The Best Prepper, Survival, and Self-Reliance Podcasts Worth Listening To

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There’s a lot of podcasts out there, and plenty on prepping. Which is great, because who doesn’t want to fill up their commute, chore time, or gun-cleaning afternoon with some interesting information or conversation?

Whether you’re looking for expert advice, interesting conversation, or quick tips, or survival stories, the podcasting world has something for you. But with all of that choice out there, it can be hard to find the right podcasts to serve as a way to improve your level of prepardeness and your survival skills.

So, we’ve found the 14 best podcasts, and included a quick explanation of which kind of prepper will be drawn to each.

1. The Survival Podcast by Jack Spirko

Posting Schedule: More than once a week.

For preppers or homesteaders who have a question for the experts.

The Survival Podcast is simply a wealth of information. Spiro takes calls from his listeners, which is great to ground prepper talk in real-world situations. It also shows just how wide Spiro’s knowledge ranges.

Plus, he also has an “expert council” that answers your questions about once a week. This panel includes a mechanic and a doctor, two expert types plenty of other podcasts overlook. In fact, his medical experts have their own spin-off podcast Survival Medicine by Joe and Amy Alton that is well worth listening to in it’s own right.

That being said, Spiro provides plenty of personal advice that may or may not be to your taste. He is critical of some religion, talks about family, raising children, managing a house, mindset, and more. It is no wonder why The Survival Podcast is many prepper’s favorite podcast.

2. Modern Combat and Survival by Jeff Anderson

Posting Schedule: Roughly once a week.

For outdoors and gun enthusiasts who have an independent streak.

The magazine also has a podcast, hosted by Jeff Anderson. It covers everything prepper, but has a focus on defense, guns, combat, and wilderness survival. My biggest pet peeve with the show is how bad the sound quality is during the intros.

But don’t be put off, because the sound quality for the rest is usually fine and the info is spot on. Some of their topics are really unique, like “Survival for Seniors” and “Top 5 Worthless Weapons.” The podcast really shines when it delves into defensive tactics for specific situations.

3. In the Rabbit Hole Urban Survival by Eric

Posting Schedule: Roughly once a week.

For preppers in the city, or the suburbs, who like a laugh.  

This podcast offers solid, practical advice delivered with a sense of humor. Many topics are geared towards urban preppers, but the rural prepper will find the occasional podcast that applies to their situation too, like the recent episode “Off-Grid Solar System Fundamentals for a Bug-Out Location.”

I also appreciate how specific Eric’s guests are. For dog related podcasts he has Jill Powell of Remanent Canine 360, for financial episodes he has Joshua Sheats of Radical personal finance, and the list goes on and on.

4. The Disaster Podcast by Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley

Posting Schedule: Roughly weekly.

For medically-minded preppers who want to learn about disaster-response.

This podcast will teach you about disasters from a first responder’s perspective. If you want to learn about what happens during disasters, and how we can respond to them better, this is for you.

Jamie Davis is a highly qualified EMT, who educates emergency responders and the public. His guests are equally experienced, from police, fire, and more. Sometimes you may need to google the medical terms these guys throw out.

The podcast occasionally also discusses current disasters. In the last few months they have covered the Washington Amtrak train derailment, Hurricane Maria, Irma, and more.

5. Mountain Woman Radio by Tammy Trayer

Posting Schedule: Two or three episodes a month

For married preppers and homesteaders, especially women.

Mountain Woman Radio combines a few unique topics to fit it’s niche. There’s prepping information, but also discussion of spouses, relationships, managing a household, hunting and recipes. Tammy is religious and some of her content is from that perspective.

She is also well-grounded in personal experience, definitely having experienced much of what she’s talking about. Her combination of unusual perspectives creates some great topics, like how to keep your schedule during emergencies.

That’s such an important idea, but I haven’t seen it anywhere else. As for guests, those in the homesteading space will recognize some of them, like Joel Salatin and Amy Fewell.

6. J²cast: Prepping by Jeff Allender

Posting Schedule: Three or four a month.

For preppers who lean libertarian, or who love to criticize government control.

Jeff Allender and Jesse Henson are good counter-points to one another who keep an interesting, if long-winded, conversation. They cover a range of interesting prepper information, but they also spend a lot of time criticizing government control and government dependency.

This is a political podcast, it’s not uncommon to hear J2 discuss the libertarian party and big news events. One of the most interesting recent discussions was Jeff explaining how he prepared his son for the possibility of a school shooting.

7. The Sheepdog Project by Tim Kennedy and Mike Simpson

Posting Schedule: Roughly twice monthly.

For preppers who are ready to protect others, or who want to be.

What’s a sheepdog? From the podcast: “There are a chosen few who have the courage to place themselves in harm’s way between the wolves and the flock. They are known as Sheepdogs.”

