How To Read Wars: A Public Conversation with John Dolan

In many ways, the 2020’s seems further away from the ‘end of history’ than the 1920’s. This has led some commentators to characterise our current moment as ‘the end of the end of history’.

Indeed, after declining in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, both the number of conflicts and conflict deaths has increased in recent years as wars have broken out in the Horn of Africa, Ukraine, Yemen, Myanmar, and of course Palestine.

But what lessons, however grim, can we learn from these conflicts, and why are elites so determined to learn all the wrong lessons? What are we to make of the various developments in how wars are conducted now compared with the 20th century, including advances in technology, the increased use of Private Military Contractors, the role non-state actors, and asymmetrical warfare? In short, what forces drive conflict in the 21st century?

To help us analyse these trends, the Wellington Socialist Society are joined by John Dolan, AKA Gary Brecher, AKA The War Nerd, of the Radio War Nerd podcast.

John Dolan is an American poet, author and essayist.

In 2002, he started writing ‘the War Nerd’ column for The eXile, a satirical Moscow-based newspaper, under the pseudonym Gary Brecher, a character imagined as a smart, unhappy data-entry clerk in Fresno, California.

Since 2015 he has co-hosted the podcast Radio War Nerd with Mark Ames.

John is also the author of several books including 2017’s The War Nerd Iliad, a modern rendering of the ancient epic, and 2023’s Erdogan Pizza, possibly the world’s first ‘anti-travel’ book. He also writes the Radio War Nerd subscriber newsletter and has contributed to publications such as The eXile, NSFWCorp, Pando Daily, and The Baffler, as well as appearing on podcasts such as Chapo Trap House and TrueAnon.
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Proceedings:
6:00 pm – Doors Open
6:30 pm – Introductions
6:35 pm – Q&A with John and WSS member
7:15 pm – intermission
7:25 pm – Audience Q&A

For those unable to attend we will have a live stream on the Wellington Socialist Society Facebook page.

Drinks and food will be available to order from the bar. As always, we are thankful to Bedlam & Squalor for hosting us.