Year: 2026

Subterfuge: Why I Smile When I’m Told Some Lies, by R.E.D.

In this article, I’ll explain why some subterfuge can be a good thing and some implications for present-day news reporting. Many of my friends and acquaintances are terrible liars. I don’t mean to imply that my friends tell a lot of lies. However, they often tell the same lie consistently, and quite frankly it is not a very good lie. So, they are just not very good at telling that one lie. A couple of reasons why I am lied to so often is because I live in a community with many military retirees and I worked for nearly 30 …


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, another new AI threat. The Escape of Claude Mythos Hacking Tool I found this linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Do you understand what Anthropic just admitted?  …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 8, 2026

On April 8, 1796, the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss proved the quadratic reciprocity law (the ability to determine the solvability of any quadratic equation in modular arithmetic.) — Today’s feature piece is a guest post that was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage …


The First Nine Survival Items You Should Buy, by Big John

I’ll make my list of the first nine survival items that you should buy really simple for you. The first two big-dollar items that you should buy are the Self Reliance Outfitters Canteen set and heavy duty space blanker/tarp. These two items are really must-have items. Dave Canterbury of Self Reliance Outfitters had these items custom-made. They are industrial strength and designed just like I would have done so myself. The canteen. It is similar to the old metal army canteen setup. But it is bigger and has a bigger mouth. It is nested in a canteen cup with a …


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. — Some wisdom from Temple Grandin: Recommended Basic Livestock Handling. o  o  o A video from SecDef Pete Hegseth: Our Military bases became gun-free zones—leaving troops EXPOSED. That ends today. o  o  o GOP Senator Opposes More Than 60 Days Of War On Iran Without War Declaration. An excerpt: “Curtis didn’t say whether …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 7, 2026

On April 7, 1902 the Texas Oil Company (Texaco) was formed. — On April 7, 1994, Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, was assassinated by Hutu soldiers—a day after the deaths of Juvénal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda, and Cyprien Ntaryamira, president of Burundi—as Rwanda entered a period of anarchy and genocidal killings. — April 7th is the birthday of Colonel Bob Denard (born 1929, died October 13, 2007). He had an amazing life as a mercenary, including four attempted coups in the Comoros.  The 2011 film Mister Bob is a slightly fictionalized account of his earliest mercenary adventures …


Making Repairs, by Big John

So you are living in a societal collapse and something breaks. Let’s say that your generator dies. You’ve gotta fix it. The following describes what have I learned about fixing things: I used to go through the repair process in my mind a few hundred times. I would pull the cover by loosening two screws, then unbolt the coil with a socket wrench. Then pull the coil and inspect for a broken winding. But first of all, I must borrow my friend’s socket set. I have learned over the years that the most efficient route is often to just tear …


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 public domain photo above was taken Bonnie Moreland, in Eastern Oregon. Redoubt News Links A video from Our Wyoming Life: Twins Born on the Ranch… But Mom Rejected One. Love birds? Idaho Fish and Game has a livestream just for you. The latest from Destination Rove: It’s Finally Time to Start Rebuilding…+ Easter Jeep Safari. Send Your Media Links Please send your links to media from the …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 6, 2026

On April 6, 1652 Cape Colony, the first European settlement in South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company under Jan van Riebeec. — April 6, 1768: French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s expedition arrives in Tahiti, claiming it for France and naming it New Cythera. — This new Southwestern Oregon listing at SurvivalRealty.com caught my eye: Turnkey Off-Grid Survival Compound — Rogue Valley — Water, Power, Food, Multi-Family Ready. — Our feature piece for today is by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We now need entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than …


Henry Lever Action Supreme in 5.56 NATO, by Thomas Christianson

A rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO probably offers the most widely available and varied selection of ammunition in America today. A quick visit to cheaperthandirt.com revealed a total of 144 different ammo options in a variety of bullet weights available in 5.56 NATO or .223 Remington at the time of this writing. These options also tended to be more economically priced than ammunition for other center fire rifle chamberings. Rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO also tend to produce negligible recoil and are generally light and easy to carry. Factors like these make rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO attractive options for …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Reduced-Carbohydrate Trail Mix is from SurvivalBlog reader F.C.. Ingredients 2 cups mixed dry-roasted nuts. (Any combination of peanuts (not truly a nut), almonds, hazelnuts, and/or pistachios.) 1 cup toasted seeds, unsalted. (Such as pumpkin, squash, and/or sunflower seeds.) 2 ounces unsweetened shredded coconut. 1⁄2 cup raisins and/or craisins. Sneak in a few M&Ms, if desired. Directions Just measure, and mix it up! STORAGE This stores best in airtight containers. — Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use …