- The NRA is facing public pressure and boycotts from Twitter users in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
- 15 companies, including Delta, United, Avis, Budget, and Hertz, have cut ties with the NRA and will no longer provide discounts to its members.
- However, big tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Roku still offer access to NRA TV, the NRA's online channel focused on pro-gun content.
- NRA TV produces a variety of shows, including news programming, reenactments of movies, and content aimed at women.
- The content on NRA TV has been described as strange and often includes aggressive metaphors and gun-centric programming.

- Love at First Shot is a show that targets women and promotes firearms and accessories
- The show functions as a QVC for firearms, showcasing various products like handbags, gun paint, and accessories
- NRA TV uses a dark and threatening tone in its programming to sell products and amplify fears
- Many of NRA TV's shows are sponsored by gun brands and they employ an ad agency to sell their products
- NRA TV is primarily a vessel to sell guns and it may not have high viewership
- While NRA TV is concerning, it is important to focus on the larger issue of the NRA's activities.

The NRA's streaming lifestyle network aims to boost gun sales, often by using an ominous tone that would make just about anything sound terrifying...including muffins.

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-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ The NRA, a group that feels about guns the way the rest of us feel about Nutella.

A little is good, more is better, and you can tell me it's bad for me all you like, but you will pry it from my cold, dead hands!

-♪♪ Now, in the wake of the Parkland shooting, the NRA has found themselves in the spotlight once more.

However, the public pressure this time is actually starting to take a toll.

Twitter users are pressuring companies affiliated with the gun rights group by using the hashtag BoycottNRA.

So, 15 companies have cut ties with the NRA after Parkland.

Some big ones, you know, Delta, United, Avis, Budget, Hertz, basically saying they're no longer going to provide discounts to the NRA.

Yes, Avis, Budget, and Hertz will all stop providing discounts to NRA members, which will presumably come as a huge blow to Jeremy, the 1 NRA member who was just in it for the rental cars.

But the boycott train hit a bit of a snag when it ran into 1 of the NRA's lesser-known side ventures.

1 group that hasn't been swayed yet, big tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Roku.

You see, these companies' streaming services still offer access to NRA TV, the gun lobby group's free online channel focused on pro-gun content.

Okay, so that is an uncomfortable situation for Apple and Amazon, but it's a fucking miracle for Roku.

Someone just called us a big tech company!

They said, like Amazon and Apple, it's happening, Harry!

discussion this week of boycotting NRA TV, we thought it might be worth answering the question, what the fuck is that?

Because the truth is, you may have actually seen tiny bits of its programming without even realizing it, like when this video, featuring NRA spokesperson Dana Lash, went viral just last year.

They use their media to assassinate real news.

They use their schools to teach children that their president is another Hitler.

The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.

Which, if you're looking for it, is just a little past the bent elbow of nonsense, and hiding in the overstuffed pocket of needlessly aggressive metaphors.

Now, if you missed that 1, you may have seen another 1 that made the rounds during the Obama administration, featuring country music legend, Charlie Daniels.

To the high tolas of Iran and every terrorist you enabled, listen up.

You might have met our fresh-faced flower child president and his weak-kneed Ivy League friends, but you haven't met America.

You haven't met the heartland, where the people will defend this nation with their bloody, calloused, bare hands.

You haven't met the steel workers and the hard rock miners or the swamp folks in Cajun country who can wrestle a full-grown gator out of the water.

You haven't met the hill demons who can curse you and your future offspring just for having a picnic in the wrong place.

He's a dog who lives in a lake for reasons too complicated to get into at the present moment.

And you haven't even met the gators down in Cajun country who tiptoe out of the water at night and take revenge on the swamp folk while they sleep, thus perpetuating the sick cycle of swamp folk gator violence.

That's the America I know, and I promise you, you're gonna be confused by it.

In fact, in fact, recently, another 1 of their promos was passed around online, and you may recognize 1 of the faces in it.

How come that you are basically participating in the biggest...

