Matthew Ehret: 02-01-2026, 
World War I—the “ur-catastrophe” of the twentieth century—shattered European civilization, extinguished millions of lives, and created the conditions for revolution, fascism, and horrors culminating in Auschwitz. But was the conflict truly inevitable, or was it a war of choice driven by great-power rivalry?
In this eye-opening talk, Pelle Neroth Taylor, author of The War Guilt Question and Hands of Our War, challenges the conventional narrative of sole German responsibility. Topics include the road to war; Britain’s humiliation in the Boer War and the compensations it sought in Europe; the Entente Cordiale and the carve-up of North Africa without German inclusion; years of tabloid-driven propaganda and strategic encirclement; the reality behind the Sarajevo plot; and the pivotal missed opportunity of 1916, when Germany made genuine peace overtures to President Woodrow Wilson—overtures deliberately undermined by the British Empire’s hard-line stance.
Pelle Neroth Taylor is a filmmaker, author, historian and geopolitical commentator who has authored The War Guilt Question and Hands off Our War. He is Co-host of the Pelle Taylor and Martin Sieff Geopolitical Podcast available here
Access the live zoom link on Sunday January 4 at 2pm ET (after Pluralia Dialogos at 11am ET) by clicking the link below: