Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's Doomsday Bunkers and National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers perpetuate a stereotype of "preppers" that omits the wide swath of people who engage in preparedness in a less extreme and more varied way.

Talk of nuclear war, climate apocalypse, pandemic, economic instability, and the decline of democracy has led more people to think about how to survive a catastrophic -- if not apocalyptic -- event.

Do you buy organic food? Will you drink only bottled water? Do you avoid antibiotics? You may not have an underground bunker but you might have a generator, short wave radio, extra batteries and a supply of canned foods.

This hour, we dive into the real world of "preppers."

GUESTS:
Tea Krulos - A freelance journalist and the author of Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America’s Doomsday Preppers
Mike Davidson - A metal fabricator and member of Zombie Squad
Jon Stokes - Founder of Ars Technica and the deputy editor of The Prepared

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired May 8, 2019.

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2344381/">Doomsday Bunkers</a>&nbsp;and National Geographic Channel's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2069270/">Doomsday Preppers</a>&nbsp;perpetuate a stereotype of "preppers" that omits the wide swath of people who engage in preparedness in a less extreme and more varied way.
Talk of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/world/asia/north-korea-missiles-trump.html">nuclear war</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">climate apocalypse</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/28/the-next-pandemic-will-be-arriving-shortly-global-health-infectious-avian-flu-ebola-zoonotic-diseases-trump/">pandemic</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/business/stock-market-china-trade.html">economic instability</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/democracy-freedom-house-annual-report-civil-liberties-authoritarian-donald-trump-us-a8763196.html">the decline of democracy</a>&nbsp;has led more people to think about how to survive a catastrophic -- if not apocalyptic -- event.
Do you buy organic food? Will you drink only bottled water? Do you avoid antibiotics? You may not have an underground bunker but you might have a generator, short wave radio, extra batteries and a supply of canned foods.
This hour, we dive into the real world of "preppers."
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Tea Krulos&nbsp;- A freelance journalist and the author of&nbsp;Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America&rsquo;s Doomsday Preppers</li>
<li>Mike Davidson&nbsp;- A metal fabricator and member of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Zombie-Squad-212747005624/">Zombie Squad</a></li>
<li>Jon Stokes&nbsp;- Founder of&nbsp;Ars Technica&nbsp;and the deputy editor of&nbsp;<a href="https://theprepared.com/">The Prepared</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow/">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin/">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired May 8, 2019.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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