was. I was. I was. I was. their. their.... their... their... their. I was... I was. I was. I was. I's is is is is is is is is is is is is. And, the the th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. t. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. their. And, their their their Switzerland piece, just walk us through some of the beats of it because I know that Switzerland has these wild gun laws and everybody has a

gun but there are no shootings. What were you all exactly unpacking in the piece? Yeah, you know, there's there's compulsory military involvement and when you turn 18 in Switzerland you are assigned an assault rifle and just as an American listen to that and just, and think about that. So, wait, Kassner, so everybody just, you're 18, here's your gun. You're gun.

I think that, Pierre, is that right? Yeah, that's correct. Every man at 18 years old gets in all in the army. It's a militia army. And basically, whether you are in the office or on the ground or in the Air Force, you receive this assault rifle. It's a SIG 550, we call it Fast 90, and it's a pretty badass gun, actually.

And so to meet and go to a culture that has so many weapons of war, we're not talking about a little tiny handgun, we're talking about assault rifles, right? Pretty much the same guns that are used in such the tragic offense in America. To go to a country that has that same passion but doesn't have the murder, doesn't have the tragedy, doesn't have the elementary school deaths, was something something something th.. th. that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the the the the, the, the, that has that same passion, but doesn't have the murder, doesn't have the tragedy, doesn't have the elementary school deaths, was something that I was genuinely very interested in learning and hope that we can all learn from. So I think what's interesting to say about the gun laws and culture in Switzerland is you basically, you can carry your gun and what's interesting

also is that the army once you're done with the army you can keep your gun for the rest of your life as a souvenir actually but you cannot carry the ammo with you so your ammo has to stay at the base and so that's just so for you when when if shit hits the fan you have your gun go to the base and then you get the the ammo. that's just so for you when, if shit hits the fan, you have your gun, you go to the base and then you get the ammo. That's in theory. But in practice, we all have those guns under the bed without the ammo. And that's, the way to buy ammo, Pierre? You cannot buy ammo easily in a way that you go just to the shop and say,

hey, I want that ammo and you have to register. They will ask for your name, look if you're basically allowed to buy ammunition. So I think that's also interesting when it comes to a gun is nothing without the ammo. And it's all about, how do you separate the two things in a way that, yeah, you have guns every that, that, yeah, you have that, you have that, you have that, you have that, you have that, you have that, you have that, you have that, that, I have that, I have that, I have that, I that, I that, I that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I that, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the, thi, thi, tha, thin, the, tha, that, that, that, that, that, that, that also interesting when it comes to a gun is nothing without the ammo. And it's all about how do you separate the two things in a way that yeah, you have guns everywhere but you don't have ammo and guns everywhere. That's a big difference. Another interesting thing for me that I discovered in the piece is the entire, the popular gun culture because when you're in the Army you have to shoot once a year for training, that's compulsory. And so you have all these little clubs in the regions where you go and shoot

and those clubs have developed into introducing shooting, but sports shooting to young people, to teenagers and so on. So you go there and you actually see those 12-year-teenager shooting but there's no relationship to violence. It's all about precision and the interesting thing is as soon as they can use a compressed air rifle they'll do it because it's just more precise. And so it just shows that it's all about the sports, the precision, rather than the violence and the relationship to violence. So that I discovered during the segment in the prep, and it was super interesting for me as well. I decided to embrace this culture and hang with the only group that would let me in.

Wow, yeah, you guys got AR-15s here, huh? Meet the Shooting Society of Press. It was time to show these Swiss fondues how Americans shoot guns. I missed? I missed. You ever take your gun to school? No.

We don't are American. You're not American? No. OK, well I can say that but he can't. He's fucking Swiss kids, huh? Even if it is true, because the fact is, for Swiss kids, life with guns is very different. Nothing happens. It's not like, like in the US where you have those mass shootings. So your son, when he goes to school, he just has to worry about school? Yeah, catching the bus the bus the bus the bus the bus the the the the the the the the th, the th, thiiiiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thanananananananananananan, is togee ans, toge, togs, togs, togs, togs, toge, t to worry about school. Yeah, catching the bus sometime. What's the distance that they shoot at? Is it 300 meters?