And if NRA members are annoyed with what I'm saying right now, they should do the exact same thing and smash their expensive televisions with large sledgehammers.

It's a really good idea, and it's honestly the only way we'll learn.

Now, NRA TV produces a lot of videos like those that are essentially just trolling for your attention.

But their content goes much, much deeper than that.

As you will see if you go to their website or if you watch it on streaming devices like the great and powerful Roku.

Now, NRA TV has news programming, and there's honestly not really much point in us showing you any of that, because it's essentially just Fox News on a much lower budget.

What is more surprising is they make shows, lots and lots of shows, and they are so much stranger than you would think.

So tonight, let's watch some NRA TV together, because it's fascinating.

Now, some shows are pretty similar to ones that you would see anywhere on TV, with the key difference that there is a gun involved.

For instance, they have 3 different antiques roadshow knockoffs, in which men who look like this guy get progressively more and more aroused by the guns they're holding.

What's unique is that it has such flowing lines.

That's the kind of pistol that when I hold, or when John is holding, it gives me shivers.

The idea was, is that you would cock both hammers

That man is Doug Wickland, and I love him, but not as much as he loves guns.

In fact, the only way he could love them anymore is if instead of bullets, every gun just fired a bunch of little guns, which in turn fired a bunch of even smaller guns, which in turn fired tiny Doug Wicklunds, living in a state of sexual ecstasy inside the womb-like paradise of a firearm.

And while that show is pretty sedate, NRA TV also has programming for the testosterone-fueled gun enthusiast, like Media Lab, in which a former Navy SEAL named Dom Rasso does the very important work of reenacting movies he likes, from White House Down to Jack Reacher.

And here he is reenacting scenes from the movie Heat.

The main part of this movie that I wanted to break down was the fact that they're shooting, moving, and communicating.

And if we get past the fact that they're robbing a bank, if you're actually in a specific uniform with specific kit, Can you shoot, move, communicate with that amount of weight and do down man drills?

I would love to see a bank robber try to use that defense in court.

Your Honor, I really feel we need to get past the fact that we were robbing a bank and instead focus on how well we were shooting, moving, and communicating.

And the endearing thing about Don Raso is that his show's reenactments don't always go smoothly.

For instance, how did his reenactment of the heat robbery go?

They make it look easy, the way they're moving.

Yeah, this bag, as I was running, was just hitting at the back of my knees.

Had taken my legs out from underneath me.

My strap broke, so I was holding it like this the entire time, wobbling back and forth.

Even in the beginning, couldn't get a stable shooting platform.

Had to lower my center of gravity more, so the bag couldn't control me.

We definitely proved that they didn't have any weight in there while they were shooting and moving.

That is genuinely inspiring, because somewhere out there, there's an eight-year-old arsehole watching that show and thinking, oh, good, being an adult is literally exactly how I imagined it.

-♪ ♪ -♪ Honestly, I could talk about Dom Rasso all night, but before we move on, I have to show you his inexplicable response to 1 viewer-submitted question.

I would say, My aunt gave me a cross that was made out of bone.

She's like, your great-great-grandfather gave that to me to pass down to somebody special in the family, but it was actually made out of human bone, and he carved it when he was a prisoner of war.

And that has been passed down in the family now.

So, that's probably by far the coolest thing that I have.

Well, that's a hell of a story there, Dom.

And I just don't know of any better poster boy for the NRA than someone who reenacts bank robberies for fun and whose most treasured possession is a cross made out of human bones.

There's also a large amount of content aimed explicitly at women.

There's even a whole women's channel featuring shows like Armed and Fabulous.

The NRA is actually making a big push for women, and they are pretty clear about their motivations.

Women really have an incredible role right now in the NRA.

They are excited, they are enthusiastic, they're there for us.

And that's, you know, if you get the woman, you get the family.

If you get the woman, you get the family.

That is a brazenly transparent statement of your marketing strategy.

But to be honest, can we just go back to that room for a second?

--AUDIENCE LAUGHS- Is that a soothing space for you?

