Jessica Green has a podcast with Cam Harless. They are “The Mad Ones”, an absurdist comedy duo talking about what happened in politics each week and other silly things. Each episode is sprinkled with “white pill” humor based on the fact that the government is exposing itself as a giant monster, which makes spreading truth and anarchy easier. Give them a listen live on Wednesday nights at 10 pm EST. Jessica herself can be found on Twitter as @soupcanarchist.

In this episode, Jessica joins us to talk about emergency preparedness. Jessica got into this realm herself in 2014 when she got trapped in her apartment by a freak snowstorm in Atlanta with basically no food. Since then, she has moved out to the country, started stocking canned food, gotten chickens, started a garden, and began learning how to live off the land so she will never have to depend on government assistance (which usually proves to be too little too late). 

Are you ready for an unexpected event? Look at what happened in Texas, where it never snows. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. There are forces outside of our control that directly affect us daily (weather, financial markets, civil unrest, governmental decrees…). We need to learn survival skills and be ready to come together with our communities so we can get through whatever crisis may come. This episode is a good place to start; Jessica is here to teach us how to take small steps every week that lead to our survival.

Timestamps & Key Moments:

4:20 White and black pills

• Black: doom & gloom, no hope

• White: hope & humor, seeing the positives

• The media is pushing defeatist messages

  • Showing that the government sucks/is a joke makes people feel hopeless

  • But why give up? Even if there’s only a small chance you’ll make it, there is a chance. Live.

  • Turn that garbage off

    • Go talk to real people instead; you’ll get along better if the tv is not on

    • “I can hear the birds singing outside; the world is not actually on fire.” -Jessica 

8:58 The lie of Left vs Right

• People get so mad if they have to watch the wrong news channel

• “I think the only people who think that there's a difference between the left and the right politically are the people who occupy the left and right.” -Jessica

• They probably go out for drinks together after debates and laugh about what they’re doing to people

• “They wouldn't allow us to vote if it actually worked too -- if that actually made a difference.” 

10:22 Why prep?

• For COVID lockdown, storms, civil unrest, and other short-term emergencies

  • NOT THE APOCALYPSE

    • No amount of canned food could save you

• The goal is to have at least 2 weeks’ supply stored and then be able to live off the land

  • Canned food

  • Chickens

  • Gardening

  • Water purification

16:54 Survival Skills

• GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

  • Most Americans have never even met the people they live by

  • We’ll need each other when disaster strikes

  • If you don’t have a relationship with them, any supplies you have will just end up in the hands of the guy with the most guns

    • Or you’ll die on your hill of canned beans

20:58 First Steps

• 3 most important needs: 

  • Water

    • 1 gallon/person/day

    • Keep at least 3 days’ worth

    • Don’t store it long-term; it will go bad

      • Fill up containers a couple of days before disaster strikes

      • Learn how to sanitize water

  • Food

    • Only buy things you eat regularly

      • NO CANNED CARROTS, unless you truly love them

    • Once a week, buy an extra can of something

      • Put it in the back of your pantry

      • Eat the older cans now (pantry rotation)

      • Over a year, you’ve stored 52 cans of food

      • And spent maybe $100

    • You’re not trying to live on this for years; just until the storm passes

  • Shelter

• Any additional needs

  • Medical necessities

  • Special diets

33:37 Being able to care for our neighbors

• We need to feed the hungry

• Stone soup

  • When everyone comes together, everyone has more

  • Can’t feed your family well on your last can of beans

    • But if you have beans

    • And your neighbor has a chicken breast

    • And your other neighbor has tortillas… 

    • You’ve got a meal to share

  • Community is not communism

    • It’s voluntary and essential

36:48 Other Essentials (after food, water, shelter are secure)

• Restock first aid kit

  • Get a suture kit and learn how to sew stitches

    • Take just half a week to study/practice skills like this

• Prep before you need it!

• “No matter what, if you prepare just a little bit, you're better off than you were before, so you don't have to be self-sufficient in everything. Just be self-sufficient in something.” -Jessica

• Freezing meat

  • If you have a deep freezer, food will stay good for a week without power

• When to use expired food:

  • If you’re starving

    • If you’re not starving and something’s suspicious, THROW IT AWAY

  • If the food looks, feels, and smells good

  • Cook the hell out of it

• Mormons are really good at this

  • https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/emergency-preparedness?lang=eng 

• Learn skills on YouTube

  • Become an asset to your community

    • Or at least less of a burden