The Siege of New Hampshire

A special episode: an audio walk-around during this year's maple syrup harvest, from donning snowshoes to go out to install the taps, to collection and boiling the sap down to syrup. Along the way are a couple of diversions. Posts are uploaded to Buy Me A Coffee and Patreon with photos to accompany this audio experience. Photos on Buy Me A Coffee Same post on Patreon (same photos) Support this podcast! Consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, to keep the episodes coming. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

After leaving the village of Sawyer, the "tax men" tried shaking down Abi for food too. Matt's arrival warns them away. Abi prevails upon Matt to teach Steve and Miles how to shoot -- which they've never done before -- in hopes of putting up a better defense against the next demanding beggars. Matt reluctantly agrees, but only after completes some of his pressure canning chores. The shooting lessons are square-one basics. While there was still much more training needed, the first lesson was, at least, not a failure. Enjoying Refuge Mountain? Your gift of a virtual coffee can keep Mic alert and at the keyboard. Go to Buy Me A Coffee and buy him a cup of virtual coffee. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 10 of the Refuge Mountain story. If you'd like to read ahead, become a member too!

The War in Iran has already had an effect on life here in the US home front. Higher gas prices is the first to be felt. What other effects might be looming on the horizon? What might the prudent prepper do to be positioned to handle those effects? Mic and Jeff discuss the ramifications of potential supply chain disruptions or higher food and supply prices. A wildcard is the possibility of Iran-linked sleeper cells getting activated and causing outages, disruptions, or even mayhem. What, if anything, can be done about that? Help this podcast! Since you're enjoying these topical consider showing your support by becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, to keep the Doom coming. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

Matt has his new (and not particularly wanted) guest, Nicole, help with his harvesting chores. While digging potatoes, his garden fork breaks. He takes that and a few other broken steel things down to Gus's shop to be welded. He brought his extra battery and inverter to power Gus's welder. A truckload of men arrive in Sawyer soliciting food "donations" for what they describe as a state relief program. Matt and Gus aren't buying it. Neither are the other residents of Sawyer. A noisy standoff ensues, broken up by Richard Haff's arrival with armed men. The tax men depart, but could be headed for Abi's house. Be Bold! Show your appreciation. Encourage Mic to keep writing. Coffee is a great encourager. Go to Buy Me A Coffee and buy him a cup of virtual coffee. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 7 of the Refuge Mountain story .If you'd like to read ahead, become a member too!

As if part of the World Economic Forum's agenda, the business world is embracing the Subscription Model for just about everything. You will own nothing and instead rent it from corporations. What's so bad about that? Mic, Brian, and Jeff get a hot rant going over what's wrong with everything -- from clothing to friendship -- becoming a subscription. For one thing, the more of your life you outsource to others, the more dependent you become and the less skills you retain. Like Borsodi's "wage slave", you become a subscription slave. Can anything be done about it? Links: Brian's Article: Subscriptions Are Unsustainable (the opinion blog) Subscriptions Are Getting Out of Control (YouTube video) Support this podcast! Consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, to keep the Doom coming. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

Chores resume as Matt feels less beat up. He encounters some needy but fussy folks in an SUV. Matt visits Abi's house to trade eggs for salt. She laments that her son and family don't help out. While Matt helps Abi haul in firewood, the woman who the three thugs had assaulted walks up Abi's driveway hoping to find a place to stay while her car gets fixed. Abi says her house is full, so she volunteers Matt's unused first little cabin. He objects strenuously. Coffee. The perfect gift! Encourage Mic to keep writing with a virtually steaming cup of virtual coffee. Go to Buy Me A Coffee and buy him a cup of virtual coffee. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 8 of the Refuge Mountain story .If you'd like to read ahead, become a member too!

A developing trend, particularly among younger preppers goes by the name Homesteading 2.0. This hybrid of self-sufficiency and yet continued engagement with "the system" runs counter to the "old prepper" idealized vision of the totally off-grid, remote, self-sufficient homestead. An ideal that very few actually attained. So, why was it held up as the ideal? Some historical light helps explain why. Mic, Brian, and Jeff discuss this new prepper model and the old. Links: Ralph Borsodi's "This Ugly Civilization," (1929) Highlighting the wage-slavery of the modern economy that traps people into a system of wages and consumerism that is actually more costly than DIY. (archive.org) Ralph Borsodi's "Flight From the City" (1933). His book about his quest for a more self-sufficient life as a route to an improved personal economy. (archive.org) Support this podcast! Consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, to keep the Doom coming. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

Matt goes about his daily chores, still suffering from the injuries he sustained in the fight the day before. Abi persuades him to attend a town meeting in the village of Sawyer, to learn more about the outage. Matt reluctantly agrees. At the meeting, in Gus's two-bay repair shop, the residents learn that the outage is widespread. When they worry about their futures, a tall man named Richard Haff tells of his shelter compound: Cliffhaven. He shares MREs and other supplies with the residents. Don't be shy. Show your appreciation. Encourage Mic to keep writing. Coffee is a great encourager. Go to Buy Me A Coffee and buy him a cup of virtual coffee. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 7 of the Refuge Mountain story .If you'd like to read ahead, become a member too!

