War on the Rocks is a membership-supported publication focused on geopolitical and military issues owned by Metamorphic Media.

Background

War on the Rocks was founded in 2013 as a podcast by Ryan Evans, a veteran of the United States Army and geopolitics think tank scholar. In late 2013, Evans expanded the podcast into a website that additionally published commentary and analysis on foreign policy and military activity. To fund and expand this website, which soon became the central feature of War on the Rocks, Evans raised funds through successive crowdfunding campaigns on web platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Additionally, in 2015 Evans solicited seed investments totaling $100,000, and in 2016 started offering beta memberships priced at around $50 per year. ¹

In an interview describing his goals for the publication’s membership program, Evans described his interest in allowing members to interact with “two buckets of people”: first, contributors to the website, and second, servicemembers, think tank staffers, civil servants, grad students, Capitol Hill staffers, and aid workers. To facilitate this interaction, the company maintains two programs: WarCasts, weekly live webcasts moderated by Evans centered on geopolitical topics, and War Hall, a members-only discussion forum. ²

As of 2017, War on the Rocks had roughly 900 paying members. ³

Texas National Security Review

Since 2017, War on the Rocks has participated in a partnership with the University of Texas’s Texas National Security Network (a program founded as part of university chancellor William McRaven’s Quantum Leap program to broaden the institution’s influence) to publish the Texas National Security Review, a print and online geopolitics journal. ⁴

Metamorphic Media

War on the Rocks, as well as the Texas National Security Review, are both branded projects of the media company Metamorphic Media, which was founded and is directed by War on the Rocks’ founder and inaugural editor, Ryan Evans. ^{5 6}

People

Ryan Evans

Ryan Evans is the CEO of Metamorphic Media, which owns War on the Rocks. He is also the publication’s founder and inaugural editor. ⁷ Initially, after graduating from college in 2005, Evans worked with federal law enforcement in Washington, DC, doing research on Islamic groups. Later, after getting a master’s degree, Evans worked at the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence. According to an interview, in 2010, after becoming tired with “writing about what other people were doing,” Evans joined the United States Army and served in a program that sent individuals with social science backgrounds to brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan to teach them about the sociopolitical and economic dimensions of ongoing conflicts. Afterwards, Evans returned to DC to work at a variety of geopolitical think tanks including the Center for National Policy, the Center for the National Interest, and the Center for Naval Analyses, before starting War on the Rocks in 2013. ⁸

Nicholas Danforth

Nicholas Danforth is the editor of War on the Rocks. Previously, Danforth worked as a scholar focusing on United States-Turkish relations with organizations including the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. ^{9 10}

1. Owen, Laura Hazard. “War on the Rocks is a national security site for a military “tribe” that knows what it’s talking about.” Nieman Lab. March 20, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/war-on-the-rocks-is-a-national-security-site-for-a-military-tribe-that-knows-what-its-talking-about/
2. Owen, Laura Hazard. “War on the Rocks is a national security site for a military “tribe” that knows what it’s talking about.” Nieman Lab. March 20, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/war-on-the-rocks-is-a-national-security-site-for-a-military-tribe-that-knows-what-its-talking-about/
3. Owen, Laura Hazard. “War on the Rocks is a national security site for a military “tribe” that knows what it’s talking about.” Nieman Lab. March 20, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/war-on-the-rocks-is-a-national-security-site-for-a-military-tribe-that-knows-what-its-talking-about/
4. Owen, Laura Hazard. “War on the Rocks is a national security site for a military “tribe” that knows what it’s talking about.” Nieman Lab. March 20, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/war-on-the-rocks-is-a-national-security-site-for-a-military-tribe-that-knows-what-its-talking-about/
5. “Team.” Metamorphic Media. Accessed October 24, 2022.https://www.metamorphic.media/team
6. “Brands.” Metamorphic Media. Accessed October 24, 2022.  https://www.metamorphic.media/brands
7. “Team.” Metamorphic Media. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.metamorphic.media/team
8. Owen, Laura Hazard. “War on the Rocks is a national security site for a military “tribe” that knows what it’s talking about.” Nieman Lab. March 20, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2022.
9. “Nicholas Danforth.” Brookings. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/author/nicholas-danforth/
10. “Team.” Metamorphic Media. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.metamorphic.media/team