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, more about AI and the anti-AI backlash. Iran War: Global Fertilizer Shortages Looming Reader A.T. send this BBC news piece: Billions of meals at risk due to Iran …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 6, 2026

On May 6, 1837, US blacksmith John Deere made the first steel plough, in Grand Detour, Illinois. — May 6, 1851: Linus Yale Jr. patented the Yale cylinder lock. — You may already own a SIEGE Stove or a SIEGE Belt from SIEGE Survival. (One of our loyal advertisers.)  I just heard that they’ve added the excellent American-made Fire-Fast firestarters to their product line. (At the SIEGE website, click on “Ferro Rod Fire Steels”.) You can see one of these being tested after four days of submersion, in a YouTube video. Tom Christianson will soon be reviewing one of the jumbo-size …




Get Out: Escaping The Blue Hives – Part 2, by Single Farmer

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) For now, the best thing to do for many is to “Get Out” escaping blue hives and get on productive land. I have been advocating that people move to lightly populated food producing rural areas in conservative states. I live in one and I am trying to increase the number of freedom loving people over here. There is safety in numbers. I realize how difficult it is to accomplish all of this. Whenever I talk with people who would like to live on a farm, the number one reason I hear is …




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. This week:  Some good news and bad news, on gun legislation. — Some great news: House Appropriations 2027 Funding Bill Ends Suppressor, Short Barrel Rifle Registration. JWR’s Comment:  Be sure to contact both your U.S. congressman and your state’s two U.S. Senators, to insist on their support for this important legislation!  Please phone …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 5, 2026

On May 5,1865, the first US train robbery occured at North Bend, Ohio. — May 5, 1893: The Panic of 1893 caused a large crash on the New York Stock Exchange. — This is also the birthday of Pat Frank (1908-1964). This was the pen name of newspaper journalist Harry Hart Frank. His 1959 novel Alas, Babylon is a survivalist classic. His personal life was marred by alcoholism, but his writing is admired and still surprisingly popular. (Alas, Babylon is still in print, after 67 years!) As an homage to Pat Frank, one of the settings in my novel Expatriates …




Get Out: Escaping The Blue Hives – Part 1, by Single Farmer

Author’s Introductory Note: Please help to spread this message by e-mailing links to this article including to people who are not regular SurvivalBlog readers. With more migration of conservatives to red states, you could help to turn the tide and restore our country to its greatness. Some article titles tell you immediately what you need to know and this is one of them. Even if you now live in the safest, most conservative area there are lessons contained within this article because you are very connected to every rotting liberal area in the country. You may think to yourself: “I …




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. American Redoubt Links Idaho is facing a lawsuit regarding new bathroom law, HB 752. Summer wildfire outlook indicates high risk across Northwest. Over at Expedition Rove vlog, a brief recap of their progress at their North Idaho home: Why Did He Leave Everything Behind? 1980s House Transformation Full Walkaround (Ep. 23). It is grand to see how well they’ve taken on their challenges, what great friends that have made, …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 4, 2026

On May 4, 1415, reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance. Pictured is Jan Hus at the Council of Constance, in an 1883 painting by Václav Brožík. Hus had traveled to Constance with the promise of safe passage by both Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and the Pope. But after he arrived the Pope and the cardinals soon ordered him to be thrown into prison. On July 6, 1415, after a ghastly stay fettered in prison and two trials, he was offered either recanting or death, and he chose a martyr’s death. He …




DA Targets Knock Down Targets, by Thomas Christianson

DA Targets produces an innovative line of polymer, self-healing, reactive targets. They have silhouette targets. They have gong targets. And they have knock down targets, too. Like other reactive targets, knock down targets make an excellent training aid. The marksman doesn’t need to wait to inspect a target following a series of shots in order to find out how well he is shooting. Instead, the target reacts immediately, providing instant feedback about the effectiveness of each shot. This provides more accurate and powerful reinforcement of marksmanship skills. It is also a lot more fun. One of DA Targets’ most innovative …




Recipe of the Week: 

The following recipe for Dandelion Flower Pancake Fritters is from Avalanche Lily. Note: Be sure that you harvest only from dandelion patches that have not been sprayed with any herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Ingredients 2 cups Dandelion flowers 1 medium onion, chopped. Fresh or dried chives can also be used. 2 to 3 cloves of garlic (to suit your taste) 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt (to suit your taste) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar 1 cup of milk. (I use sheep milk.) 2.5 cups all-purpose flour. (I use home-ground Einkorn flour.) 2 eggs — …




SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: 70% of Canada’s population lives in these three regions. “Around 300,000 km² from 9,984,670 km² of total area of Canada, but 70% of population lives here…” (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable. — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.




The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“The absolute rights of man, considered as a free agent, endowed with discernment to known good from evil, and with power of choosing those measures which appear to him to be most desirable, are usually fumed up on one general appellation, and denominated the natural liberty of mankind. This natural liberty consists properly in a power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, unless by the law of nature: being a right inherent in a us by birth, and one of the gifts of God to man at his creation, when he endued him with the …