Because I would be a little disturbed by the extended family of gazelles screaming, why at me with their dead, glassy eyes.

Now, 1 of the NRA's female-focused programs, Love at First Shot, is explicitly about getting women more comfortable with the idea of owning or firing guns.

And in 1 episode, they took a woman who was nervous about firearms and really threw her in at the deep end.

We're gonna go straight into rifles, and we're gonna do it with an AR-15.

I know you probably heard about them on the news and everything else.

Not as scary as I think I was anticipating.

It's just a nice, light puff of happiness.

It's a little weird to describe a semi-automatic rifle the way Bob Ross describes a fucking clout.

-♪ ♪ -♪ But once Love at First Shot has women hooked, the upselling begins, which does actually make sense.

Industry research has shown that women will spend hundreds of dollars on accessories in addition to their guns.

So you can kind of understand why Love at First Shot functions as a kind of QVC for firearms, showcasing products like mag loaders, targets, gun cases, and handbags.

Okay, so as you see here, I've got a couple of different style options for you.

There are a lot of different varieties of exteriors, but a lot of them really have the same structure in terms of concealed carry.

I never would have imagined these little neat pockets and hidden closures.

Knowing that you can close it, it does put my mind at ease with it, so it's pretty cool.

Girl, you don't even need a gun because people are going to die when they see that bag.

-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ And look, it's not just handbags.

Even the gun itself can be profitably accessorized.

So, yes, we do have a custom line of gun paint for the ladies out there.

It's so much fun to work with, and it's great to be able to put your own personal touch on your firearms and your accessories.

Or, if Natalie ever commits murder, a grave oversight.

Good news, Chief, the mag says the killer's name right on it.

We don't know what motivated her to go on a killing spree, but we do know she had a lot of fun with it.

We've watched every single episode of Love at first shot, and I have to show you our favorite clip.

The host, Natalie, is pregnant at this point, so she can't join in on the shooting, but that doesn't mean they didn't find a way to get her involved.

Since she couldn't be on the range with us, We're going to do something special for her to hang in her baby nursery.

We know that you're expecting, obviously, so

we would make a little something for the baby's nursery.

So when somebody inevitably asks why you have what appears to be a blank canvas with a large bloodstain hanging up in your child's nursery, you'll be able to completely reassure them by saying, -"Oh, yeah?

Where NRATV really comes into its own is when its tone gets much darker, which it does.

For instance, they have a series of hunting videos, which shouldn't be surprising.

But while the visuals are predictable beauty shots of nature, the voiceover takes a different path.

Somewhere over this horizon, sit a million little dictators, eager to purge humanity of its hunting instincts.

The anti-hunters have imposed a false order on their lives, based on a misconceived perception of the world.

And so the purveyor of death must also be evil.

That is less planet Earth and more deranged letter from a serial killer.

Although, to be honest, I would respect the NRA a lot more if its slogan were just, the NRA because death is an undeniable fuel of life.

I would like it, but at least we'd be clear where they were coming from.

And that flowery, vaguely threatening tone is a key feature of NRA TV.

Hidden beneath a dense canopy of deciduous trees is a prostitute of sorts.

And those who profit by selling her will stop at nothing to exploit her.

Sold and promoted for her non-addictive, even medicinal advantages, what lies behind the veil of this seductress is far different than what she first appears to be.

She is a harlot, and her name is Mary Jane.

-♪♪♪♪ -♪♪♪♪ I didn't think this was possible, but I think that guy just slut-shamed marijuana.

-♪♪♪♪ And don't get me started on mushrooms, those filthy shramps.

Whores with spores, that's what I call them.

-♪ ♪ -♪ And if you are wondering why NRA TV is even talking about drugs at all, the final defining characteristic of the network is painting a bleak vision of America with threats around every single corner and 1 solution.

The next attack on our soil could come in a matter of minutes.

Teenage girls are trafficked in sex trade.

Today's America is plagued by urban riots and domestic ISIS sympathizers.