300 meters, yeah. Okay. So Roy, we're in the Swiss countryside. Keep talking. I know. It's like, uh, it's like three football fields, so to speak. A way. It's long. Thousand feet. So we are in the Swiss countryside. I'm with these like 12 13 year old boys and girls and they are shooting assault rifles 300 meters away at

targets. Now there's cows just chilling close to the targets okay real big Swiss cows with bells on. So I say as a dumb 39-year-old American, I go, hey, kids, you ever like take a couple shots at the cows? And they looked at me like, I was insane. They looked at me like, one, they never even thought of that. Two, that wouldn't be right. Three, you know, it's just like, my dumb American culture like, yo, what can you wipe out with this gun? And these kids were like, I'm trying to hit the target.

I'm not even thinking about it. You know, like, that's why you don't get a gun cost. That's why, exactly. But that is the epitome of this American mentality of fun or guns. And immediately made a new regulation. And I think that was the separate ammo one. Is that it? Okay, so, and the reason I bring that up is regulations work.

They are successful, and I just wish we, no one's trying to take away American's guns. I wish we, I put myself in this, would do a much better job at regulating that. It's like the old Chris Rock joke, the least America could do, it started charging like $500 for a bullet. So if you shoot somebody, you got to really mean it. Yeah. It's expensive. Yeah.

We sat down in the second part. We sat down at a shooting festival with the former prime minister of Switzerland and he said something that was so simple but so powerful and it was that here in Switzerland we respect guns. And you can, we can talk in and out hours and hours about these pieces. At the end of the day, that is what it comes down to. You give an 18-year-old male assault rifle, and they have the respect to not use it

against their fellow man and woman. Costa, as you're unpacking this, you know, because this is a two-part piece, which isn't the norm on the daily show. So it's a lot to bite off but this is also one of your first pieces dude. I'm just gonna be honest when I first started here I felt pressure every day it was oh my god they're gonna fire me oh he looked at me funny the first week I was at the daily show two of the dogs bark at me we have dogs in the office and I was like they're gonna fire the fucking dog tap meme and I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to. the the the the to. the the to. the the to. the the the the the the the the the to to tap me? I think I'm not doing a good job. So was there a lot of pressure? Did you feel a lot of pressure rather? Well, and you know Roy as a stand-up comic, like, you're only as good as your last job.

So there is always this feeling of I better deliver. This was an earlier piece of mind. It was international. I probably being new, didn't realize kind of how big that was. The flight is more expensive. The hotel, this is also Switzerland where a chicken sandwich is like $53. So I, you know, I feel more pressure doing pieces that I am not so interested in. This was truly fascinating to me.

And so I was genuinely interested, and I do think that that comes off in the piece. As someone who, I believe, is pretty American. And for the most part, understands our passion for guns. I'm not saying I agree with how we executed, but I understand maybe how we got here. Well after the break I want to talk with you a little bit more Pierre about the people of Switzerland, what it was like being on the ground helping to produce this piece and I want to hear more about this $55 chicken sandwich because you know I'm a connoisseur of chicken. That's a separate episode

of the podcast. We'll be right back. Pierre, you do a lot of production work and you are a person that is on the ground in Switzerland, you know, connecting the dots on a lot of different journalistic issues. What was it like working in an international capacity? The thing that I'm always curious about is how our brand of humor will translate in another country. So let's just start with that. What did you think of Costa? What did you think of Stacey?

