National Geographic Channel:All New Season:"Doomsday Preppers" (the Obamageddon) Tuesday at 9 PM

Producer's note from Nick Weissman: "Preppers come in all shapes and sizes. Such is the case with Megan Hurwitt, a metropolitan party girl living in the fourth largest city in the country: Houston, Texas. To see her driving through the sunny downtown streets in her Mustang convertible, one might not suspect that in her nearby apartment Megan has an impressive gun collection, a seed bank, and an intricate plan for evacuating the city.

Megan revealed that she carries a compact “go bag” with her at all times. Inside the small gadget bag you’ll find a compact mess kit, survival knife, compass, flint, pepper spray, family photos, as well as a few other hygienic essentials. I was surprised to learn that it even had an SD card with important financial, identification, and medical documents in case she has to leave in a hurry. I guess you could call it an end of the world purse. At that point, I knew that there was an interesting story to tell about urban prepping.

The second day of shooting, after a day of survival training with a local expert, Megan invited the crew on a trial run of her escape plan through the moonlit streets of downtown Houston. Fearing that the country is susceptible to a major oil crisis in the next few years, and knowing that roads/highways might quickly become inaccessible (as they did during Hurricane Ike), Megan plans to backpack south through the city to an awaiting bug out vehicle. The challenge, however, is passing through town efficiently, safely, and undetected. Though the path proved to have more hurdles than she anticipated, the journey itself was certainly visual for us to capture, set against the night skyline." Dennis Evers, The “Godfather” Prepper

“I’m prepping to protect my family against global chaos caused by hyperinflation.”

Producer's note from Jeremy Levine: “Dennis has a big family. And when I say a big family, I mean A REALLY BIG family. With 11 children, and a growing army of grandchildren, he’s been a prepper for years now—before he even knew he was prepping—because you need to store a lot of food to feed an army of kids. We came to his farm in rural Colorado to show how he’s trained his kin to function as a self-sustaining unit that could survive an economic meltdown. When we stepped out of our white soccer mom minivan onto his farm, it was like walking into a mini theme park, which makes sense, because he makes train signals for amusement parks across the country. Look down wherever you are, and you’ll find brightly colored sculptures made out of recycled materials. To the right, an entire mini-street of a fake mini-town, complete with its own church and convenience store.

Dennis is a tinkerer and he and his family made all of this. I looked on in awe. I’m pretty helpless at manipulating real-world things outside of the screen of a computer and I can’t imagine how he learned to do all of this. It’s a fantastic place and his family is just as warm and inviting as the scenery. It’s rare and completely unexpected that the people you are filming prepare a meal for you. It’s way more rare that they insist that they will prepare ALL of your meals with delicious farm-fresh ingredients while they also feed their children and grandchildren who come and go all week.

While I’m not a prepper, I really respect the world Dennis and his family have created. They are largely self-sufficient, they can live off the land, they have an intimate relationship with the food on their plates. And when they see a problem, they fix it. When they think of an idea, they try to make it happen. The results can be seen with the hundreds of colorful sculptures keeping guard on their land, ready for what the world may bring.” Kellene Bishop, The Gourmet Prepper

“I’m prepping for a collapse of our financial system that will mean the end of the world as we know it.”

Producer’s note from Jeremy Levine: “Kellene lives in Orem, Utah, surrounded by picturesque mountain peaks and strip malls. And she’s a force of nature. When we met her in her deceptively small home (it looks small from the outside, but inside you’ll find a labyrinth of never ending rooms), she leaped from room to room as she gave me a tour of her house with seemingly boundless energy. So it came as a surprise when she told me about her recent fibromyalgia diagnosis, a tough disease where pain is amplified throughout the body. Her focused determination and dedication to the ins and outs of prepping seemed all the more remarkable.

