Year: 2026

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. Economics & Investing Links of Interest Price hikes, outlook cuts – What airlines are doing as fuel costs surge. Wall Street Journal: U.S. Debt Tops 100% of GDP. Oil briefly touches $126, its highest price in four years. In 8 weeks, the Iran war has dented the U.S. economy. The damage could linger, economists say. $65B lithium mother lode hidden beneath Appalachian Mountains could supply US with power for centuries. Economics & Investing Media Tips: Please send …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 30, 2026

On April 30, 711, the Islamic conquest of Iberia began. Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad (pictured) landed at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Al-Andalus Umayyad Caliphate eventually supplanted the Visigothic Kingdom. — April 30, 1864: New York became the first state to charge a hunting license fee. — Today is the birthday of sci-fi novelist Larry Niven (born April 30, 1938). Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. — Today’s feature is a reader-written piece that was to short to qualify as an entry for Round 124 of the …


My Car Repair Adventures, by M.J.

Several months ago, I drove out to a place to hike and bike here in New Mexico. The last four miles of the trip were on a dirt road. Some parts of the road were in such bad shape that it seemed like I was driving over an old-time washboard. I slowed down for those portions of the road, but evidently I didn’t slow down enough, for my car started leaking oil and transmission fluid shortly afterwards. I didn’t hit anything in the dirt road; it was the vibrations from driving over those portions that caused the leaks. These definitely …


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 mass media bias and censorship. Study Finds Big Tech News Feeds Tilt Heavily Left Over at The European Conservative: Study Finds Big Tech News Feeds Tilt Heavily …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 29, 2026

On April 29, 1990, wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate. — On April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted Los Angeles Police Department officers on charges of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King.  The verdict sparked massive riots in the city and smaller ones in other U.S. cities. African-Americans in Los Angeles were enraged by the acquittal of the officers. Thousands of people began rioting across the city. For six days, scenes of wanton violence, looting, arson, assault and murder convulsed the city, with incidents like the brutal assault on truck driver Reginald …


Gardening and the Struggles – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) I decided to try raised garden beds, and I’m three years into it!  When people purchase and store seeds for their apocalypse garden should they need it one day, I laugh.  You could starve before you ever get a good garden going.  Unless, you happen to be sitting on perfect and fertile soil. Raised garden beds    In my case, I had to hire the help to build all the beds, transport barn compost from another area of the farm to the beds, and pay for composted “top soil” to be delivered.  …


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. — Tennessee Republicans Pass Bill Allowing Lethal Force for Protection of Property. (Pictured above is the  Tennessee capitol building — a public domain photo by euthman.) A quote from the article’s opening: “WSMV noted that if Gov. Bill Lee (R) signs the legislation into law it means “property owners will be allowed to …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 28, 2026

On April 28, 1910 the first-ever nighttime airplane flight was made by Claude Grahame-White, in England. According to Britannica: “Educated at Bedford in engineering, Grahame-White owned one of the first gasoline-driven motorcars in England and worked at a motor-engineering business in London until he became interested in aeronautics in 1909. On Jan. 4, 1910, he gained the first English aviator’s certificate of proficiency. Also in 1910, he entered many flying races in Europe and in the United States, where he won the Gordon Bennett Cup.” — April 28th is the birthday of Aimo Johannes Lahti. (Born in 1896.) This inventive …


Gardening and the Struggles – Part 1, by SaraSue

I am going into my fifth year trying to garden here on my farm.  I have ranching and farming neighbors who have been at it for generations, and their gardens are amazing.  Mine?  Not so much.  There also exists a large Amish and Mennonite presence here in this area.  They have large and productive gardens.  I could just buy from all the neighbors!  But, I wanted to have my own garden, which gives one a sense of security and food system control.  It has been a several year struggle. The 2025 gardening season was a positive change from previous years, …


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. The end of an era of informal transnational civility, near Havre, Montana: New reaction as construction of new border road ramps up amid concerns.  JWR’s Comments:  I have an friend who is a rancher on Montana’s High Line, who is also a volunteer firefighter.  He told me that it is not uncommon for firefighters to cut border fences when fighting fires. Wildfires pay no attention to national borders. …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 27, 2026

On April 27, 1667, at age 59, blind and impoverished, English poet John Milton sold his copyright to “Paradise Lost” for just £10 Sterling. — April 27, 1789: he crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. — On this day in 1861, West Virginia seceded from Virginia after Virginia had seceded from the Union. — The last day! We have been running a two-week-long sale on all of our pre-1899 antique shotguns at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sales ends at midnight tonight, …