Year: 2025

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. H.L. suggested a graphic derived from data from the IMF World Economic Outlook produced by Visual Capitalist that depicts aggregate world debt, by country, in 2025. The darker the color, the higher the percentage of a nation’s GDP. We are not far behind Japan!  There are several sovereign debt defaults ahead. Japan will probably just be the first of many. – JWR The thumbnail below is click-expandable.           (The graphic by Dorothy Neufeld is …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 11, 2025

On December 11, 1282 Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, the last native and independent Prince of Wales, was killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales by forces of Edward I of England. Llywelyn reigned from 1259 and is known as Llywelyn the Last. — December 11,1602: A surprise attack by forces of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain was repelled by push of pike and gunfire from the citizens of Geneva, Switzerland. It has been commemorated since as the Fête de l’Escalade. — And on December 11, 1946, Hank Williams …



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, some news on the threat of cosmic ray disruption of digital microcircuits. A Cosmic Ray Hit May Have Disrupted A320 Flight Controls Struck by a cosmic ray: Galactic …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 10, 2025

On December 10, 1690, Massachusetts Bay became the first American colonial government to issue paper money — the Massachusetts Codfish Notes. They were engraved and printed by Paul Revere. Shown above is a Codfish 8-Pence Note. — December 10, 1520: Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication. — And on December 10, 1906, US President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …


Building a Simple One-Tube Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

Introductory Disclaimer: I have not been paid for writing this article, and I own the radio being reviewed. Scenario: The world has gone mad, it is now TEOTWAWKI and it’s just not a pretty picture folks. And if that wasn’t bad enough, what with the power grid being down, looters and such, and some bozo declaring martial law effectively shutting down all radio, internet, and anything capable of receiving any information except what “THEY” want you to hear … hard to imagine? If you can find a holocaust survivor, or anyone who lived during WWII ask them if that sounds …


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. — Reader Richard T. recommended this article about a millionaire survivalist: Trailblazer: Vernon Pick’s Apocalypse Now. For some context,  Richard also sent these two links: Vernon Pick mansion on Google Maps. Vernon Pick mansion visit on YouTube. The comments to the video from people who knew Pick are very informative. o  o  o …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 9, 2025

On December 9th, 1315, the Swiss Woudsteden renewed their Eternal Covenant. (Eidgenossenschaft or Oath Commonwealth). According to Wikipedia: “[Eidgenossenschaft] means “oath commonwealth” or “oath alliance”, in reference to the “eternal pacts” formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of the late medieval period. In Swiss historiography, this relates most notably to the Rütlischwur (Rütli Oath) between the three founding cantons Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which traditionally dates to 1307. In modern usage, Eidgenossenschaft is the German term used as an equivalent to “Confederation” in the official name of Switzerland, Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (rendered, respectively, as Confédération suisse and …


Planning Your Silver Bull Market Exit Strategy

The recent physical silver shortage and the run-up in the spot and futures prices of silver (around $59 USD per Troy ounce the last time that I checked) has prompted me to issue some supplementary advice about how and when to SELL some of your silver.  We should all be ready to start slowly SELLING or trading a large part of our silver once the spot price passes $125 per ounce.  There will almost certainly be a peak and then a crash in silver. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. Redoubt News Links Wyoming Girl, 12, Stuns With One-Shot Kill From 600 Yards To Bag Huge Elk. Two In Jail On Claims They Were Being Paid To Drive Teen Girl Through Wyoming. The Innovative “Wood Bank” In Buffalo That Provides Free Firewood For People In Need. Skylar Meade pleads guilty to two counts of 1st-degree murder following Idaho prison break. Send Your Media Links Please send your links …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 8, 2025

On December 8th, 1864, James Clerk Maxwell‘s paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” was first read by the Royal Society in London. (It was published by the Royal Society in 1865.) — December 8th, 1880: 5,000 armed Boers gathered in Paardekraal, South Africa. — Today also marks the birthday of Eli Whitney, (1765–1825) the inventor of the labor-saving cotton gin, several firearms, and dozens of other mechanical devices. He was the first to demonstrate the advantages of fully interchangeable parts in firearms manufacture. — Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We need more …