In a natural disaster, you may call 911 and there may be nobody on the other line.

The drug cartels and the human traffickers who have invaded our borders and embedded in every single American city.

Our leaders are either incapable of or unwilling to protect you.

And the AR-15 is 1 of the most effective tools available to protect yourself and your family.

They're using the same techniques as an infomercial there.

Do you have ISIS sympathizers in those hard-to-reach places?

Try the AR-15, available at way too many stores near you.

Now, to watch NRA TV is to watch a constant stream of stories like those, many of them real, but amplified to terrify you and sell you products.

And there may be a good reason that it sounds like an infomercial, because it is.

Many of NRA TV shows are sponsored by gun brands like Smith & Wesson, and behind the scenes of NRA TV is an ad agency.

They've worked with the NRA for decades, and the Ackerman McQueen website proclaims every brand must be its own media company.

And that is what the NRA have done with their TV arm.

They've got a product to sell, and they employ people who can sell that product well.

Even Dana Lash, the clenched fist of truth.

When she's not warning of the drug cartels and human traffickers in every single American city, she's just selling you some other shit.

There's 1 superfood I drink every day for healthy circulation and to make me feel great all day long.

It's called Super Beets, and you can try it for yourself risk-free.

I take Super Beets as my pre-workout in the morning and as a non-jittery pick-me-up in the afternoon.

And just 1 teaspoon of Super Beets gives you the benefit of 3 whole beats.

That's more than my delicious superfood, medium beats.

It gives you the benefits of 2 whole beats, Which is, and this is true, enough.

-♪ AUDIENCE LAUGHS AND APPLAUDS That's a perfectly adequate number of beats.

The point, the whole point here is, the answer to the question, what the fuck is NRA TV, is it's just a vessel to sell America guns.

They won't reveal their rating, so it's plausible that no 1 is watching this, and that that ad agency, Akima McQueen, are making out like bandits.

But look, having watched a shitload of NRA TV's programming, here is what I'll say about it.

There is a lot to be concerned about regarding the NRA's activities, but NRA TV might actually be the dumbest, most transparent thing that it does.

Think about it this way, if the NRA is a ferocious bear charging at you, NRA TV is that bear's ridiculous hat.

Is it the main thing you should be worried about?

Probably not, because the real truth here is, hat or no hat, it is imperative that everyone keep their eyes on that fucking bear.

And now, proof that NRA TV's tone can make anything seem scary.

Has your kitchen, that once gleamed in the soft glow of dawn, now become a bleak gulag of countertops bent in shameful submission to breakfast's perverse tyrant?

Each bury a fruit slave within its crusty walls.

Americans once relished our right to a stack of flapjacks and a cup of Joe.

But now, we tremble before Satan's cupcakes.

When the muffins rise, we must rise against them.

Because you don't know the muffin man America, and you better pray you never do Pancakes the undeniable fuel of life.

That's our show, thank you so much for watching, see


Speaker 0: -♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ The NRA, a group that feels about guns the way the rest of us feel about Nutella. A little is good, more is better, and you can tell me it's bad for me all you like, but you will pry it from my cold, dead hands! -♪♪ Now, in the wake of the Parkland shooting, the NRA has found themselves in the spotlight once more. However, the public pressure this time is actually starting to take a toll.

Speaker 1: Twitter users are pressuring companies affiliated with the gun rights group by using the hashtag BoycottNRA.

Speaker 2: So, 15 companies have cut ties with the NRA after Parkland. I think we have a list of them here. Some big ones, you know, Delta, United, Avis, Budget, Hertz, basically saying they're no longer going to provide discounts to the NRA.

Speaker 0: Yes, Avis, Budget, and Hertz will all stop providing discounts to NRA members, which will presumably come as a huge blow to Jeremy, the 1 NRA member who was just in it for the rental cars. But the boycott train hit a bit of a snag when it ran into 1 of the NRA's lesser-known side ventures.

