If We Had to Start Prepping from Scratch in 2026

The Monkey-Man Panic of Delhi | Mindless Banter In May 2001, the streets of Delhi were gripped by fear as hundreds of people reported encounters with a mysterious creature known as the Monkey-Man. Depending on who you asked, it was a four-foot hairy monkey, an eight-foot muscular monster, or a cybernetic humanoid equipped with glowing red eyes, metal claws, a helmet, roller skates, and three buttons that controlled its superpowers. Yes, roller skates. As sightings multiplied, police launched a massive investigation, armed neighborhood patrols took to the streets, and terrified residents began sleeping in groups. Things got so out of control that innocent people were attacked, several people died during the panic, and authorities were left trying to determine whether they were dealing with an animal, an elaborate hoax, mass hysteria, or something genuinely unexplained. In this Mindless Banter episode, we dive into one of the strangest urban legends of the modern era. In This Episode:

The Mall at the End of the World Casual Preppers Podcast | An October Survival Scenario What happens when an ordinary Saturday shopping trip turns into an overnight survival situation? In this episode, we're dropping you into another immersive preparedness scenario, similar to our popular 72 Hours at the End of the Road episode. You're at a massive shopping mall with your family, 45 miles from home, when a regional infrastructure failure takes down the power grid, disrupts communications, and brings surrounding highways to a standstill. At first, the mall seems like the perfect place to ride things out. Food, water, shelter, security, and a sporting goods store full of survival gear. What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a bit. As the hours pass, the remaining shoppers face resource disputes, medical emergencies, a missing child, growing civil unrest, and eventually a frightening situation that forces dozens of people to secure themselves inside a department store. Would you stay or try to make it home? What supplies would you grab? How would you protect your family when the biggest threat might be the people around you? We're working through the entire scenario, exploring the decisions, skills, gear, and preparedness strategies that could make the difference between getting through the night and becoming part of the emergency. In This Episode

Movie Curses Some movies have rough productions. Others seem to have something genuinely strange hanging over them. In this episode, we dig into some of Hollywood’s most infamous “cursed” movies and the bizarre stories that built those legends. We get into the real human skeletons used in Poltergeist, the string of deaths surrounding the franchise, the ridiculous amount of bad luck connected to The Omen, the fire that destroyed The Exorcist set while leaving Regan’s bedroom untouched, and the John Wayne movie that may have exposed hundreds of people to radioactive fallout. We also get into Brandon Lee and the eerie coincidences surrounding The Crow, the supposedly deadly Atuk screenplay, the tragedies connected to Rosemary’s Baby, the modern curse mythology around The Conjuring universe, William Shatner’s nearly lost Esperanto horror movie Incubus, the Superman curse, the insane working conditions on The Wizard of Oz, and plenty more. Some of these stories are pure Hollywood folklore. Some are horrible accidents and coincidences that got turned into supernatural legends. And a few are strange enough that they’re a little harder to shrug off. Sponsors BattlBoxGet 15% off your first BattlBox:https://survive.battlbox.com/casualpreppers LMNTGet a FREE LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase:https://drinklmnt.com/CasualPreppers WireDog VPNSave 50% on the two-year plan and use code CASUALPREPPERS for an extra month:https://wiredogvpn.com/casualpreppers TacPackUse code CASUALPREPPERS and get a FREE $70 machine-made part from Next Level Armament. Stay Survived.

Apartment Survival Living in an apartment changes the entire preparedness equation. You’ve got limited storage, neighbors on every side, shared utilities, elevators that may stop working, lease restrictions, and a whole bunch of critical systems that you don’t actually control. In this episode, we break down how to realistically prepare when you don’t have a basement, garage, backyard, or unlimited room for supplies. We get into apartment water and food storage, cooking during a blackout, portable power, heating and cooling, fire safety, security, communications, sanitation, dealing with neighbors, and what happens when those elevators stop working. We also talk about one of the biggest differences with apartment survival: knowing when it’s time to get out. Your apartment might be completely fine while a fire, sewage backup, failed heating system, security problem, or something happening several floors away makes the entire building unsafe. Apartment prepping isn’t about trying to cram a suburban prepper setup into 700 square feet. It’s about keeping things compact, mobile, useful, and having enough options to handle the emergency or get out before things get worse. In this episode:

This week we’re answering some of the weirdest, funniest, and surprisingly useful questions sent in by the Casual Preppers community. We get into everything from alien invasions, apocalypse custody arrangements, hospital go-bags, EDC overload, and how much ammo is enough when velociraptors can open doors. We also tackle the important stuff, like whether diarrhea is survivable, which fictional gun we’d want in the apocalypse, what animal would make the best survival companion, and what exactly you should do if you encounter Lady Bigfoot during mating season. Mixed in with the nonsense are some genuinely solid preparedness takeaways about keeping your everyday carry practical, planning for blended-family emergencies, having a grab-and-go hospital bag ready, knowing tsunami evacuation routes, and avoiding the doom-prepping rabbit hole. Because prepping should enhance your life, not become your life. As usual, things eventually go completely off the rails. SPONSORS BattlBoxGet 15% off your first BattlBox:Survive.BattlBox.com/CasualPreppers LMNTGet a free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase:DrinkLMNT.com/CasualPreppers MAD GearCheck out MAD Gear and the ReadyPlan app:MADGear.shop TacPackUse code CASUALPREPPERS for the current Casual Preppers offer:TacPack.com Stay Survived.