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 photo above was shot from the east side of the Snake River Canyon. The United States Congress designated the Hells Canyon Wilderness in 1975. It measures 217,927 acres, with about 83,811 acres in Idaho, and 134,116 acres Oregon. The wilderness is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service. (Photo courtesy of the BLM.) Redoubt News Links: Adventuring down the deepest …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 5, 2026

On January 5, 1477, the Battle of Nancy (now in France) was won by the Lorraine-Swiss forces led by René II, Duke of Lorraine. More than 7,000 Burgundians were killed, including Duke Charles The Bold. Thus ended the Burgundian Wars and the Burgundian State. — On January 5, 1914, industrialist Henry Ford announced his $5 minimum per-day wage. This doubled most workers’ pay from $2.40 for a 9-hour workday to $5 for an 8-hour workday. — January 5th is the birthday of the late John Pugsley (born 1934, died April 8, 2011), libertarian and economics author. Pugsley was well known …


Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

Each year, I only post one reminder, encouraging voluntary Ten Cent Challenge tip subscriptions, and this is it. Back in August, we celebrated our 20th blogiversary. Thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a success! There are now more than 41,400 archived articles and columns. SurvivalBlog is well-established as the world’s most widely-read daily blog on family preparedness. Hopefully, some readers appreciate the fact that I only post an appeal once a year. And I’m confident that most readers appreciate that SurvivalBlog is one of the last of the “Old School” blogs that is still posted with fresh content from blog readers …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Old Fashioned Boiled Dinner is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is just one of the dozens of bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that is now available to pre-order. Ingredients 6 pounds corned-beef brisket 1 cabbage 3 white turnips 4 carrots 6 potatoes 6 beets Vinegar Directions Put the meat into the pot over a brisk lire with enough cold water to cover it. Bring it rapldly just to the boiling-point, then remove the scum, set the …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: A map showing the Overlap of the Schengen Area and the Eurozone, as of January, 2026. (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.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 4, 2026

On January 4, 871, the Viking Great Heathen Army defeated a Wessex force led by King Æthelred and his brother Alfred, in the First Battle of Reading. — January 4, 1896: Following Mormon abandonment of sanctioned polygamy, Utah was belatedly admitted as the 45th US state.  Settlers had first petitioned Congress for statehood in 1849. Several of Utah’s less populous neighboring territories had been admitted to statehood years earlier than Utah. — 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 Prize: A Gunsite Academy …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: A Reality Check: The “Asian Guy” Giving Advice on the Global Silver Market Is About as Believable as “Unbiased” PBS News News Link: Yes, AGAsianGuy is widely regarded as an AI-generated persona, often called “AI Asian Guy“.  (Ironically, this gray propaganda source’s AI-generation was confirmed by Grok, which is another AI.) Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 3, 2026

On January 3, 1521,  Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church for failing to recant parts of his Ninety-Five Theses, which started the Protestant Reformation. — January 3, 1749: Benning Wentworth issued the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. — On January 3, 1892, English author and scholar J.R.R. Tolkien, who was perhaps best known for his richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), was born in South Africa. — January 3, 1944: Top US flying ace Major Pappy Boyington was shot down in his …


A Crystal Radio Kit for TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by Mike in Alaska

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Once you have cut, stripped, and made the proper ring terminal connections to the wires, then the  next job is to solder them to the various locations as required; this will involve soldering the 6.0” wire and two other wires twisted together as one wire onto the variable capacitor of the kit. I used a dab of Kester 186 solder flux on the wires before I tinned them and then after I crimped the wires onto the terminals, I put a very small drop of the flux on the crimp connection and …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord‘s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord‘s anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 2, 2026

On January 2, 1890, a record 19.2-foot alligator was reportedly shot in Louisiana by American businessman Edward Avery McIlhenny. That claim is now disputed. — January 2,1906: Willis Carrier receives a US patent for an “Apparatus for Treating Air,” the world’s first modern air conditioner. — And on January 2, 1974, a nationwide speed limit of 55 mph was imposed by President Richard Nixon. — 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 Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …


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.  This week, some market and economic predictions for 2026. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.       (Graphic courtesy of Visual Capitalist.) Economics & Investing Links of Interest JWR’s 2026 economic predictions in a nutshell:  Repeated Fed interest rate cuts with little effect. Renewed inflation. A major stock market correction, but a continuing boom in defense stocks. A continuing precious metals bull market led by silver, and then a metals price crash.  Expect a weaker U.S. Dollar, …