Kellene’s prepping comes from her faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which espouses the virtues of self-sufficiency and preparedness. While Kellene is most concerned about a total financial collapse, she believes it’s important to be prepared for whatever the world may throw your way and talks to her blog and radio followers about the ten principles of preparedness. Whatever happens, she wants to live out the apocalypse in style. She has huge quantities of food stored throughout the house with which she prepares gourmet meals. Kellene doesn’t plan to give up her chocolate lava cake or four-cheese Italian risotto when the end comes. One of the things I like best about Kellene is that she is very community oriented.

Unlike many Preppers I met on my journey, Kellene isn’t looking out only for herself. She teaches a rape prevention class, because as society falls apart, women are often the first victims. She also cooked a huge gourmet meal—deviled eggs, four-cheese Italian risotto, pork roast with pear butter barbecue sauce—from her long-term food pantry for her friends and neighbors (all of whom prep in one form or another). She told me that she plans to do the same and help feed others if the world comes to an end. She stressed it would be on her terms, and she has enough guns and self-defense training that I believed her, but I found it heartening that she would be looking out for others in case of a disaster. One of the downsides of a busy production schedule is you often don’t get to eat when everyone else does. So unfortunately, the crew and I only got the cold leftovers of this epic gourmet meal. Even still, the food was good. In the improbable chance the world ends in my lifetime and I had to choose one place to wait it out, I think I’d choose a place with the freshly baked smell of a four-cheese Italian risotto." David Sarti, The Hillbilly Prepper

“I’m prepping to survive an EMP detonation that will wipe out our nation’s transportation system.”

Producer’s note from Topaz Azides: “Getting to know David Sarti was a lot of fun. He is smart, knowledgeable, quick-witted, and just straight up funny. From the moment he greeted us at the gate on his ATV with his four miniature pinschers, my team and I knew we were in for a roller coaster of a ride. David can speak to the moon. I mean it. He can actually send radio signals off of the moon and hear it back on his HAM radio a few minutes later. For all you folks already acquainted with HAM radio, this comes as no surprise, but for this city slicker? I'm still in shock. David was a wealth of knowledge when it came to communication, and how to make prepper items on your own. What you can’t buy, you make.” Christopher Nyerges, The Street Survivor

"I'm prepping for a killer earthquake that could completely flatten the city of L.A."

Christopher Nyegres, afraid of the catastrophic failure of the modern food sources, has trained himself to live off of only what the land provides. Doesn't sound like a challenge? Christopher is prepared to do it in Los Angeles County.

Producer's note from Nick Weissman: "What would happen if four million people were suddenly without highways, electricity, water, or food? The USGS predicts that in the next 25 years, California has a 60 percent chance of a magnitude 7 quake or higher. Though 60 percent may seem low, if “the big one” does occur, the city and its population could be without vital necessities for weeks. Christopher Nyegres is prepared to live off the land.

Just like the Tongva Native Americans did when they occupied the land surrounding Los Angeles, Christopher has learned to live off the common shrubs and weeds that grow nearby. Some plants he uses for food, some he gathers for medicinal purposes, and others he uses to harness water in the event that potable water is unavailable. Christopher carries a flint for fire, but as a fail-safe, he can also make fire with a wood-carved drill and a shoestring. Armed with plant knowledge, a nonconventional bug out bag, and ever-expanding arsenal of urban survival skills, it was clear to our crew that Christopher is at ease with whatever Mother Nature throws at him." Kathy Harrison

"I’m preparing for a black swan event like a catastrophic new Madrid earthquake."

Producer’s note from Topaz Azides: “The first thing I noticed when pulling up to Kathy and Bruce Harrison’s home was simply how beautiful it was. Bruce single-handedly fixed up the Civil War-era house. Kathy made the garden blossom. It was readily apparent that this was a tight family unit with lots of love. The key word at the Harrisons' is self-reliance. They grow a lot of their own food, and can just about everything. Kathy, as humble as she is, is pretty much a master canner. Bruce, who is even humbler, can pretty much make anything out of wood. You want it, he'll build it. They make for a dynamic power prepper duo. We had two beautiful days there in the sun, pressing cider, learning to can, and even getting to play around with bees.” Paul and Gloria

"We're preparing for a polar shift that will cause a sudden climate change and change life as we know it forever."