Did they get the idea from American Sniper? I’m not sure, but the podcast is great. They cover topics from fitness and martial arts through to hunting and active shooter scenarios. You’ll find plenty of episodes that are great lifestyle gems, like “mental health and PTSD” and “how to raise sheep dogs.”

8. Epic Gardening by Kevin

Posting Schedule: Almost daily.

For preppers who plan to rely on their green thumb.

To get really in-depth information on growing you have to find a podcast dedicated to it, and there are few gardening podcasts that can rival epic gardening. The podcasts are very focused in topic, and short, which really lets you pick which are right for you situation.

The benefit for preppers is that you to listen to information about decorative plants or anything that isn’t in your garden. Try episodes on general advice like “Seed Saving Mistakes to Avoid,” “Starting Seeds in Greenhouse,” or plant profiles like “Strawberry Spinach.”

9. The Prepper Princess

Posting Schedule: Weekly or more. 

For frugal preppers who like short podcasts.

There’s a tension in the prepping world. How do you buy all of the supplies and gear you want without breaking the bank? Well, the Prepper Princess has some ideas, and ideas on saving money in general.

It’s not all about saving money, there’s prepping strategy discussion too. Those who are tired of more long-winded podcasts will love that the Prepper Princess gets right to her point. The podcasts average abut five minutes, with very few going over ten.

10. Prepper Talk Radio by Shane Coles

Posting Schedule: Several Episodes a Week

For practical preppers who like smart conversation.

This is a radio show, but you can find it on podcast platforms. Shane Coles (The Prepared Guy) and Scott Stalings (Mr. PrepperCon) are well-balanced hosts who carry an interesting and informative conversation.

They’re both experienced and educated preppers, who give really grounded advice. For example, in their latest “prepping tips” episode, their primary advice was to “start living below your means right now.” If you want a podcast that will develop your level-head, this is it.

The show hosts regular guests, including Tim Ralston, Stan Prueitt from Urban Survivors, Jeff Kirkham of Readyman. The varied guests that help Shane and Scott expand their topics to cover essentially everything prepper.

11. Ashes Ashes by David and Daniel

Posting Schedule: Roughly weekly.

For preppers who like to think about new SHTF scenarios.

The title is a play on the nursery rhyme, and the podcast explores what might make us all fall down. The end of the world scenarios the podcast explores range from social breakdowns like ending pensions and the effect of social media, to environmental risks like ocean acidification and top soil erosion.

The podcast is still young, and finding it’s voice. If you haven’t heard of the scenario of the week you’ll learn a lot, but this isn’t meant to be a source of information for how to survive these scenarios. It’s more an interesting dive into the possibilities.

12. Reluctant Preppers by Dunagun Kaiser

Posting Schedule: About three times a week.

For preppers who want a taste of the weird side of things.

I’m not sure what’s reluctant about Kaiser’s approach to prepping or podcasting. Instead, it seems to me like he’s jumped right past learning the basics like how to filter water into grander sometimes conspiracy-level stuff. The show is usually political and sometimes sensational.

To be fair to Kaiser, he has plenty of experts on about all kinds of topics, from gardening to EMPs to lyme disease. I appreciate that he establishes his guest’s credentials well, and sometimes they are very reasonable people. But, there also wilder theories about how various financial collapses were planned or how antibiotics are causing allergies.

Whether or not you like it will depend on whether or not you like Kaiser and whether the topic of the day hits your funny bone or not. But, if you have a pet theory for SHTF, Kaiser certainly has certainly interviewed an interesting character about it.

13. Meat Eater with Steven Rinella

Posting Schedule: Once a week.

For outdoors enthusiasts who want to feed their family with their haul.

This podcast is about everything hunting, fishing, foraging, and fun personalities. Steven Rinella calls himself a modern-day hunter-gatherer, and has the experience to back it up. He’s a wealth of information, and his guests are too.

The result is a podcast with really in-depth information. He covers how you salt wish fish for sushi, how we can save wild turkey habitat, how to cook venison ribs, and more. Check out episode 99 “Wild Game Basics,” for a great intro. But be warned, at two hours these podcasts are longer than most (and addictive).

14. Zombie Radio by Jack Wallen

Posting Schedule: Weekly.

For your prepper-themed entertainment.

This is book, now released in podcast form, all about the struggles of a DJ during the zombie apocalypse. It’s a fun journey, and sometimes more realistic than you’d expect! Unlike with all of the other podcasts, you’re going to want to start with the very first episode for this one. And, if you like it, I hear there is a Zombie Radio 2.

What are your favorite prepper and survival podcasts, and why? Remember to occasionally check the web and prepping groups for new podcasts. Over the years it has become much easier for people to get behind the mic and put their ideas into an audio file that that we can all learn from. 

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