Episode Details

What can war, humor, and storytelling teach us about human nature?

Today’s guest is Kenny Dupar, a retired military officer, retired construction professional, author, and storyteller based in East Tennessee. He describes himself as “Colonel Kenny” because, as he puts it, he refuses to take himself too seriously.

In this conversation, Kenny reflects on his experiences in the military, his time in Iraq, human nature, family, storytelling, and why humor can become a way of maintaining perspective when life gets dark.

We explore:

• How Kenny’s experiences changed the way he sees human nature
• Why he believes survival can sometimes take precedence over humanity’s more noble qualities
• Why family is, in his words, “the linchpin”
• How humor became a way of coping with difficult experiences
• Why he believes sometimes you have to laugh just to keep from crying
• Using humor alongside stories about combat and trauma
• What his experience in Iraq taught him about war and cultural differences
• Why he believes people don’t always understand cultures outside their own
• How war affects families back home—not just the people deployed
• Why returning service members can find that life has moved on without them
• Why imagination allows us to explore ideas beyond what we can immediately prove
• The role of mythology and storytelling in preserving ideas from the past
• What stories can reveal about human nature
• Why curiosity means making up your own mind rather than automatically trusting other people’s judgments
• How the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly became part of his second novel

Kenny’s writing moves between war, history, humor, romance, classic cars, and speculative ideas. He describes storytelling as a way to explore the emotional core of human experience while keeping some of life’s darker realities in perspective.

🌍 Thought Atlas

https://joinpodmatch.com/thoughtatlas

📚 Kenny’s Books

Kenny specifically tells listeners to search “Kenny Dupar” on Amazon.

He names these books:

• Scoundrels in Iraq: An Engineer’s Adventures
• Pinup Dolls and Classic Cars: A COVID Love Story

He also says his books are available on Audible.

🌐 Connect with Kenny

Kenny says listeners can go to his website, which he identifies verbally as being under the name Kenny Dupar.