What did you think of the piece? First of all, I think we had a lot of prep work with Stacey, and we worked very well together in prepping this segment? And it was a lot of thuu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thus thu thu. thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. the the the the to to to to to to to to to to toa toa toa. toa toa. toa toau. to to to to to to to together in prepping this segment. And it was a lot of fun, actually. We were a really good group and traveling in a little van across the country and we have so much fun that it was really hard to handle. But overall, I think that workingthat working with an American production is fairly easy

in a way that we share the same humor, I think, sort of the same sense of humor, would probably be more difficult with a Japanese or Chinese production, which doesn't have the same humoristic standards at all. And what was really interesting for me is I'm not a gun specialist at all, so I had to learn a lot, and it was the opportunity for me really to dig into that culture of guns in Switzerland. And I was fascinating to really understand how opposite is it from the U.S. gun culture, and we can say a little

bit more about that later. Can I step into brag about Pierre for a second too? Because I didn't know where to begin and I would just be like, you know, Pierre, I read this, this, this, is this true? Can, like, that kid start training at 12 at guns shooting after school? And then the next day, like that that that that the the th the th th th th th th to to to to to to to to to to to to to thi, to thi, to the thi, thi, the thi, the thi, thi, thi, toe, to to thi, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe, toe, toe, toe, to be, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, they... Wee, theyy.e, the the the the the the the the the.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. Ande. And, toe. And, toe next day, like we became like BFFs, we were like Skyping all the time. The next day, he actually went to a place, scouted it, met the students, met and like gave me pictures and videos and was like, you want the releases?

They already said yes. And I was just like, can we, can we, can you move to America? He was just so great and on top of everything and then I was like who are people who think American gun culture is great and he would have a list ready so I just wanted to brag about how great he was tort like you sorry. Because and that's a thing that's very that I think goes understated about the daily show in our productions and how when you show up somewhere to try to film people to have a legitimate conversation yes there's going to beto be humor, but we're not out to make you look like an idiot. That's a very delicate conversation because the only scary thing to point at someone than a gun is a camera.

So you're coming in with all of this equipment, like, hey, they're cool. So Costa, I was going to talk to you about this a little later, but since we're on it, what was it like? Just what you're a father, I assume your child is not a gun owner at what, two now? Yeah, my child is not a gun owner. I didn't have a kid then. You know, now if someone said, you're going to Switzerland for a week, I'd go, can I go for a month? You know, I haven't slept. You know, but look, there was a, there's there's there's there's there's there's there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a very there's a very there's a very there's a very, but look, there was a, there's a very wonderful, comedic, poignant, half a second shot in this piece of a man or woman, I forget, pushing a baby in a baby stroller, and their assault rifle is underneath the baby in that little part of the stroller. Where the diaper bag goes.

When I, in the second part, when I walked into the shooting festival and I saw people holding a beer in a left hand and an assault rifle over their shoulder, I stopped and I said, what am I doing here? Do I want to walk into this? The feeling of assault rifle and violence are tied together and I didn't feel super warm. Now it takes about two minutes for the Swiss to be nice to you and welcome you and say, come on in here and they called me a pussy because I was wearing a bulletproof vest. And I liked him immediately but yeah it was it was jarring.

To learn more about their gun culture I attended Ian Jochism Festival, the world's largest annual shooting festival right here and holy f-h-h-h-hoo that's a lot of guns. Even that baby has a gun. There's not enough training in the world to prepare me for this so I brought my two-s the th. the th. the the th. th. the th. th. the, it the, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was the, it was the, it was the, it was the, it was the, it was the, it was, it was the, it was th-it, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was it was it was it was it was it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was the, it was the, it, it was the, it, it, it the, it the, it to-in, it to-in, the, to-in, the, the, the, theat-a, theat, theat, theat, thin, theat, the the-y-a, theat, theat, it was theirtraining in the world to prepare me for this, so I brought my two secret weapons, my translator, Pierre, and my supermanly rock-hard American vest. Why are you wearing a pussy vest? What did he say, Pierre? Pussy vest?

Ah, that's funny. Why aren't you wearing a pussy vest? People are walking around with guns? Because it's safe. Oh, God, what is that? What is that? Hold on. Get it.

