The Survival Podcast

Today on Friday Fusions we conclude our four-part series on Miyamoto Musashi’s “The Book of Five Rings”, stepping into the final and most abstract concept: The Book of the Void. This episode focuses on navigating total chaos, moving beyond conscious thought, and leaving rigid techniques behind to achieve a state of pure, spontaneous action. We explore what it means to operate effectively when standard operating procedures fail and the environment becomes entirely unpredictable. Our historical practitioner and behavioral designer team up to translate Musashi’s ultimate conclusion into a modern framework for surviving and thriving in chaotic systems. The hosts de...

Does the question, what if everyone did what they most want to do, give you visions of the scary kind of dark T.V. anarchy?  Okay so if it does let me ask you a second questions, why?  What reason do you have for believing that most people want to go nuts with a chain saw and murder people or set the cities on fire?  Why do you think that way?  Does it really make any logical sense? Put another way, if I told you right now that you could do anything you wanted are you going to start pushing old...

In this episode from 2023 we asked a simple question.  It was simply, how much you could save by mastering one simple skill? Dive into this episode and discover a game-changing hack that could boost your savings by hundreds, if not thousands, annually. Butchery might sound daunting, but it’s easier than you think! Join us as we unravel the art of meat cutting, from sourcing the best primals to unveiling those secret butcher cuts you won’t find elsewhere. This show will equip you with the right tools and techniques to turn primals into premium steaks and chops. Ready to beef...

This episode was inspired by my panel session in Camden at the 2023 Self Reliance Festival, a question was asked that I was absolutely not expecting. A young woman, who was very emotional, asked, “But what if you can’t leave the city?” I listened to her intently, realizing very quickly that the reality was not that her family could not leave; rather, at this point in their lives, they simply didn’t want to. The bigger issue was her emotion; clearly, this was painful for her. They were a young couple, into gardening, had kiddos, but they were working with lower-in...

When I first did this episode in 2019 I was thinking about how all the way back in 2008 I started this podcast.  And how, I wanted to talk about all things modern survival related.  To me nothing is more rooted in our survival than the ability to feed ourselves so I started talking about gardening.  Still with tons of guns and gear types showing up in the early days I wondered if garden type shows would be well received.  Not only were they but they became some of the most popular episodes I have ever done. Within that group … Continue reading →

Today on Friday Fusions we arrive at part three of our series on Miyamoto Musashi’s “The Book of Five Rings”, moving from external strategy into the internal architecture of personal agency. This episode is entirely focused on the relentless, repetitive training of the mind and the daily engine required to sustain true discipline over a lifetime. We unpack Musashi’s absolute requirement to constantly polish the intellect and spirit, examining how a 17th-century warrior’s approach to continuous learning is the ultimate blueprint for modern self-mastery. Our historical practitioner sits down with a behavioral designer to translate this ancient discipline...

In this episode from 2019 I interviewed Ariel who lives off grid in a tiny house nestled into the western mountains of Wyoming, a little over 6000 feet above sea level. She splits her own wood for heat, carries water by hand, uses a composting toilet, and attempts to grow, hunt, or forage as much of her own food as possible between the weather and wildlife she’s surrounded by. As a child, she was fortunate enough to be able to spend much of her free time exploring and playing in the woods. Little has changed now that she older. She … Continue read...

This episode was done on a day when I was thinking about a lot of things.  One was a very close friend dealing with a major life transition.  That got me thinking to many of my own transitions.  This included realizing that I was on my own as a teenager, joining and leaving the military and moving to Texas.  I also thought about getting what I thought was a dream job, moving my family for it, then losing it due to a buy out.  My son growing up and leaving home, moving to Arkansas and moving back to Texas and … Continu...

Today we have our first Tuesday Coffee Chat with John Willis of SOE Tactical Gear and Nicole Sauce of Living Free in Tennessee. These discussions are always a wildcard and can go anywhere. We usually hit on some current events of course. We also tend to talk about things like entrepreneurship, homesteading and a ton more. In general we try to inspire you a bit, make you laugh a few times, entertain you and teach you a thing or two along the way. Resources for today’s show… Find Me on Nostr Join the Members Brigade TspAz.com TSPC on Disc...

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Our lead story today is what I am calling “InstaFluencer Doomsday” and of course I mean all the chatter around governments supposedly getting ready for WWIII.  I will explain why I barely even care and why you shouldn’t either.  We will then … C...

Today on Friday Fusions we continue our four-part deep dive into Miyamoto Musashi’s “The Book of Five Rings”, pivoting away from physical combat and stepping directly into the boardroom. In this second episode, our hosts examine how the mindset of an undefeated 17th-century swordsman maps perfectly onto modern economic strategy, corporate positioning, and applied system design. We explore the profound business implications behind Musashi’s core concepts of mastering timing, disrupting an opponent’s rhythm, and perceiving the subtle market shifts that cannot yet be seen. Our resident historical practitioner is joined by a former corporate executive turned business consultant...

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions the PRIME act, daily exercise, pistol actions, dry wall repair, fruit tree root stocks, end stage societies and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes it about … Continue read...

