The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of political figures in recent years. But how connected are these events and do they signal a rise in public support for this kind of violence? To find out Ian Sample speaks to Sean Westwood, an associate professor in political science at Dartmouth College and director of the Polarization Research Lab. He explains how political violence has evolved and why overestimating the support for such acts can be dangerous. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>