Get it. They're shooting. They're shooting. They're shooting. They're shooting. Now, I will also's this guy Pierre, he's really setting us up, he's really smart. So we knew it was going to be a good piece. There's also been a piece. There was a Pfizer factory in Ireland and the locals were claiming that they would get extra strong erections because Viagra was seeping into their drinking water. So we hired

a fixer in Ireland to go check it out. it was all bullshit it wasn't a real story. So then we don't fly to Ireland, we don't spend the time and the money and the energy shooting that piece. You really wanted to do that piece. I thought that piece was hilarious. But thankfully the person we hired in Ireland was like, this is all just a joke. But when you hire Pierre and you see, oh there is something here, it's that knowledge, it's that local knowledge that makes you go, okay, we can do it. And Pierre was like a fluffer because people were hesitant to have us, you know, they're like, who are these Americans? And they all have this view of us. And Pierre was also good with it. He was right, and we had the same since he knew American gun culture was like shitty, and he knew that there's was better than thi.... their. there's, there's, there's, there's, there, their, there, there, their, their, there, their, there, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, people people people people people people people people people, because people, because people, because people, because people, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. people people people thi, thi, thi, thi. People thi. People who thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People were thi. People better than us. But he also made it like acceptable for people to talk to us because there's always that barrier, that wall, and he helped make us look,

you know, legit and acceptable. We would never have spoken to the prime minister of Switzerland if it weren't for Pierre, also because we wouldn't have known he was sitting there. How did that happen, Pierre? Because I know, in America, our politicians fade into the moment they're out of office, they're like, fuck you, I'm not sitting here answering more questions about the world. I quit my job. So how do you get the prime minister on board? So we were at this, this kind of shooting party, would say. It's called this countryside shooting.

Uh, I've heard of a gun club, which is more exclusive. It's sort of an outdoors. A jubilee, a bullet shooting jubilee, if you will. Exactly. Guns and beers, this was an American wet dream. But something was different in this country. We respect arms, and if we respect it, it's not the problem. Why should I listen to this drunk Swiss roll?

I was president for five years. You're telling me I'm having beer with the former president of Switzerland. Yes. Cheers. Nowhere else could a former president be surrounded by thousands of firearms with no security. How can we get America to feel this safe? That's your problem. That's my problem. Well that's as neutral as it gets. It's kind of this yearly event where every region in Switzerland organizes its own kind of shooting events outdoors in the fields.

And it's sort of important for every region. And that Prime Minister character was there, because it's his hometown, or his region, basically. So he was there and probably has still some some activity in you know associations and stuff and it's important for him to be there I guess with a group of people and show up so he was sitting there and I was also a little bit impressed that we just came across him. No bodyguard, nothing. He was just sitting there and actually having a couple of beers

with his friends. That helps. But do you remember period? I go, oh my god, there's the president of social. And I go, what now? And you're like, no, I said something like, president of a club? President of a c I was thinking it was president of a club, president of something else. He goes, no, president of our country. And I go, what? Former, former president. Yeah. Like, but I was just like, that's absurd because even

former presidents of our country, I mean, granted, you know, America is a lot bigger than Switzerland, but it was just. But that's the thing also you mentioned Stacy, the whole challenge of this piece, at least for me on, th. the th. the th. the th. th. th. the th. the th. the th. th. th. the thi. thi. the thi. thi. thi. their, thi. thi. their, their, their, their, thi. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. th. th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, pre-pre. Pres. Pres. Pre-s. Pres. Pre-s. Pres. Pres. Pres. their, former, former, former, former, former president, former, former, former, former, former, former, their, the whole challenge of this piece, at least for me as a producer, was to make sure that we had access to all the clubs and the people and because it still is a sensitive topic. I mean gun culture everywhere, even in Switzerland, it's a very sensitive topic. And when you go in a shooting range with cameras and Americans, the first thing they'll think is, oh, they're going to show basically show us shooting and we don't control what they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going they're going their their their their their their their their their their the first thing they'll think is, oh, they're gonna show basically, show us shooting and we don't control what they're gonna say about us and so on. So that was a little bit of a challenge,

take a lot of time in prep to introduce the show to those people, and make them sure that we're gonna be friendly and not making fun of them, but actually doing something good. And worked out a little bit the same when we meet like the former president of Switzerland, we have just to introduce ourselves in a certain way, so we'll make sure that it works out. And that's the magic of Piero.