Today we are joined by Hakeem Anwar to talk about Mindful AI, a new service from Above designed to point people back toward human knowledge and creativity. Instead of keeping users inside an endless loop of AI-generated answers, Mindful AI aims to connect them with books, creators, and events. We’ll discuss why Hakeem believes we need a different kind of AI, what might set Mindful AI apart from the tools most people use today, and how the service will work. We’ll also talk about the infrastructure behind it, how Above plans to protect user data, and whether the serv...

We are reaching the fever pitch of an election cycles right now, as we do every two years.  This time it is a mid term with not quite the extremes of a general election but the media is doing what they always do.  Trump is of course depending on the channel you turn to the reincarnation of either Regan or Hitler.  Of course every democrat is either saving the world or hiding around a corner with a needle full of hormones waiting to “trans your kids”. Look I get it the right is bad and the left is worse in … Continue

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Our lead story today is I will turn my proven predication ability on the 2026 election as to what happens, I will then tell you why it won’t matter. Which states will stay red, surprise victories that may happen, the battle for … Cont...

Today on Friday Fusions we are kicking off a brand new four-part series exploring Miyamoto Musashi’s legendary 17th-century text, “The Book of Five Rings”. While this masterpiece is historically known as a definitive guide to martial strategy and swordsmanship, we are taking a much wider view to extract its core principles. In this first episode, our AI hosts will focus directly on the literal combatant lens to explore how historical martial arts philosophy serves as the ultimate foundation for modern personal agency. Our historical researcher and modern combatives instructor dive deeply into Musashi’s emphasis on mastering multiple weapons and avoi...

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions the Iran war, Ruger discontinuing iconic guns, foraging witch hazel, Start9 servers, dogs, diet, mastering skills and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes it about 100X … Continue read...

Today we are joined by Bo Carter to talk about solar grazing and agrivoltaics: combining food production with solar energy on the same land. I’ve been talking about this idea for about ten years, including how spaced-out solar panels can leave pasture growing beneath them, provide shade for livestock and improve resilience during dry periods. I was often told the animals would destroy the panels and the whole thing couldn’t work. Bo has been doing it, so we’ll get into what actually happens on the ground. We’ll talk through the day-to-day work of managing livestock beneath solar pa...

I thought it was time for a not so serious episode and given we are heading into the holiday season, it also seems timely.  There are plenty of parties, meals and such coming in the next few months of course.  I have also said since starting this podcast over 18 years ago that, “since we all eat every day cooking is both a survival skill and a lifestyle design skill as well. Cooking and trying new things is also something I am passionate about.  In fact one of my ongoing goals in my life is, “make at least one new … Continue reading →

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Our lead story today is the fact that Alberta is voting for independence, it will likely fail but I will tell you why it still matters.  Then we look at the huge Ole Miss story that vanished as soon as it wasn’t …...

Today on Friday Fusions we wrap up our three-part exploration of J. Russell Smith’s 1929 masterpiece, “Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture”. In this final episode, we transition to the heavy caloric producers, the staple nuts. These are the trees that provide the dense fats and proteins necessary for both human sustenance and finishing livestock without reliance on fragile annual grain systems. The hosts break down the massive yields of chestnuts, which Smith famously dubbed the “corn tree,” along with oaks, walnuts, pecans, and hickories. We explore why acorns are the ultimate pig forage and how to integrate these large trees … Continue rea

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on the DC swamp, physical gold, investing during panic, making cheese, storm prep, fitness and weight loss, political reality and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes … Continue read...

Today we are joined by Mollie Engelhart to discuss disturbing research showing that male cattle are producing milk. A study of over 20,000 cattle found that 14.5% of beef steers and nearly 20% of dairy-cross steers were lactating at slaughter. One possible explanation involves hormonal growth implants used in commercial beef production. While no direct connection has been proven, the findings raise serious questions about modern agricultural practices and their unintended consequences. We will discuss how Mollie discovered this research, what might be causing this bizarre phenomenon, and what needs to happen next. We will also examine beef imports, industry … Continue reading →

Today we have our first Tuesday Coffee Chat with John Willis of SOE Tactical Gear and Nicole Sauce of Living Free in Tennessee. These discussions are always a wildcard and can go anywhere. We usually hit on some current events of course. We also tend to talk about things like entrepreneurship, homesteading and a ton more. In general we try to inspire you a bit, make you laugh a few times, entertain you and teach you a thing or two along the way. Today we discussed a great deal about business and entrepreneurship and growing business when the economy is … Co...

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Our lead story today is how one man in Canada literally turned Flock Camera technology back on the government.  I will also tell you why I think he’s on to something and we need to build an entire network of these thi...

Today is an episode of Friday Fusions, a series that combines my direction and source selection with the virtual AI hosts in Google Gemini Notebook. I choose the topic, assemble the source material and give the AI specific instructions on how to approach it. The virtual hosts then turn that information into a conversation. These Friday episodes let me bring you additional content while continuing to produce the four regular TSPC episodes I host each week. AI can make mistakes, mispronounce words or occasionally state something with more confidence than accuracy, so verify anything important before acting on it. The … Co...

