The Pen and the Sword

The Military Writers Guild•x.com

The Pen and the Sword, the podcast of the Military Writers Guild, seeks to examine war and the written word through discussions with service members, veterans, civilian analysts, and writers.

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Episodes

Writing as a Community with Nathan Finney

Today on the Pen and the Sword, we kicked off the reboot of our podcast with a focus on collaborative writing and on informal communities of practice like the Military Writers Guild that advance their missions as volunteer-run organizations. There is nobody better to discuss those topics than Dr. Nathan Finney. Nate is a historian, a Strategist in the United States Army, and the President of the Military Writers Guild. Nate was the editor of the book “On Strategy”, published by Army University P...

Aug 04, 2025•39 min

On remembering war

In today's episode of The Pen and the Sword, Adin is joined by Randy "Charlie Sherpa" Brown, author of "FOB Haiku" and Barry Alexander, author of "On Afghanistan's Plains." The trio discuss the various ways in which we talk about and remember war, the role of humor in bridging the civilian-military divide, and more.

Sep 06, 2016•50 min

Guest Episode - War Stories, 1.1

Today, we're featuring a guest episode of a new project from MWG members Adin Dobkin and Angry Staff Officer. You can find their show, War Stories, at www.warstoriescast.com. In Northern France on July 14th, 1916, a cavalry unit from Hyderabad made what most consider to be the final cavalry charge of World War I before the invention of tanks. The unit, Deccan Horse, represented the last gasp of the old way of battle — a way upended by the grinding slog of the Great War. This is their story.

Aug 22, 2016•39 min

On The Valley - Book Club Episode One

On the first episode of The Pen and the Sword Book Club, Adin discusses John Renehan's The Valley alongside U.S. Army Officer Luke O'Brien, Carrie Morgan, the author of The Road Back from Broken, and Pauline Shanks Kaurin, Professor of Ethics at Pacific Lutheran University.

Jul 21, 2016•1 hr 1 min

On the battle for the narrative

In today's episode, Adin is joined by John DeRosa, a DOD civilian and PhD student at George Mason University, and MSG Sohail Shaikh of the Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group. Adin, John, and Sohail discuss the role of narratives in the fight against ISIS and how the U.S. can build its narrative capacity from groups like the literary community.

Jun 16, 2016•1 hr 3 min

The Pen and the Sword Book Club Announcement

Today, we're excited to announce a recurring series on the Pen and the Sword that'll start next month and take place in addition to our standard discussions. The Pen and the Sword Book Club is a monthly discussion series on a military or war novel. For our inaugural discussion, Adin will be joined by The Road Back from Broken's author, Carrie Morgan, U.S. Army Officer, Luke O'Brien, and Associate Professor of Philosophy, Pauline Shanks Kaurin. The four will discuss John Renehan's The Valley.

Jun 13, 2016•2 min

On the (mis)use of history

In this episode of the Pen and the Sword, Adin is joined by Nathan Finney, a US Army Officer and PhD student at University of Kansas, and Angry Staff Officer, an Army historian. The trio discuss the legacy of conflicts and how military and national security professionals use and misuse history.

Apr 04, 2016•56 min

On civilian narratives of conflict

In the second episode of the Military Writers Guild's podcast, the Pen and the Sword, Adin Dobkin discusses civilian narratives on war and the military with Carrie Morgan, the author of the Road Back from Broken, and Kama Shockey, a writer whose short stories have appeared in a number of literary journals. Medium episode page: https://medium.com/the-military-writers-guild/the-pen-and-the-sword-episode-2-bfa8393b9c57#.1q0y86ie4

Feb 22, 2016•56 min

On diversity and fiction in national security

In the inaugural episode of the Military Writers Guild's podcast, The Pen and the Sword, Tyrell Mayfield, August Cole, and Adin Dobkin discuss diversity in military and national security conversations, the role of fiction in these debates, and writing for service members and civilians.

Dec 16, 2015•52 min

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