Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order caused by political or economic crises. Preparations may anticipate short-term scenarios or long-term, on scales ranging from personal adversity, to local disruption of services, to international or global catastrophe. There is no bright line dividing general emergency preparedness from prepping in the form of survivalism, but a qualitative distinction is often recognized whereby preppers/survivalists prepare especially extensively because they have higher estimations of the risk of catastrophes happening. Nonetheless, prepping can be as limited as preparing for a personal emergency, or it can be as extensive as a personal identity or collective identity with a devoted lifestyle.
Survival skills are techniques used to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life, including water, food, and shelter. Survival skills also support proper knowledge and interactions with animals and plants to promote the sustaining of life over time.
A survival kit is a package of basic tools and supplies prepared as an aid to survival in an emergency. Civil and military aircraft, lifeboats, and spacecraft are equipped with survival kits.
Mel Tappan was the editor of the newsletter Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter and the books Survival Guns and Tappan on Survival. Tappan was an influential leader of the Survivalist movement who advocated relocation to survival retreats in lightly populated regions.
Aton Edwards is an American expert in the fields of emergency preparedness, self-reliance and sustainable living. He is also an author, inventor, and environmental/social activist. He founded the International Preparedness Network (I.P.N.) in 1989 and serves as executive director.
Bruce D. Clayton is a noted forest fire and biological control ecologist as well as being the author of several books of interest within the survivalist movement.
Kurt Saxon was an American writer, radio host, survivalist and the author of The Poor Man's James Bond, a series of books on improvised weapons and munitions.
PopSugar Inc. is an American media and technology company that is the parent to the media property PopSugar and a monthly subscription business PopSugar Must Have. The company was founded in 2006 by married couple Brian and Lisa Sugar as a pop culture blog. The company is part of American digital holding company Vox Media.
Charles Gasparino is an American journalist, blogger, and occasional radio host. He frequently serves as a panelist on the Fox Business Network program segment The Cost of Freedom and the stocks/business news program Cashin' In.
In the survivalist subculture or movement, a retreat is a place of refuge. Sometimes their retreats are called a bug-out location (BOL), a bunker, or a bolt hole. Survivalist retreats are intended to be self-sufficient and easily defended. Generally, they are located in sparsely populated outback rural areas.
James Wesley, Rawles is an American author, former U.S. Army Intelligence officer, and survival retreat consultant. He is author of the best-selling thriller Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, and proponent of the "American Redoubt", a survivalist refuge in the American Northwest.
Portrayals of survivalism, and survivalist themes and elements such as survival retreats have been fictionalised in print, film, and electronic media. This genre was especially influenced by the advent of nuclear weapons, and the potential for societal collapse in light of a Cold War nuclear conflagration.
The Patriots novel series is a five-novel series by survivalist novelist and former U.S. Army officer and blogger, James Wesley Rawles. It is followed by his Counter-Caliphate Chronicles novel series.
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life is a 2009 book on survivalist preparedness by Neil Strauss. In the book, the author gains citizenship of the island nation of St. Kitts, visits a ranch called Gunsite to learn to shoot, and learns techniques for tracking and surviving in the wilderness. Comics are used as illustrations throughout the book, detailing survival techniques.
Tower Prep is a teen science-fiction television series created for Cartoon Network by Paul Dini, who is known for previously writing and producing series in the DC Animated Universe. From October 12 to December 28, 2010, the series aired one thirteen-episode season, before being canceled by Cartoon Network.
The American Redoubt is a political migration movement first proposed in 2011 by survivalist novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles which designates Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming along with eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, as a safe haven for conservative Christians. Rawles chose this area due to its low population density and lack of natural hazards.
Doomsday Preppers is an American reality television series that aired on the National Geographic Channel from 2012 to 2014. The program profiles various survivalists, or "preppers", who are preparing to survive the various circumstances that may cause the end of civilization, including economic collapse, societal collapse, and electromagnetic pulse. The quality of their preparations is graded by the consulting company Practical Preppers, who provide analysis and recommendations for improvements.
Food Insurance, or FoodInsurance.com, is a company based in Kaysville, Utah, that sells emergency food supply products online. The company was founded in 2009 by Justen Ericksen and Jason Lindsey. The current CEO is Mark Hyland.
Naked and Afraid XL is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2015.