It's the magic of Pierre. Yeah, I guess what you're saying, Pierre is that essentially setting up these segments in a country the the same's the magic of Pierre. Yeah, I guess what you're saying Pierre is it essentially setting up these segments in a country as an unknown foreign outlet. It's kind of like buying cocaine from someone you never met before and you've got to earn their truck a person. Yeah. Although, well, never done that, but I guess so... me neither of course of course me neither uh... after the break uh... here i want to ask you and a cost as well what do you think american stand to learn from the gun culture in in switzalain it's beyond the scenes we'll be right back

pier now first of all i did some googling during the break and apparently switzel Switzerland has a president, not a prime minister, my apologies if I've disrespected the honor of your country by calling that dude a prime minister. Apologies accepted.

What do you think Americans could learn from the Swiss on just gun safety and like, how do you all not murder and help us not murder? I think what Costa said before it's all about respect the gun and why do the Swiss respect the guns I think is ingrained in the culture because when you receive a gun from the army so basically from the state, when you're 18 years old, this is quite impressive. It's probably the first time someone trusts you in your life with something so important. And in return, you owe that respect, I guess, and there is an entire organization around. I mean, even the idea alone that the military is who provides you the weapon is interesting. And it's interesting, and it's an interesting, and it's, it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's, and it's an the, it's an the, it's an the, it's an the, it's an the th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, it's thi, thi, thi, thi, it, it, it, it, thi, thi, this, this, this, this, this, this, thi, this, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the the the the the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, this, this, this, this, this is, this, this is this is quite thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. mean, even the idea alone that the military is who provides you the weapon is interesting,

and it sends a very clear message that this is a weapon of war. This isn't a hunting device. This isn't a recreational toy. I mean, I know this would be crazy in America, but if you want an assault rifle in America, that's fine. The United States military will present it to you. That might change things a little bit. But I think that's really interesting, Costa, because the big difference between the two cultures is in Switzerland, the state gives you that gun to protect the state, and I think in the US,

the individual buys that gun to protect himself against the state. And that's the complete opposite. Yeah, and look, we're different countries, right? With different histories. And this country, United States, is founded on rebelling against the English and having, in defending itself against the state. So it is different and that's one thing that would be dumb if I didn't mention. These are entirely different countries and entirely different histories. And I'm not saying America has to copy Switzerland, but there's things we can learn from that.

That's fair. That's very fair. Now, was there anything, I forgot to ask you all this earlier, was there anything that didn't make it into the piece that you wish had? Because I know when you go shoot overseas and I've been on shoots with Stacy, there's always so much to see. Oh, get that. You guys are good sports. We did have an interview, and actually this is a good time to chat with Pierre's mediator

because he didn't speak any English. His name was Jean Luke, and from my understanding, he loved American gun culture and wanted the Switzerland gun culture to be more like America, more gun freedom. But we ended up cutting that. I think it's th, th, that that th, that th, th, that, th, th, th, thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. We's, th. We's, th. We's, th. We's, and we's, and we's, and we th. And, and, and, thi, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, theean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, that, that, thi. And, th America, more gun freedom. But we ended up cutting that. I don't remember why. I think it's because we already know that point of view, because he kind of had an American point of view, but Pierre can clarify that because, again, we didn't understand one thing you said. Yeah, well, Jean Lucado, he's a right, like, right wing politician and lobbyist for an more open gun culture than it is even.

And what's interesting is we got to interview his opponent, so Lisa Matsuna, who's actually in the segment. And I think the arguments we all know them, right? They're pretty much the same with this that you have in the US. It's self-defense, it's freedom, it's this and that. But overall, I think even the far right-wing politician wants to have proper gun laws. It's not like completely out in the wild. So.

