Aired on Sept. 28, 2025

• Political Violence, Charlie Kirk, Assassinations

The September 15th murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the leader of Turning Point USA, on the campus of Utah Valley University leads U.S. historian Dr. Jim Crawford to review and consider the history of political violence in the US. This discussion tackles the ongoing proliferation of assault weapons in America, and the history of bombings, poisoning, and shootings at both strangers on campuses and America’s streets as well as targeted attempts to derail presidential ambitions and presidential terms.

Born into a blue collar and agricultural clan in rural Pennsylvania, Dr. Jim Crawford was the first in his family to graduate from college. Earning his PhD from the University of North Carolina, he taught US and World History at several universities in the piedmont North Carolina for several decades. He served as chairman of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners. He is a firm believer in American democracy and trusts that the constitution will hold firm now as it has in past crises despite the broken, distempered electorate. 

“On The Porch” is hosted by Randolph ”Randy” Voller. He is also the publisher of Chatham County Line. Randy welcomes guests to the show who are from the communities of art, academia, business, and politics for friendly and informative conversations. “On The Porch” airs every Sunday at 11 AM, and is repeated at 4 PM and 8 PM on WCHL-FM 97.9. The show also streams on ChapelBoro.com
Current and previous shows of “On The Porch” are posted as on-demand, ad-free podcasts at ChapelBoro.com, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
To be a guest on the show or send us a comment, email: ontheporch@wchl.com