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on foreign policy, wearable health tech, AI, the plague, private roads, the utopia mouse experiment and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes it about 100X more … Continue read...

One of the quotes the audience really loved from early days of this podcast all the way back in 2008 was, “winter is coming it always does”.  Well it is coming again, as it always does.  And now is the time for us to get prepared because now is when we have the time to look forward and can logically find solutions before we are hit by the stress of emergency reaction mode. Additionally with the “mega Nino” we seem to be in it could be a very weird winter.  The jist of this is.  The North East US should … Continue reading →

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Our lead story today is a very credible study about treating some skin cancers with a combination of DMSO and Vitamin C, of course you won’t hear a peep about this in main stream media.  Then a little fact to make peo...

In this episode from 2021 I talked about remaining bold in the face of fear, and did so right in the middle of the CoVid 19 scamdemic. On the day I did the original version that morning I did a Miyagi Mornings video.  It was about the difference between entrepreneurs and business owners and it got me thinking about being bold when others are in a state of fear.  More it made me think about how big the opportunity is for those that think this way. And friends, there has never been a time in my life where I have … Continue reading →

Today is an episode of Friday Fusions, a series that combines my direction and source selection with the virtual AI hosts in Google Gemini Notebook. I choose the topic, assemble the source material and give the AI specific instructions on how to approach it. The virtual hosts then turn that information into a conversation. These Friday episodes let me bring you additional content while continuing to produce the four regular TSPC episodes I host each week. AI can make mistakes, mispronounce words or occasionally state something with more confidence than accuracy, so verify anything important before acting on it. The … Co...

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on kratom, squirrel hunting, foraging, solar power, property taxes, dog training and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes it about 100X more likely your question will … Continue read...

In this episode from 2016 I talked about cooking venison.  And right out of the gate if you are not into or do not have access to game, this podcast will still be advantageous to you, every technique I cover can be applied to any red meat like say beef or lamb. Cooking really is all about technique, and red meat is red meat, pork is pork, etc.  There are some differences due to fat content we will address but on that, the number one way people ruin any meat, especially wild game is OVER COOKING IT. It staggers the … Continue read...

After yesterday’s closing segment I started thinking about what people should grow if they really need to grow food.  More what people with average sized yards can grow and how they should be growing it for real needs, not just the nice to have garden many of us maintain. The crops here can all be grown on small patches of land and they are either very high value in either a monetary or caloric way.  In other words potatoes might be cheap but they actually feed you.  Baby greens and herbs may be low in calories but by the pound...

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast. Fast riffs on many topics in real time. No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of an aquaponics system. A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends, and real opinions you will never hear from mainstream or even most alternative media. Today we talk about the hatred that Gen Z and Millennials have for Boomers, but should that hate be the other way around? Nvidia releases software to prevent AI agents from “going rogue.” At the same time, Bill Gates claims unregulated AI … Contin...

Today is an episode of Friday Fusions, a series that combines my direction and source selection with the virtual AI hosts in Google Gemini Notebook. I choose the topic, assemble the source material and give the AI specific instructions on how to approach it. The virtual hosts then turn that information into a conversation. These Friday episodes let me bring you additional content while continuing to produce the four regular TSPC episodes I host each week. AI can make mistakes, mispronounce words or occasionally state something with more confidence than accuracy, so verify anything important before acting on it. The … Co...

Today on The Survival Podcast the expert council answers your questions on foreign policy, dog training, arthritis, Trump accounts, container gardening and more. Make sure if you submit content for an expert council show you do the following…. Email it to me at jack @ thesurvivalpodcast.com Put TSPC Expert in the subject line Ask you question and state the expert you have the question for in one coherent sentence Hit the return key a few times and then give all the details you think are necessary ` Following that procedure makes it about 100X more likely your question will get … Continue read...

Today we are joined by Robin Greenfield to discuss what it actually takes to forage 100% of your food and medicine for an entire year. No grocery stores, no restaurants and not even a garden to fall back on. Robin is living entirely from what he can harvest from the land and water, using wild plants, fish, wild rice, mushrooms, road killed deer and other locally available foods to sustain himself. This is not some weekend stunt either. It is the result of more than a decade spent building the knowledge and skills required to even attempt something like this. … Continue re...

Here’s the cleaned up version. I kept your meaning, structure, and voice intact, and only fixed grammar, typos, punctuation, and clunky phrasing. We as humans owe a great deal to technology. If I think back to when I was a senior in high school in 1989, so many things I take for granted today simply did not exist. Today, if I need a ride, I can use Uber or Lyft and do so in just about any town with a few thousand people. When I was a kid, if my car was not available, I had to bum a ride … Cont...

Monday Mayhem shows are a throwback to the roots of The Survival Podcast.  Fast riffs on many topics in real time.  No deep presentations or digging into the finer points of a an aquaponics system.  A mix of practical prepping, current news and economic trends and real opinions you will never hear from main stream or even most alternative media. Today we discuss some good news about meat processing but don’t celebrate just yet.  We ask a simple question, why don’t any of the people upset about retiring farmers selling their land, take up farming?  Yes, diesel has gone up …...