Producer's note from Nick Weissman: "Both former soldiers, Paul and Gloria are a very kind and welcoming off-the-grid couple. While Paul tends to their 35 goats, 16 ducks, and four pigs on the property, Gloria happily dries corn in the double-wide kitchen while a venison dinner roasts in a nearby Crock-Pot. Together in this doomsday pod, they join in a feast with other members of the group as the Texas sun set over their humble home." Dennis McClung

"I'm preparing for a coronal mass ejection in 2012 that would likely take out the electrical grid and knock civilization back to the Stone Age."

Producer's note: "The McClung family is a microcosm of the show as a whole. They were a great family who lived in a suburb of Phoenix. They were typical by actuarial standards, two kids, a dog, a well-kept house ... and then not so typical by any standard, with 1000 tilapia fish in the deep-end of their swimming pool, eight chickens in their backyard, two pygmy goats, and a video version of a Maya calendar on their flat-screen TV that counted down the seconds till the end of the world.

I left the McClungs' entirely impressed with their ingenuity and dedication, charmed by their children, wanting a pygmy goat for my apartment." Kevin O'Brien, The G.O.O.D Prepper

Producer's note from Nicholas Weissman: "How much would you sacrifice to protect your family in the face of disaster? Kevin O’Brien, a restaurant manager in the low-lying area of Jacksonville, FL, is taking no chances. Kevin has seen the effects of extreme weather as hurricanes terrorize the Atlantic coast near his suburban home. Though his family has dodged many bullets in the past, their current property -- hovering only 15 ft above sea level -- is susceptible to worst case scenario: a rapid and destructive polar shift.

Knowing that his family cannot sit and wait for the coming tsunamis, floods, and unprecedented climate shift, Kevin has taken fate into his own hands and decided to uproot permanently to higher ground. With his wife, son, two daughters, and newborn infant, Kevin will pickup their entire life and move 700 miles north to the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. Here, they have purchased a 100-acre property where they will build a climate-protected structure known as an Earth Ship. It is a big change for anyone, but the Obrien’s see it as an absolute necessity." Michael Douglas, Man of the Land Prepper

Producer's note from Jessica Van Garsse: "If the number of times one has been named after a saint is any indicator of character, then Michael James Patrick Douglas is no exception to the rule – he’s as gentle a soul as his name is a mouthful. I actually understood his name to be Michael Patrick, and called him such for the entire first day we spent filming together. He finally, ever so delicately, corrected me. He’d run out of room on the form, he explained sheepishly.

To understand the kind of person Michael is, you need only to observe the way he walks. Michael makes his own clothing and shoes from animal hides – since he believes the only way to survive the earth’s imminent crumble under overpopulation will be to return to our hunter-gatherer roots. These clothes allow him to be free of relying on stores and modern economy. They are also totally silent to move in, allowing him to more effectively hunt, and avoid being hunt-ED. Each step Michael takes in his cloth-covered feet is thought-out and delicate. It’s like a dance, as he gingerly places each foot down, toe-to-heel, making no sound at all, nary a footprint. I should also mention that he walks this way all the time. I mean, all the time - when he’s making breakfast in the kitchen, going to get the mail, or in town grocery shopping." Preston White, The Johnny Appleseed of Preppers

This should be of interest to a lot of FReepers.

There are two kinds of Doomsday Preppers, IMO. One is the "end of the world" 2012 Mayan Calendar types, or that other guy who said the world was going to end in April of last year or sometime within April. These are the conspiracy nut job "Doomsday Preppers" who are simply paranoid,other irrational fears for whatever reason that the world is going to end.

Then you have the other kind, whose "Dooomsday Preppers" mentality is the result of rational, sober thinking, like many of those who've posted links sharing with others to learning how to survive in a pre-industrial environment.

I've read many articles, links on ways to survive the coming Doomsday or as I like to refer to as the "Obamageddon".

