I’ve been following events in Iran and Russia and I’m concerned about the potential for President Trump or President Putin to be humiliated in those wars. Humiliation matters because of something JFK said about the Cuban Missile Crisis. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/looking-do...

I meditate on reality and the dangers of mythology when you're playing around with nuclear weapons. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...

The lesson most people drew from Hiroshima is, "Huh. So bombing civilians does win wars." But the people who drew that conclusion were wrong. The painful failure of Russia's attacks on civilians in Ukraine is just further evidence of that fact. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/what-if-yo...

I wrote a little about morality and nuclear weapons. Are nuclear weapons immoral? You bet. Are moral arguments the best way to argue for eliminating nuclear weapons? Well . . . wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/morality-a...

Will President Trump use nuclear weapons in Iran? Paul Slovic and Rose McDermott make a psychology-based argument that it is entirely possible. Must read. thebulletin.org/2026/05/why-...

It seems increasingly clear that in his anger and outrage, President Trump may well turn to the use of nuclear weapons to coerce Iran. How to prevent President Trump from using nuclear weapons? Bar the offensive use of them in law. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...

The only thing worse than war crimes? Futile war crimes. I explain why bombing civilians won't win the war in Iran. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/useful-bom...

Thoughts about some possible unintended consequences of the U.S. invading Cuba. (Spoiler alert . . . Taiwan.) wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/what-messa...

Jay Shapiro invited me on his podcast, Dilemma. We talked about the state of the world, nuclear weapons risks, and nuclear myths. Check it out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9GW...

If you want to prevent nuclear war, you have to eliminate nuclear weapons. If you want to eliminate nuclear weapons, you have to show that they're not militarily useful.

I was recently invited on Michael J. Ard’s excellent podcast, Inside Intelligence, to talk about why nuclear weapons haven’t been used in 80 years and whether they might be used sometime in the near future. Michael is former CIA, smart, and on the right track. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknO...

I’m publishing a series of essays that bring rarely discussed evidence and new realist thinking to bear on the important and troubling question: Did two atomic bombs win the war with Japan? The result will surprise you and change what you think. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/the-empero...

Some disturbing news from Russia and Pakistan. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...

I write a little about the strange notion that the only way to eliminate nuclear weapons is if one country "goes first." wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/a-few-word...

Part IV of the Nuclear Mystery series is out, exploring why the French didn't use nuclear weapons to save the day when their troops were surrounded at Dien Bien Phu. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...

I was at the United Nations last week for the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Surprisingly, Japan wasn't there. My piece in Chugoku Shimbon criticizing that choice (with translation). open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye... #nuclearweapons #TPNW

I was speaking about nuclear weapons at Southern Utah University last week. Some folks there were skeptical about eliminating nuclear weapons. But something the North Koreans have been doing provides new evidence for the debate about the utility of nuclear weapons. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...

Some thoughts inspired by President Trump suggesting we abolish FEMA.

Part two of my Nuclear Mystery series that explores the question "Why haven't nuclear weapons been used for nearly 80 years?" This one examines some of the practical difficulties around the peculiar non-use of nuclear weapons in the Korean War.

So why haven't nuclear weapons been used? --For the better part of a century, no less. An exploration of the practical utility of nuclear weapons and the surprising limitations on actually using them. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...

Some thoughts on the use today by the Russians of a ballistic missile to attack Ukraine. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...

Thoughts on the approach Walz and Harris are using against Trump, and how that same approach might be used toward nuclear weapons. wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/donald-tru...

Pleased to see a report about the book launch I did at the UN from the UN's Office of Disarmament Affairs. disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda...

Eliminating nuclear weapons is hippie-dippie/idealist stuff. No one takes it seriously. But listen to what this four-star Air Force general - who once commanded STRATCO - has to say: “The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.” Lee Butler

If you're in New York next Wednesday and you have UN credentials, you should come to the book launch of my new book. I will give what is, I think, the best presentation I've ever written on this subject. And tell your friends.

Beatrice Fihn, the former Executive Director of ICAN (2014 - 2023) and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said It Is Possible “Provides the inspiration people need to eliminate these weapons” You can buy the hardcover starting next Wednesday. press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...

“Arguably the most important contribution to the debate over the efficacy/fallacy of nuclear deterrence ever written.” Martin Sherwin — Pulitzer Prize winning historian of nuclear weapons (1937 - 2021).

Praise from people you respect means a great deal. From Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Stimson Center: "Ward Hayes Wilson is the most innovative thinker about nuclear weapons anywhere. It Is Possible is truly a masterpiece. Its comprehensive analysis shows not only the uselessness of . . .

I only met the Mayor of Nagasaki once, but when I asked him to write something about my new book, he said this: "Ward Hayes Wilson’s book assures us that our vision of a 'world without nuclear weapons' is not only possible but the only rational way . . . 1/2

When Air Force generals tell you that nuclear weapons may not be the best thing. You should listen. My friend Bernard Norlain used to command all of France's Air Force (minus the nuclear part). He had something to say about my new book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons.

"In this stunning, breakthrough work, Ward Hayes Wilson brilliantly dismantles the false claims about nuclear weapons that have kept a nuclear sword of Damocles over our heads for so long.” Richard Rhodes — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons. press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...

Excellent advice from Ben Wittes on "How Not to Respond to a Terrorist Attack." Sober, honest, and restrained, his response is a model we can all learn from. www.dogshirtdaily.com?utm_source=n...

A new, more effective way of talking about nuclear weapons disarmament. Based on ideas from my forthcoming book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons thebulletin.org/2023/09/yes-...

The nuclear Twitter community is now in diaspora and not posting much anywhere.

Excellent journalism and a reminder that there is a middle ground. www.thefp.com/p/praying-co...

Russia experts: we are we to make of the recent call to use nukes in the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy? Nobodies seeking attention? Serious policy discussion? How concerned should we be? https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/a-difficult-but-necessary-decision/

Excellent analysis by the ever clear-headed Cheryl Rofer. (@cherylrofer.bsky.social) The Oppenheimer movie is myth making, and myths trigger misperception, distortion, etc. Worth reading. https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/2023/08/14/giving-up-a-myth/

One last thought on Oppenheimer: “Want to watch a movie that scares you into throwing your hands in the air and admitting you’re helpless? See “Oppenheimer.” Want to … actually do something useful about the danger nuclear weapons pose? All right, then. Let’s get to it.” http://surl.li/jtoio

“The movie “Oppenheimer” hypes a serious issue of national survival, and in the process makes matters much, much worse.” Some thoughts on apocalyptic movies and their impact. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-08-03/movie-oppenheimer-nuclear-weapons-control