The group discussed the two Greenland movies, focusing on their prepper relevance. Jeff provided a synopsis of the first movie, which follows Gerard Butler's family as they try to reach a safety bunker in Greenland before a comet hits Earth. The group criticized the movie's lack of realism and reliance on coincidences, but agreed it had some prepper lessons, such as the importance of having a bug-out plan and considering potential obstacles. They also discussed the second movie, which takes place five years after the comet impact. Even though the sequel was more of a disaster flick, it still offered some prepper lessons. Wasn't this episode informative? You can watch both movies with enlightened eyes! Show your gratitude by becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, Members get to read ahead as we start Novelette #4: Refuge Mountain. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

The start of the 4th novelette. Matt Stakel lives alone on "his" mountain in the White Mountains of NH. His quiet, hermit-like lifestyle consists mostly of the slow rhythm of harvests and subsistence chores. A routine harvest of berries down near the highway is interrupted by a group of three young men assaulting a women whom they had driven off the road. Against his own self-advice to not get involved, he interrupts their plans. A three-on-one fight ensues. Ready for a new grid-down adventure? Encourage Mic to keep writing. Coffee is a great encourager. Go to Buy Me A Coffee and buy him a cup of virtual coffee. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 6 of the Refuge Mountain story .If you'd like to read ahead, become a member too!

The Doomcast team discussed some online predictions for 2026, focusing on economic challenges, political unrest, and technological advancements. Brian highlighted a K-shaped economy, fragmented supply chains, and rising civil unrest, while Jeff emphasized AI's role in healthcare and geopolitical tensions. Mic shared predictions about media fragmentation and potential misinformation. The group explored prepper strategies, including stockpiling essentials, using backup power sources, and developing security measures against AI-generated scams. They also considered the impact of infrastructure costs and potential brownouts. Link to 2026 Predictions Article Brian mentioned Link to 2026 Predictions Video Jeff mentioned in the DoomCast. If this DoomCast had you preppared for all this predicted doom, consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, to keep the Doom coming. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

The final chapter in the Utopians story. Andy is rescued from his snowy hut by Martin and his people. They take him back the Simmons house to warm him up. Andy tells of the Utopians' final days. Following that short epilogue is a set of author's notes on the origin and development of the Utopians for Books 2 and 3, how that served as a foundation for their story, but also what was not developed before and needed to be fleshed out. Show Mic that you enjoyed this story. Keep him going! Buy him a cup of virtual coffee at Buy Me A Coffee -- maybe two!. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting chapter 3 of the fourth novelette -- Refuge Mountain. Become a member, and you can read it too!

Mic, Brian, and Jeff discuss the apparent decline in prepper content and community engagement, exploring various reasons such as burnout, shifting demographics, and changing consumer habits. They noted that while the number of preppers may have increased post-COVID, their interests and consumption patterns have evolved, with younger preppers focusing on short-term preparedness and community action rather than long-term survival scenarios. The conversation highlighted how political dynamics influence prepping motivations, with cycles of fear and preparedness tied to political leadership changes. If you were entertained or found this DoomCast made you go "Hmmm", consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, Members get to read ahead as we start Novelette #4: Refuge Mountain. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.

As November grows colder and the food more scarce, the mood of the Utopians is dark. Discontent rises to the surface and tempers flare. Both Mara and Brandon try to encourage the others but it's too little, too late. Andy returns from hunting for acorns to find Mara and Brandon embroiled in a heated argument. Mara grabs at Brandon, causing him to fall and hit his head on a rock. Fearing that she killed him, Mara runs away with all her gear. Andy is left alone -- the last of the Utopians. Show Mic you are enjoying this story. Buy him a cup of virtual coffee at Buy Me A Coffee -- maybe two!. Monthly supporters on Patreon and BMAC will be getting the next chapter of the fourth novelette -- Refuge Mountain. Become a member, and you can read it too!

For your entertainment, and with a nod to the onset of winter, Mic, Brian, and Jeff have each watched a movie about winter survival (or not) or a post-apocalyptic Ice Age Doom. They share what the movies are about (with spoilers) and use them as springboards to some winter advice you can use now -- before any new Ice Age hits. The Movie Links: (all free on YouTube) The Colony (2013) — After some geoengineering either failed to fix, or caused a new Ice Age, survivors are holed up in scattered underground 'colonies'. When Colony 5 gets a distress call from Colony 7, the trouble turns out to be worse than anyone imagined. To Build A Fire (1969) An adaptation of Jack London's 1908 tale of a naive man in the Yukon who opts to walk to his friends' camp during -75°F cold. He eventually gets too cold to make a fire. (spoiler alert: the dog lives) Quintet (1979) Paul Neuman stars in an obscure story about a post-apocalyptic world that is slowly freezing to death. The survivors, "the city," pass the time playing a board game called Quintet. The losers are killed. If you found this DoomCast entertaining or informative, consider becoming a Patron on Patreon, or a monthly member at Buy Me A Coffee, Members get to read ahead as we start Novelette #4: Refuge Mountain. One-time coffee at Buy Me A Coffee are a great way show Mic you enjoy this podcast content.