Speaker 3: 1 group that hasn't been swayed yet, big tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Roku. You see, these companies' streaming services still offer access to NRA TV, the gun lobby group's free online channel focused on pro-gun content.

Speaker 0: Okay, so that is an uncomfortable situation for Apple and Amazon, but it's a fucking miracle for Roku. Harry! Harry, get

Speaker 4: in here! Someone just called us a big tech company! They said, like Amazon and Apple, it's happening, Harry! It's happening! But...

But with all of the

Speaker 0: discussion this week of boycotting NRA TV, we thought it might be worth answering the question, what the fuck is that? Because the truth is, you may have actually seen tiny bits of its programming without even realizing it, like when this video, featuring NRA spokesperson Dana Lash, went viral just last year.

Speaker 5: They use their media to assassinate real news. They use their schools to teach children that their president is another Hitler. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.

Speaker 0: Yes, the clenched fist of truth. Which, if you're looking for it, is just a little past the bent elbow of nonsense, and hiding in the overstuffed pocket of needlessly aggressive metaphors. Now, if you missed that 1, you may have seen another 1 that made the rounds during the Obama administration, featuring country music legend, Charlie Daniels.

Speaker 1: To the high tolas of Iran and every terrorist you enabled, listen up. You might have met our fresh-faced flower child president and his weak-kneed Ivy League friends, but you haven't met America. You haven't met the heartland, where the people will defend this nation with their bloody, calloused, bare hands. You haven't met the steel workers and the hard rock miners or the swamp folks in Cajun country who can wrestle a full-grown gator out of the water.

Speaker 0: You haven't met the hill demons who can curse you and your future offspring just for having a picnic in the wrong place. You haven't met the lake dog. He's a dog who lives in a lake for reasons too complicated to get into at the present moment. And you haven't even met the gators down in Cajun country who tiptoe out of the water at night and take revenge on the swamp folk while they sleep, thus perpetuating the sick cycle of swamp folk gator violence. That's the America I know, and I promise you, you're gonna be confused by it.

Speaker 4: -...by it. -..by it.

Speaker 0: In fact, in fact, recently, another 1 of their promos was passed around online, and you may recognize 1 of the faces in it.

Speaker 4: Mr. President, are you racist?

Speaker 2: And drinking as many as 12 diet cokes.

Speaker 6: The Second Amendment is about a militia,

Speaker 0: and it's the National Rifle Association.

Speaker 5: We are the press who's under attack.

Speaker 7: The president is like a child.

Speaker 8: Certain people shouldn't have guns.

Speaker 4: How come that you are basically participating in the biggest...

Speaker 5: How stupid do you think we are?

Speaker 9: Bless your heart.

Speaker 4: Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey.

Speaker 0: -♪♪♪♪ Now, don't laugh. He's absolutely right. And if NRA members are annoyed with what I'm saying right now, they should do the exact same thing and smash their expensive televisions with large sledgehammers. Are you listening, NRA members? Destroy your own property.

It's a really good idea, and it's honestly the only way we'll learn. Now, NRA TV produces a lot of videos like those that are essentially just trolling for your attention. But their content goes much, much deeper than that. As you will see if you go to their website or if you watch it on streaming devices like the great and powerful Roku.

Speaker 4: They said it again, Harry! They said our name! It's happening! It's finally happening!

Speaker 0: Now, NRA TV has news programming, and there's honestly not really much point in us showing you any of that, because it's essentially just Fox News on a much lower budget. What is more surprising is they make shows, lots and lots of shows, and they are so much stranger than you would think. So tonight, let's watch some NRA TV together, because it's fascinating. Now, some shows are pretty similar to ones that you would see anywhere on TV, with the key difference that there is a gun involved. For instance, they have 3 different antiques roadshow knockoffs, in which men who look like this guy get progressively more and more aroused by the guns they're holding.

