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.

Today, we dive into the real world of "preppers." 

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2344381/" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2344381/">Doomsday Bunkers</a>&nbsp;and National Geographic Channel's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2069270/" data-cke-saved-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 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/world/asia/north-korea-missiles-trump.html" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/world/asia/north-korea-missiles-trump.html">nuclear war</a>, <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">climate apocalypse</a>, <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/28/the-next-pandemic-will-be-arriving-shortly-global-health-infectious-avian-flu-ebola-zoonotic-diseases-trump/" data-cke-saved-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>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/business/stock-market-china-trade.html" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/business/stock-market-china-trade.html">economic instability</a>, and the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/democracy-freedom-house-annual-report-civil-liberties-authoritarian-donald-trump-us-a8763196.html" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/democracy-freedom-house-annual-report-civil-liberties-authoritarian-donald-trump-us-a8763196.html">decline of democracy</a> has led more people to think about how to survive a catastrophic -- if not apocalyptic -- event.&nbsp;
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.
Today, we dive into the real world of "preppers."&nbsp;

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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