Ward Hayes Wilson

Ward Wilson is widely acknowledged as the leading source of innovative pragmatic arguments against nuclear weapons in the world today. He has been a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, BASIC (the British American Security Information Council), and the Federation of American Scientists. He is currently the executive director of RealistRevolt, a grassroots advocacy organization in the Chicago area.

Wilson is an award-winning writer, who has been published in anti-nuclear journals like The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Nonproliferation Review, military journals like Parameters, Joint Force Quarterly and Revue de Défense Nationale, foreign policy journals like Survival, Foreign Policy, and Harvard’s International Security, as well as in The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others.
He has spoken in 23 countries on five continents, at the Pentagon; the French National Assembly; the United Nations; the Scottish National Parliament; the U.S. State Department; Harvard; Stanford; Princeton; Georgetown; Yale; the Sorbonne; the U.S. Naval War College; King’s College London; Hamburg University; Nagasaki University; University of Pretoria; Mexican Foreign Ministry; Czech Senate; Belgian Parliament; Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation; National Assembly, Costa Rica; Aberystwyth University, Wales; Chatham House, London; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and others.

Ward joins Unfiltered Discussions to talk about his passion for ridding the world of nuclear threat; as well as discuss his book, "Is It Possible: A World Without Nuclear Weapons."

Praise for Wilson’s forthcoming It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons:
“The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.”
George Lee Butler — four star U.S. Air Force general (ret.), former commander, STRATCOM
"In this stunning, breakthrough work, Ward 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 — Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons.
“If you only ever read one book about nuclear weapons, let it be this one. Easy to read, meticulously well-reasoned, it has an almost disarmingly straightforward answer for every conceivable challenge to the idea that a future free from nuclear weapons can exist. This guidebook for eliminating nuclear weapons will give even the most resolute cynic reason to hope that it is, indeed, possible.”
Emma Pike, Nuclear Disarmament Consultant and Activist
“Ward Wilson's book makes me believe that the eradication of nuclear weapons is feasible in our lifetime.”
Oscar Arias — former president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“A book that should be read by every decision maker and everyone else across the world. Together we can end the insanity of nuclear weapon."
J. Ramos-Horta — president of Timor-Leste (2022-) and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1996)
“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).
“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 nuclear weapons, but outlines new ways of thinking about them that make their elimination not only feasible, but the only practical course for the survival of humanity. A fascinating read, it is well-worth the time of anyone concerned with the planet’s future.”
Barry Blechman — co-founder of The Stimson Center in Washington, DC
“The policy-making elite in Washington can be slow to shift paradigms. Ward Hayes Wilson’s new book provides the paradigm-busting power of sheer realism and offers a megaton of hope. Read this wonderful book and save the world.”
Dr. James Keck — pastor, First Plymouth Church of Lincoln, NE
“A superb book, one that will make you think about nuclear weapons in ways you had not thought about before. It Is Possible is a must read for both policymakers and citizens alike.”
Dr. Rolf Mützenich — Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group, Bundestag
“This is a factual book, a book that draws on history, and that makes pragmatic arguments. If you are interested in a counterpoint to conventional thinking, if you want to explore new realist arguments about nuclear weapons, this is the book for you.”
Bernard Norlain — Général d’armée aérienne(2S) (ret.)
[former commander of the conventional air forces of France];
President, Nuclear Disarmament Initiative.
“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 to protect humanity and the planet from another Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
Taue Tomihisa — Mayor of Nagasaki (2007 - 2023)
“You owe it to yourself to read this remarkable message of hope.”
Joe Morris Doss — Episcopal Bishop (ret.)