Speaker 8: What's unique is that it has such flowing lines. It's artwork. It's a sensuous gun. That's the kind of pistol that when I hold, or when John is holding, it gives me shivers. The idea was, is that you would cock both hammers

Speaker 0: at the same time. Yes. That man is Doug Wickland, and I love him, but not as much as he loves guns. In fact, the only way he could love them anymore is if instead of bullets, every gun just fired a bunch of little guns, which in turn fired a bunch of even smaller guns, which in turn fired tiny Doug Wicklunds, living in a state of sexual ecstasy inside the womb-like paradise of a firearm. And while that show is pretty sedate, NRA TV also has programming for the testosterone-fueled gun enthusiast, like Media Lab, in which a former Navy SEAL named Dom Rasso does the very important work of reenacting movies he likes, from White House Down to Jack Reacher.

And here he is reenacting scenes from the movie Heat.

Speaker 9: The main part of this movie that I wanted to break down was the fact that they're shooting, moving, and communicating. And if we get past the fact that they're robbing a bank, if you're actually in a specific uniform with specific kit, Can you shoot, move, communicate with that amount of weight and do down man drills? That's the key thing here.

Speaker 0: I would love to see a bank robber try to use that defense in court. Your Honor, I really feel we need to get past the fact that we were robbing a bank and instead focus on how well we were shooting, moving, and communicating. And the endearing thing about Don Raso is that his show's reenactments don't always go smoothly. For instance, how did his reenactment of the heat robbery go?

Speaker 9: They make it look easy, the way they're moving. Yeah, this bag, as I was running, was just hitting at the back of my knees. Had taken my legs out from underneath me. Definitely fatigued me. My strap broke, so I was holding it like this the entire time, wobbling back and forth.

Even in the beginning, couldn't get a stable shooting platform. I mean, we worked it out. Had to lower my center of gravity more, so the bag couldn't control me. We definitely proved that they didn't have any weight in there while they were shooting and moving.

Speaker 0: Wow. That is genuinely inspiring, because somewhere out there, there's an eight-year-old arsehole watching that show and thinking, oh, good, being an adult is literally exactly how I imagined it. -♪ ♪ -♪ Honestly, I could talk about Dom Rasso all night, but before we move on, I have to show you his inexplicable response to 1 viewer-submitted question.

Speaker 1: What is your most treasured possession?

Speaker 9: I would say, My aunt gave me a cross that was made out of bone. She's like, your great-great-grandfather gave that to me to pass down to somebody special in the family, but it was actually made out of human bone, and he carved it when he was a prisoner of war. And that has been passed down in the family now. I'm like, are you serious? I'm like, that just doesn't exist.

So, that's probably by far the coolest thing that I have.

Speaker 0: Well, that's a hell of a story there, Dom. And I just don't know of any better poster boy for the NRA than someone who reenacts bank robberies for fun and whose most treasured possession is a cross made out of human bones. But look, NRA TV isn't all gun bros. There's also a large amount of content aimed explicitly at women. There's even a whole women's channel featuring shows like Armed and Fabulous.

The NRA is actually making a big push for women, and they are pretty clear about their motivations.

Speaker 6: Women really have an incredible role right now in the NRA. They are excited, they are enthusiastic, they're there for us. And that's, you know, if you get the woman, you get the family. If you get the woman, you get the family.

Speaker 0: If you get the woman, you get the family. That is a brazenly transparent statement of your marketing strategy. But to be honest, can we just go back to that room for a second? Do you find that room relaxing? --AUDIENCE LAUGHS- Is that a soothing space for you?

Because I would be a little disturbed by the extended family of gazelles screaming, why at me with their dead, glassy eyes. Now, 1 of the NRA's female-focused programs, Love at First Shot, is explicitly about getting women more comfortable with the idea of owning or firing guns. And in 1 episode, they took a woman who was nervous about firearms and really threw her in at the deep end.

Speaker 10: We're gonna go straight into rifles, and we're gonna do it with an AR-15. Okay. I know you probably heard about them on the news and everything else. Yes.

Speaker 3: I hit the target. You did? How did it feel? Not as scary as I think I was anticipating. Exactly.

