Inside the growing industry to defend schools from mass shootings

The podcast episode discusses the emergence of a multi-billion dollar industry focused on school safety products in response to the increasing number of school shootings since Columbine in 1999. It highlights various products available, from bulletproof whiteboards and drones designed to incapacitate shooters to panic buttons and facial recognition technology, showcased at conferences for school resource officers. The episode questions the effectiveness of these products, noting a lack of comprehensive data and research on their ability to prevent shootings. Experts suggest that while strengthening mental health care and basic security measures like locked doors are proven effective, the "hardening" of schools with numerous security gadgets often amounts to "security theater." The discussion also delves into the psychological and economic factors driving this industry, explaining how the protection of human life leads to "maximizing" decisions where price sensitivity is low, even if the effectiveness of the solutions is unproven.