The Last Generation That Knew How to Survive

Before “prepping” became a trend, survival was simply part of everyday life.In this episode of After the Fall, John Michael Layne sits down for a conversation about growing up in rural West Virginia during the Great Depression and the practical skills that once defined ordinary American life. Hunting wasn’t recreation. Gardening wasn’t a hobby. Families preserved food, repaired what they owned, and learned to survive without depending on fragile modern systems.The conversation explores the knowledge previous generations possessed, why so much of it has disappeared, and what modern preparedness can still learn from the people who lived through genuinely hard times. From food preservation and hunting to self-sufficiency, resilience, and the fragility of modern convenience, this episode is a reminder that many of the skills we now call “prepping” were once simply called life.Website: johnmichaellayne.com