It's just a nice, light puff of happiness. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 0: A light puff of happiness. It's a little weird to describe a semi-automatic rifle the way Bob Ross describes a fucking clout. -♪ ♪ -♪ But once Love at First Shot has women hooked, the upselling begins, which does actually make sense. Industry research has shown that women will spend hundreds of dollars on accessories in addition to their guns. So you can kind of understand why Love at First Shot functions as a kind of QVC for firearms, showcasing products like mag loaders, targets, gun cases, and handbags.

Speaker 11: Okay, so as you see here, I've got a couple of different style options for you. There are a lot of different varieties of exteriors, but a lot of them really have the same structure in terms of concealed carry.

Speaker 10: I never would have imagined these little neat pockets and hidden closures. Knowing that you can close it, it does put my mind at ease with it, so it's pretty cool.

Speaker 0: Girl, you don't even need a gun because people are going to die when they see that bag. -♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ And look, it's not just handbags. Even the gun itself can be profitably accessorized.

Speaker 11: So, yes, we do have a custom line of gun paint for the ladies out there. These mags look phenomenal. I love this product. It's so much fun to work with, and it's great to be able to put your own personal touch on your firearms and your accessories.

Speaker 4: Oh, that's so fun! That is so fun!

Speaker 0: Or, if Natalie ever commits murder, a grave oversight. Good news, Chief, the mag says the killer's name right on it. We don't know what motivated her to go on a killing spree, but we do know she had a lot of fun with it. We've watched every single episode of Love at first shot, and I have to show you our favorite clip. It's from season 2, episode 1.

The host, Natalie, is pregnant at this point, so she can't join in on the shooting, but that doesn't mean they didn't find a way to get her involved.

Speaker 10: We are going to make art for Natalie. Since she couldn't be on the range with us, We're going to do something special for her to hang in her baby nursery. Yeah! That's so cool.

Speaker 4: There we go! Oh! 2 for 1! 2 for 1!

Speaker 10: We know that you're expecting, obviously, so

Speaker 4: we thought

Speaker 10: we would make a little something for the baby's nursery.

Speaker 4: Oh, because you know...

Speaker 5: It... You got paint.

Speaker 0: Yeah. They shot paint. So when somebody inevitably asks why you have what appears to be a blank canvas with a large bloodstain hanging up in your child's nursery, you'll be able to completely reassure them by saying, -"Oh, yeah? My friend shot that for me." -$30,000. But it is not all fun with guns.

Where NRATV really comes into its own is when its tone gets much darker, which it does. For instance, they have a series of hunting videos, which shouldn't be surprising. In fact, it makes complete sense. People do use guns when they hunt. But while the visuals are predictable beauty shots of nature, the voiceover takes a different path.

Speaker 12: Somewhere over this horizon, sit a million little dictators, eager to purge humanity of its hunting instincts. The anti-hunters have imposed a false order on their lives, based on a misconceived perception of the world. Death is evil, they believe. And so the purveyor of death must also be evil. Death is an undeniable fuel of life.

Speaker 0: Oh, my God! That is less planet Earth and more deranged letter from a serial killer. Although, to be honest, I would respect the NRA a lot more if its slogan were just, the NRA because death is an undeniable fuel of life. I would like it, but at least we'd be clear where they were coming from. And that flowery, vaguely threatening tone is a key feature of NRA TV.

Here is another weird example.

Speaker 7: Hidden beneath a dense canopy of deciduous trees is a prostitute of sorts. And those who profit by selling her will stop at nothing to exploit her. Sold and promoted for her non-addictive, even medicinal advantages, what lies behind the veil of this seductress is far different than what she first appears to be. She is a harlot, and her name is Mary Jane.

Speaker 0: -♪♪♪♪ -♪♪♪♪ I didn't think this was possible, but I think that guy just slut-shamed marijuana. -♪♪♪♪ And don't get me started on mushrooms, those filthy shramps. They'll grow next to any tree at all. Whores with spores, that's what I call them. -♪ ♪ -♪ And if you are wondering why NRA TV is even talking about drugs at all, the final defining characteristic of the network is painting a bleak vision of America with threats around every single corner and 1 solution.