Roy, you know, I don't know if you can relate to this, but I got steamroll that interview. I mean, I came in wanting to hear his point of view so I could have something to respond to. But, like any well-seasoned successful politician, this mothocker did not stop talking, okay? And I'm trying to get in there, but, thin that their thin. But, but, that, that, but, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, I that, I thi thi thi thi thi, I'm thi, I'm thin, I thin, I'm thin, I'm to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thin, I I I thin, I I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin, Ithis motherfucker did not stop talking. Okay? And I'm trying to get in there, but we're also waiting on Pierre, who is not a UN translator, okay? He just happens to speak French, so he's trying to translate this guy who won't stop talking. He's then to explain, you know, Pierre was wearing so only half the definition. Yeah, it was very hard. I think, if I would love to go back into that interview again

because I would literally put my handover's mouth and say, stop talking for a second and let me just. So, as a correspondent, I learned from that interview and I think that more experience on the job would have been helpful, but that didn't make it also because he didn't shut the fuck up. Yeah, he was actually super, super calculated and he baby gave us, he made us wait for a long time, like he was a prince or something, and then he made us, he gave us maybe like 15 minutes,

and his answers were so long, so by the time it came for Pierre to translate, it was like, he knew he was eating up more time. But that was like, whatever, screw that guy not being in it, but I did want to give Costa a shout-out for being a good sport because there were stunt things that were cut out, that he really put his body through, because we made Costa do a lot of stuff to show off Switzerland stereotypes in the beginning before we introduced the idea that they had a lot, th......... And, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, they, they, they, they, they, they, thr, thr, thri, thrii, toge, toge, toda, thruu.a, thri, they, they, they, they, they, they, the beginning before we introduced the idea that they had a lot of guns. And so there was one part where it's like, you know, Switzerland known for cobblestone streets, chocolate, fondue, whatever. And then like there are many rivers and there's a river, what's it called Pierre the Burn River? No. It's in the city of Bern. Yeah. Okay, I wasn't too far off. But it's basically like a natural, you know six five so they're. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. the. the. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It. It. It. It. It. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It's like. It lazy river that like that has a natural flow that you can just float in it. It's like a one that goes around the city, no urine, but it has like a really, and so the joke was for Kasa to flow through the frame and

be like, it's many rivers as he was centered and then like flowed away, but the current ended up being super strong. So he would always be a little bit off camera when he like shouted or whatever. So he jumped in there like so many times and he kept getting messed up and he's like, it's like, I'm sorry, you gotta do it again. And people's spectators started gathering and like really rooting for Costa. And then he would just start like improvising be like, what the fuck? Help me, somebody call my mom. And he just kept missing the mark. I mean, it was a really, really hard shot to do. And then at the end, he finally nailed it.

And he had a crowd and they all cheered him on. Never made the piece. And afterwards we all jumped in in solidarity. And it was a cool moment at the end of a tapapapap the shot. And I think we also had goats chasing you. We had you like running away from goats. It was a cool moment at the end of a long day where the whole crew stripped down. And we all jumped in the river of Bern together. It was fun. It was a cool, it was a cool thing that you don't get to do it too often. So Pierre, I'll end with this question to you since you are our foreign

correspondent. Which is more likely to happen? Americans influencing Swiss gun culture or vice versa? Sadly, probably the first, because it's always easier to get a little bit, yeah, more populist than the other way around, especially when it comes to those very controversial things. But I think there is only a certain amount of freedom you will get. I mean, our political system or law are made in a way that you can't just have a situation like in the U.S. And I think, sadly, the other way around, you probably won't be able to have the exact same

thing we have in Switzerland because the culture, the root cause is so different. And so what we can imagine is that in the US, we just get inspired by a few best practices. So as to put yourself back in the right track when it comes to having less mass shootings, having less people dying in the street for nothing, because it's just unacceptable. All right, well, thank you all for kicking back and going beyond the scenes. But me Stacy, I love you, Pierre, when I get over to Switzerland to have one of those $50 chicken sandwiches that I'm now thinking about. Trying to see what that. That's your only take away from this whole podcast is the expensive sandwiches somewhere overseas there. Shut up here.

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