Following a year when the daily news cycle has been dominated by financial instability, government coups and the latest disaster footage, one group of people believes this year could be their last. Whether anticipating a natural disaster like an earthquake or massive solar flare, or a manmade catastrophe such as economic collapse or nuclear winter, these men and women stand united in their unshakable certainty that we will soon faces tougher times – times when grocery stores are empty, water is in short supply, and electricity is unavailable.

Delve into the lives of otherwise ordinary citizens who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it in the new series Doomsday Preppers, premiering 17 September at 9.00pm on National Geographic Channel (Astro Ch 553) and thereafter every Monday at 9.00pm.

Doomsday Preppers goes inside the prepping subculture, uncovering a wide assortment of prepping styles and approaches, meeting preppers on their own turf, examining their methods and tracking progress as they think through every logistic and contingency plan. Preppers come in all shapes and sizes – men and women, young and old, they live and work like others. But their ultimate life goal is preparing for the end.

While stockpiles of food and weapons may seem over the top preparations to some, for doomsday preppers they represent basic responsibility and peace of mind. They will go to whatever lengths deemed necessary to make sure they are prepared if basic services should falter, and chaos and violence become the order of the day. Though unique in their beliefs, motivations and strategies, these preppers are planning ahead for a time when hardship and hunger turns citizens against each other.

Each prepper also receives an expert assessment from Practical Preppers, a company founded by long-time preppers who share their experiences and knowledge through teaching, training and consulting. The experts analyse the preppers’ chances of survival if their worst fears become a reality and they have to put their plans into action. Viewers are left to make their own decision as to whether the preppers are practical planners… or just plain paranoid.

Episodes Include:

 

Doomsday Preppers: I Hope I Am Crazy (17 September, Monday, 9.00pm)

Meet four individuals who prove that preppers do not come in just one shape or size. Kellene Bishop, a self-described foodie, amazes her friends by whipping up a dinner party entirely from shelf-stable foods, proving she will not sacrifice the finer things in a financial disaster. She also teaches a quick-draw shooting class and a hand-to-hand combat class that will help women protect themselves in case a massive economic collapse should breed lawlessness. Dennis Evers has trained his children with special skills to withstand a catastrophic financial collapse. His oldest son shows us how he can fashion bows and arrows for security, his daughters weld and stockpile fuel, his wife cans massive amounts of food, and his son-in-law is working on a solar-powered satellite system that will allow the family to communicate if chaos should break out due to hyperinflation. From his farm, prepper David Sarti calls himself the “hillybilly prepper.” Should our nation’s communications and transportation systems falter after an EMP — an electro-magnetic pulse, or sudden burst of energy caused by a solar flare that can take out any electrical appliance on a nationwide scale — he is prepared to use his home as a communications hub for post-Apocalyptic America, using amateur or Ham Radio which requires no phone lines, no internet and can be run completely on battery or solar power. And Kathy Harrison is a self-described New England liberal, preparing for “the big one.” In the event of a massive earthquake, she and members of her like-minded community are working together to garden, sew, can, and generally prepare for a world where supermarkets and retail stores are a thing of the past.

 

Doomsday Preppers: Back To The Stone Age (24 September, Monday, 9.00pm)

R.E.M’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” might be a good mantra for these three individuals who are readying for the end of days. Phoenix dad Tim Ralston is prepared for an EMP attack on America. He built a shipping container specially outfitted for survival purposes and taught his sons to defend the compound with weapons. Jason Charles is a New York Firefighter, preparing for the eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano. He’s storing MREs and water in his city apartment. Pat Brabble is a church-going Southern gentleman with a twist: he believes our country is on the brink of hyperinflation, which will unleash civil unrest all across the country. To prepare, Pat readied a secret room in his barn that is full of guns, ammo, and plenty of alcohol for trade.

 

Doomsday Preppers: Nine Meals Away From Anarchy (1 October, Monday, 9.00pm)

Are you prepared for the end of the world? These men hope they are. Mike Mester fears an imminent economic collapse will bring violence and rioting to his quiet suburban town outside of Atlanta. To prepare, Mike involves his whole family in stockpiling food, fuel, and weapons. He’s even trained his two German Shepherds to act as protection dogs when things collapse. Preston White, a computer programmer from Colorado believes there is a cover-up surrounding Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant. So he’s collected 11,000 types of seeds to help him grow his own food after a radioactive disaster. If doomsday arrives, Riley Cooper has invested his savings into a bug out shelter he hopes will protect his family from a catastrophic polar shift.

 

Doomsday Preppers: It’s All Gonna Hit The Fan (8 October, Monday, 9.00pm)

We meet three Americans who are making huge personal sacrifices to prepare for the end of the world as we know it. Former police officer Martin Colvill is a mobile prepper, who keeps all his supplies in the cab of his big rig truck. Utah grandmother Donna Nash is preparing to quarantine her loved ones if they contract a deadly pandemic, and Kevin O’Brien is uprooting his entire family to save them from the polar shift he believes will sink Florida.

Doomsday Preppers: Friends Can Become Enemies (15 October, Monday, 9.00pm)

We meet four Americans who give their all when it comes to preparedness. Real estate developer Larry Hall is creating luxury survival condos in an old missile silo. Coloradan Riley Cook is readying his family to live in a high-altitude bunker. Michael Patrick Douglas is training his children in primitive survival skills. Becky Brown is taking sharpshooting lessons with a sniper in order to prepare herself for a government takeover of Salt Lake City.

Doomsday Preppers: Into The Spider Hole (22 October, Monday, 9.00pm)

We meet three Americans who are desperately preparing for a great worldwide catastrophe. Californian Doug Huffman has plans to retreat underground when we face the next Great depression. The hippy loving Ed Peden is living in an 18,000 square foot underground strong nuclear structure. And the vibrant Canadian, Dianne Rogers is haunted by a reoccurring dream that she thinks is a glimpse of her future.

Doomsday Preppers: It’s Gonna Get Worse (29 October, Monday, 9.00pm)

In the eighth episode we discover the unique lives of three average Americans as they invite us in their home to show us their preparations for the end of the world as we know it. San Diego psychiatrist, Bradford Frank, is stockpiling medication in hopes of surviving a pandemic. Loving father and husband, Jeremy (last name not revealed by request), is predicting a catastrophic oil crisis, and is prepping his truck to run off alternate substances. Bruce Beach has built a bunker out of school buses to survive a full-out Nuclear War.

About National Geographic Channels International

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