Speaker 9: The next attack on our soil could come in a matter of minutes.

Speaker 1: Teenage girls are trafficked in sex trade.

Speaker 5: Today's America is plagued by urban riots and domestic ISIS sympathizers.

Speaker 13: In a natural disaster, you may call 911 and there may be nobody on the other line.

Speaker 5: The drug cartels and the human traffickers who have invaded our borders and embedded in every single American city.

Speaker 9: This threat is real. Our leaders are either incapable of or unwilling to protect you. And the AR-15 is 1 of the most effective tools available to protect yourself and your family.

Speaker 0: Holy shit! They're using the same techniques as an infomercial there. Is human traffic getting you down? Do you have ISIS sympathizers in those hard-to-reach places? Are you tired of getting 9-11ed?

There's got to be a better way! Try the AR-15, available at way too many stores near you. Now, to watch NRA TV is to watch a constant stream of stories like those, many of them real, but amplified to terrify you and sell you products. And there may be a good reason that it sounds like an infomercial, because it is. Many of NRA TV shows are sponsored by gun brands like Smith & Wesson, and behind the scenes of NRA TV is an ad agency.

It's called Ackerman McQueen. They've worked with the NRA for decades, and the Ackerman McQueen website proclaims every brand must be its own media company. And that is what the NRA have done with their TV arm. They've got a product to sell, and they employ people who can sell that product well. Even Dana Lash, the clenched fist of truth.

When she's not warning of the drug cartels and human traffickers in every single American city, she's just selling you some other shit.

Speaker 5: Hi, I'm Dana Lash from The Dana Show. There's 1 superfood I drink every day for healthy circulation and to make me feel great all day long. It's called Super Beets, and you can try it for yourself risk-free. I take Super Beets as my pre-workout in the morning and as a non-jittery pick-me-up in the afternoon. And just 1 teaspoon of Super Beets gives you the benefit of 3 whole beats.

Speaker 0: Wow, Dana, 3 whole beats. That's more than my delicious superfood, medium beats. It gives you the benefits of 2 whole beats, Which is, and this is true, enough. -♪ Enough. -♪ AUDIENCE LAUGHS AND APPLAUDS That's a perfectly adequate number of beats.

The point, the whole point here is, the answer to the question, what the fuck is NRA TV, is it's just a vessel to sell America guns. That's pretty much it. Does it work? It's honestly hard to say. They won't reveal their rating, so it's plausible that no 1 is watching this, and that that ad agency, Akima McQueen, are making out like bandits.

But look, having watched a shitload of NRA TV's programming, here is what I'll say about it. There is a lot to be concerned about regarding the NRA's activities, but NRA TV might actually be the dumbest, most transparent thing that it does. Think about it this way, if the NRA is a ferocious bear charging at you, NRA TV is that bear's ridiculous hat. Is it eye-catching? Sure it is.

Is it perversely entertaining? Absolutely. Is it the main thing you should be worried about? Probably not, because the real truth here is, hat or no hat, it is imperative that everyone keep their eyes on that fucking bear. And now, this.

Speaker 12: And now, proof that NRA TV's tone can make anything seem scary. Has your kitchen, that once gleamed in the soft glow of dawn, now become a bleak gulag of countertops bent in shameful submission to breakfast's perverse tyrant? She is the oven's contemptible whore. And her name is Muffins. The muffin is a glutinous prison.

Each bury a fruit slave within its crusty walls. Americans once relished our right to a stack of flapjacks and a cup of Joe. But now, we tremble before Satan's cupcakes. Joe, un-cupped. And flapjacks, un-stacked.

When the muffins rise, we must rise against them. Because you don't know the muffin man America, and you better pray you never do Pancakes the undeniable fuel of life.

Speaker 0: That's our show, thank you so much for watching, see

Speaker 4: You

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NRA TV: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)