What media sources do you consult?

Whatevs - August 16, 2020

Advice

Besides this website, what media sources do you consult for preparedness? Looking to cast a wide net.

17  

Honestly I think this is the best. Any firearm forum usually has a prepardness section, and there is valuable food for though there BUT you have to comb through a lot more nonsence than on The Prepared.

 

This is going to be an interesting thread, methinks. 

I’m a NYC lefty nutjob, so bear with me, folks. 

• Daily:
  • New York Times
  • CNN
  • Gothamist (local NYC news)
  • The Prepared (blog and forum; forum has a good amount of news, I find)
• 2-3 times per week but not daily:
  • The Bulwark (great conservative blog but vehemently anti-Trump, fair warning)
  • The Intercept (they hate everyone. everyone.)
  • The Atlantic (longer think-pieces)
  • BBC News (decent international perspective)
  • NPR/PBS
• If something smells fishy and I want alternate perspective:
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Fox News

In looking at this, I’m realizing that despite thinking of myself as open-minded, I obviously stay really close to the left-leaning outlets. I need to broaden my exposure to conservative, libertarian, and independent voices/perspectives. I’m eager to learn of other news sources from this community to fill those holes. 

 

Some expansive libraries of info and guides throughout these sites.
https://www.thesurvivalistblog.net <-blog, lots of guides
https://www.shtfpreparedness.com/ <-blog, gear reviews, suggestions
https://survivalblog.com/ <-blog, guides, minor but bareable political tone on occasion
https://ps-survival.com/ <-I love this file library of info, probably one of the best things you can browse even for non survival uses
https://www.survivalistboards.com/ <-Forum

Some of the big ones im not mentioning because alongside their decent information they house a large amount of very political and bigoted users/subjects, whack job conspiracies.

 

I use some of Seabee’s sites, but would also add:

-Task and Purpose (Focuses on military news; sometimes reports on security issues ahead of MSM)

-The Economist (global perspective, nuance)

-Small Wars Journal (has a good security-focused news round-up and links) 

-War on the Rocks (more academic, but sometimes hits current events)

 

When it comes to general news, I stick to medias in my first language, chiefly Le Monde, and Le Canard Enchaîné if I want more independent coverage, plus a few online pundits in both languages.

My only preparedness source is The Prepared so far (plus experienced friends and acquaintances), although I’m going to check out what Chris Marz posted.

 

The podcast miniseries “It could happen here” by war correspondent Robert Evans renewed my prepping motivation when it first aired a while back. It doesn’t  contain prepping info, so much as it does serve as a reminder of some of the reasons we prep (political and societal instability). 

 

This might get me a couple of funny looks, and its got nothing to do with traditional current events, but I’m a big fan of BBC’s Future and Deep Civilization:

https://www.bbc.com/future/columns/deep-civilisation

https://www.bbc.com/future/

Its a little bit more “big picture” and while mildly escapist still provides some food for thought.

I also follow local city papers (which in my case kind of includes the Washington Post), even nextdoor.com to get a sense of ‘situational awareness’ of what my extended neighbors are thinking.  I occasioanlly check in with the local police departments twitter feed.

From my point of view, its almost less about what your source is and more about your ability to disern fact from opinion/editorial and ask basic questions about statistics.  Really, learn some more about statistics and trends.

Statistics, trends and context.  Those are the big factors for me, more than any single source.

 

I’ve avoided Nextdoor because of the reputation it got over time. But kinda wonder what it’s like during a time like this. Are people more helpful or forthcoming with info, have you noticed?

 

I’m curious, what reputation are you speaking of?  I can imagine people being petty, and I see some of that, but i just scroll past it.  I don’t actively enguage with much content (I read much more than I post) so i never really become a target or anything.

It depends on what you’re looking for, and I only browse it occasionally to see whats going on.  Some people post helpful information, early on when there were shortages people would post which stores were well stocked.  lso info about flood mitigation, repairs, and city programs can be helpful.  Sometimes you get more context about emergency response activities or local politics.  Sometimes you realize some of your extended neoighborrs are terrible, bigoted people.  Sometimes you just have to be entertained rather than frustrated by the people who pick petty fights over silly things.

 

I heard that Nextdoor’s poor reputation was that it instigated (or still does) fear (you know, all the bad stuff that’s happening in the neighbourhood). Can’t remember if that was on purpose or the result of giving a platform for some ppl to panic.

Same with the Nest community app. I have a Nest, downloaded the app, and deleted it after a couple of days beceause it was all about “look at this shady person going around my house” type of thing when it was all bs.

 

It was reported on several years ago, but one of the problems with Nextdoor was that people would report ‘suspicious activity’ that was really just people of color they didn’t recognize in the neighborhood.

Here’s a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/website-nextdoor-hears-racial-profiling-complaints.html

Supposedly Nextdoor was trying to fix this.  Glad your experience with it has been more positive.

 

Not really a traditional media source, but I started appreciating r/PrepperIntel on Reddit. Although the reports are not always a match with my current location, it’s like having a pulse check from boots on the ground from everywhere. Since it’s about intel, it helps cutting trough the noise of the endless “what should I put in my bob” kind of questions that you find on other prepper subs or FB groups.

 

For the US, I forgot to mention FEMA’s Daily Operations Briefing (the PDF is updated every morning) http://www.disastercenter.com/FEMA%20Daily%20Operation%20Brief.pdf

 

Not exactly a media outlet but I receive the free emailed updates from CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) at the University of Minnesota:  https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/

Zabeth

 

I’ve been listening to CIDRAP’s podcast the Osterholm Update for the past couple months, and it’s incredible. He’s such a humane, reasonable voice. 

 

Hi Ef, Yes, Dr. Osterholm is great!  It was his book “Living Terrors” that first got me interested in emergency preparedness.

Zabeth

 

I love The Prepared and also love the ongoing series of talks on coronavirus by Chris Martinson at Peak Prosperity.  Both have been giving regular updates since January. 

playlist update peak prosperity coronavirus youtube