Folge 74: Worst Case Scenario: The Politics of Prepping in America

With a pandemic behind us, an increasing number of natural disasters, and an ongoing war in Europe, many of us have probably asked ourselves whether and how we can prepare for a worst case scenario. Lately, we have been hearing more about preparedness from our governments, about stocking up on water, food, and flashlight batteries. On this episode of the HCA podcast, Anja Schüler talks to political scientists Robert Kirsch and Emily Ray. They are studying the way Americans prepare for doomsday, mainly looking at the Cold War era, but also exploring the historical roots of prepping as well as current contexts. Emily Ray (Sonoma State University) and Robert Kirsch (Arizona State University) are both currently scholars at the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Postapocalyptic Studies (CAPAS) at Heidelberg University.