Year: 2025

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 11, 2025

On July 11, 1863, US military held its first draft lottery in New York City. Exemptions were offered at a cost of $300. This was a fee that only the wealthy could afford. ($300 in 1863 Dollars is worth $7,654 today.) Draft riots soon followed. — July 11th was the birthday of John Quincy Adams. He was born in 1767 and died in 1848. Not to be confused with his father (John Adams) the younger Adams also served as a diplomat, congressman, and as president. — On July 11, 1897, Salomon August Andrée and crew left Spitsbergen in northern Norway by …


Traveling in Austere Situations – Part 2, by Dr. Rick

Camping in fair weather Getting adequate sleep and rest is crucial for your survival, even if you are only traveling a short distance, especially if you are already deprived of it. Your situational awareness and decision-making abilities deteriorate quickly without adequate rest and sleep. That’s not good for you. Climate and weather play big roles in your sleep experience. Another situation that will impact your night’s sleep is whether you are being followed or not. To get the best night’s sleep, you’ll need shelter. In fair weather, shelter is not a major concern. Sleeping “under the stars” is a romantic …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at “Trump Slump 2.0” in the U.S. gun market.  (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: The Comex market Short Sellers made another attempt at torpedoing the price of silver this week. By Wednesday evening, they had pushed the spot price of silver down to $36.61 per Troy ounce. But with ongoing strong …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 10, 2025

101 years ago, today: On July 10, 1924, Denmark took sovereignty control of Greenland as Norway ended its claim. (Public domain photo by Markus Trienke.) JWR’s Comment:  I wonder which nation will control Greenland in 2034, and in 2124… — July 10th is also the birthday of British novelist John Wyndham. He was born in 1903 and died March 11, 1969. Harris was a good friend of fellow novelist Samuel Youd (1922-2012), who wrote under several pen names, including John Christopher. Both men were famous for writing what are often called “cozy catastrophies”. Several of Wyndham’s novels and short stories …


Traveling in Austere Situations – Part 1, by Dr. Rick

In my two recent SurvivalBlog articles, I made suggestions about the equipment you’ll need in your GHB (Get Home Bag), BOB (Bug Out Bag), and your INCH (I’m Never Coming Home) kit. What was not covered was travel and the conditions you might encounter. Traveling is austere conditions is the subject of this two-part article. What is common to both parts is the weather. Traveling will not be easy. Reality check: traveling and resting in austere conditions will not be a sightseeing nature stroll or a “glamping” trip. You must pay attention – all the time. If you are out …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, further examination of A.I. and aerial drone technologies. The Force-Feeding of AI on an Unwilling Public An insightful essay by Ted Gioia, over at The Honest Broker: The …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 9, 2025

July 8, 1386: Battle at Sempach: Swiss militia pikemen defeated the troops of Duke Leopold III of Austria. — On July 9th, 1755: The Battle of the Wilderness (also known as the Battle of The Monongahela) was fought. — On July 9, 1776, the US Declaration of Independence was read to George Washington’s assembled troops in New York. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, …


Preps Starter Kits for Reluctant Families – Part 2, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Two is one right? In addition to the filter in each kit, a water purifier was included. The difference between the pair is that a filter is uses mechanical or physical means to restrict the passage of solids (dirt or microorganisms) to achieve safety. A purifier in contrast uses chemical or ultra-violet methods to sterilize water. The Aqua Research H2gO purifier uses brine (here it is table salt dissolved in water) electrolysis to generate a concentrated chlorine solution that is mixed into your source water to disinfect it. This is very similar …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Something is rotten in The District Of Criminals. On Tuesday, Johnny B. posted some news and memes on the now-it-is-claimed, ahem, “It never existed” Epstein client list: URGENT! We need to talk about PAM BONDI AND THE EPSTEIN LIST. Also see the video commentary by Dr. Steve Turley: Here’s The TRUTH about …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 8, 2025

On July 8, 1741, Theologian Jonathan Edwards preached perhaps the most famous of all American sermons, titled: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. It was preached at Enfield, Connecticut, during The Great Awakening — July 8, 1816: Frost reported in Waltham, Massachusetts during a “year without a summer”. This was attributed to a massive volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in the previous year. Something similar had happened in 1709, with even longer-lasting economic effects. But the cause of the Great Frost of 1709 has not yet been firmly established. — Today marks the birth of actor Kevin Bacon …