The Obamageddon is what drives those "Doomsday Preppers" who read the papers, the direction the administration is taking this country, and sure as day, they see the rational, well-grounded basis to learn all they can about what they'll need to survive what is with very high certainty going to happen. And while others are going to die a horrible death in the aftermath of what might very well be the greatest catastrophe in human history, civilization, brought on, facilitated by the Obamageddon while those that have been keen to taking precautions will live, survive to see another day.

It is to those that I have posted this information and to urge them to watch the entire season of the National Geographic program because there will be so very much information made available on the show found nowhere else for people to watch, learn in helping them survive without which they certainly will not.

NG is a well established Leftist institution following the socialist agenda.

This article is nothing more than a disingenuous expansion of “rational” and “scholarly” Leftist academics strolling amongst tic picking squatting apes in order to document their ignorant savagery and how it is so reflective of the conservative brutes who cling to their God and firearms and were so stupid as to vote against Santa Claus...

pfffht! I spit on the perfidious political premise

Add a third type. An average “Joe” who sees merit in preparedness. I don't ever want to be at the exclusive mercy of some government lackey! This week I've made a list for my car bag, for disasters or just crappy weather. Next, I design my bug-out-bag for three days of unassisted survival. I encourage everyone to take charge of their personal well being. Your life and the lives of your loved ones might depend on it. Just remember Katrina and Sandy!!!!!

We had a watermain break down the street last week, unannounced, as is the way of those things. I was in the middle of cooking a meal.

I have water put by for stuff like that, and continued cooking and cleaning, including a sink-full of dishes without having to stop because an old waterline broke.

Prepared isn't always for world shattering emergencies. It's because I refuse to be inconvenienced. ;)

/johnny

I believe in the “average joe” prepper. It simply means that any average person accepts that something unforeseen COULD just happen to happen.

To that end I made backpacks for my boys to keep in their cars - particularly in cold weather. It sure does piss me off to no end when I read about people that have auto breakdowns mid-winter in a northern state and all they are wearing is a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. They inevitably freeze to death or lose bits of themselves to frostbite.

I thought the kids would think I was a nutball - but they loved them. They have tons of useful stuff in there, and occasionally have had a little emergency when the bags have supplied the solution. All I need to do is to replace the nutrition bars, water pouches, and various sized hand warmer thingys once every two years. Oh and the flashlight batteries. I’m getting them platyplus water “bottles” and purification tables to add to the bags this year. These items will add zero weight or bulk, and be super valuable if in a true bind.

Due to where we live we have a well stocked storm pantry - but I’m always finding neat stuff to add.

LOL, it’s the only kind of shopping that I enjoy. There are so many neat and innovative items out there that it’s just fun to shop.

Not a problem at all.

Yep NG is terribly left wing, no doubt, but there are some things I watch on the channel prepper shows included.

I don’t care if the show spins them as crazy, because they are not.

It cannot hurt to be prepared, but it can kill not to be, just ask some folks in the northeast, whom are crazy.

People surely thought Noah (ultimate prepper!) was crazy too, but he turned out to be the smart one. Actually, my daughter and I stumbled upon a marathon of this show about two weeks ago, and were mesmerized all day. Nearly every episode contained at least one useful tip we could assimilate, as we are feeling compelled, in light of recent events, to prep too. I especially found the suggestion to stockpile liquor of various types to be a clever one - useful for barter, antiseptic, and flame starter - very versatile! Likewise the idea to store dry goods in emptied soda or water bottles (such as rice). Anyway, I appreciate your tip, and will be watching out for the new season as we try to make our own plan for preparedness!

I spent all day yesterday creating my vehicle equipment “pantry.” I have to admit, it was fund to do the research and see what's available. I'm just waiting for some smart retailer to figure out the value of creating “prepper” organized purchasing. Next, I work on the bug-out-bag. I just want to live through the next natural disaster!

A few years back I was stranded in my home. Thank God, my son and a buddy from their National Guard unit came by with a Hummer and dug me out. I'm a little mobility challenged and refuse to be at anyone’s mercy. But there are those occasions. . .

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