Dude, I'm being genuinely curious about what "holy wars" he's talking about.

For lots of "holy war" anecdotes, see The Theory That Would Not Die by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne.

...I can't even tell if he's talking about some stupid overblown bullshit, or if he's just exaggerating what is actually a pretty low-key difference in opinion.

Do you consider personal insults, accusations of fraud, or splitting academic departments along party lines to be "a pretty low-key difference in opinion"? If so, then it is "overblown bullshit," otherwise it isn't.