Tag Archives: interviews

Episode-837- Matthew Stein on Prepping, Herbals, Self Reliance and More

Mat Stein - Author of When Disaster Strikes

Mat Stein - Author of When Disaster Strikes

Matthew Stein is the author of When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide to Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival (Chelsea Green 11/16/2011). This book has received excellent advance praise from experts on survival and disaster preparedness. Stein is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he majored in Mechanical Engineering.

As the owner of Stein Design & Construction, he has built hurricane resistant, energy efficient and environmentally friendly homes.  The mechanical engineering side of his firm specializes in product design and development. Among other things, Mat has designed consumer water filtration devices, solar PV roofing panels, medical bacterial filters, emergency chemical drench systems, computer disk drives, and portable fiberglass buildings.

He joins us today to discuss a variety of topics such as…

  • 2012 all hype, pretty much but a frightening time anway
  • Growing your own food
  • Herbal remedies you really want to know about
  • Colloidal silver the good and the mythology
  • What a financial collapse might look like
  • The skills you want to develop prior to a collapse situation
  • What we can learn from Cuba vs. North Korea about self sufficiency
  • The “pit of the stomach” exercise
  • The threat of emerging antibiotic resistant diseases like new strains of TB
  • The best case scenario for a pandemic and how bad even that would be
  • Simple steps to get on to a path of self sufficiency

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Matthew Stein’s Links

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

Episode-833- David Consolvo on Establishing and Growing a Survival Orchard

Trees Can Produce for Decades or Even Centuries

Photo Credit to London Permaculture via Flickr

Note – At times there is a lot of distortion on David’s end in this interview.  I never head it during the recording.  It isn’t constant please excuse the few occurrences as the content of the show is exceptional.

David Consolvo has been growing his orchard in Virgina for over 23 years now.  He originally began planting his orchard in a quest for better health and nutrition.   Over the years he has found it to help his health both physical and mental in other ways simply by the joy of working in it, watching his trees grow and having the security of food close at hand.

Over the years Dave has also become a prepper and is a long time listener of our show.  He has a root cellar he calls a “fruit cellar” and has integrated his ability to produce food into his emergency planning.

Join David and I Today as We Discuss…

  • What are some common beginner mistakes in planting an orchard
  • What are some of the best varieties to keep dependence on inputs low
  • Which fruits grow best in which climates
  • How can you have your own fresh fruits year round
  • How can you self propagate trees/bushes/vines
  • What nut varieties get into the earliest production
  • What “exotic varieties” have done well in the US so far
  • Uses for trimmings and prunings from your trees
  • Combating disease, insects and deer

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Episode-832- Darby Simpson on Full Time “Beyound Organic” Farming

A Pigs Life is a Good One at Simpson Family Farm

A Pigs Life is a Good One at Simpson Family Farm

Darby Simpson is the owner of Simpson Family Farm, a 7th generation family farm (1828-present) and a lifelong Indiana resident Darby grew up not realy learning anything about farming, became a mechanical engineer.

He worked in the engineering field from 1994-2010.  Began small scale pastured based meat farming (Joel Salatin style) in 2007.  Grew the business while continuing to work off farm full time. In 2010 like many Americans he lost his job due to the recession and took the farm full time.  The farm now provides his family with a full time income.

Darby’s family began homeschooling in 2011, and his family is now together everyday.   In his words.

“We have a blessed life.  I feel like Neo in the Matrix: I’ve unplugged from what society told me my life was supposed to look like – public school, college, cubical, fast food lifestyle.”

Today he joins us to discuss small scale, beyond organic production of pastured based meats & eggs (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs) for the homesteader or for someone looking to begin their own business (full or part time).

 

Episode-827- Dave Whitinger of AllThingsPlants.com

Dave Whitinger of AllThingsPlants.com

Dave Whitinger of AllThingsPlants.com

Dave Whitinger is the founder of many websites, most notably DavesGarden.com and AllThingsPlants.com.  Thousands of gardeners around the world use his websites for researching gardening information.

Dave is widely recognized as a leading figure in the online world of gardening. He’s the current president of his local master gardener association and lives a mostly self-reliant existence with his family on 90 acres in East Texas.

He joins us today to discuss the history of Dave’s Garden and his new and dramatically improved website, All Things Plants. We will also be discussing gardening, farming, self sufficiency, sources of online gardening information, advanced gardening topics, permaculture, hugelkultur, raising livestock, gardening in Texas along with the drought of 2011.

Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

Episode-824- Dan Vamos from Homestead Dividends

Dan Vamos is many things.  A father, an English teacher, a homesteader, a DIY enthusiast, a prepper and a patriotic American.  He has also been listening to The Survival Podcast for a very long time, all the way back to the podcasting from the car days.

Along the way he founded a website called, “Homestead Dividends”, designed to help the average person transform their home into a true homestead and get more out of their homes both while living in them and when it comes time to sell them.

Join Dan and I Today as we Discuss…

  • What are some ways to get the most out your house or residence
  • What should you do to make your house start working for you
  • What are some ways to waterproof a basement
  • What are some common mistakes people make when working on their house
  • Why should I start planting permafood right away
  • Why start with small trees and plants
  • How a three-ring binder can help in selling your house
  • How you can have a “pick-up truck? without owning one
  • Why Dan cashed in a retirement accounts to buy a home

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Episode-822- Mike Gasior on The Current Economic Reality for Jan. 2012

Mike  Gasior has held a host of securities licenses and industry designations. He has authored ten textbooks on investments and the investment markets, and over 700,000 people worldwide read his monthly newsletter.

His breakthrough radio program “Big Money with Mike Gasior”, which aired worldwide on the VoiceAmerica Radio Network, was one the first shows ever to focus on the needs, concerns and issues faced by the world’s largest investors and Mike is a regular guest on the “Naked Short Club” show in London.

Mike is also a prepper and a good friend of the TSP Community.  Today he joins us to discuss…

  • What MF Global was really all about and how it might matter to you
  • Why people should really be mad at Wall Street other then simple “corporate greed”
  • What is high velocity trading and why should you care
  • Why people are now paying a premium for a “shorter cable” LITERALLY
  • Three movies you should see to better understand the current situation
  • Mike’s view on municipal defaults and where we disagree
  • The real danger we have right no is that we don’t know what’s next
  • Why prepping is the best solution in Mikes view right now

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Episode-814- Ted Lacksonen Author of “The Eagle Has Crashed”

 Get the Book The Eagle Has Crashed

Get the Book The Eagle Has Crashed

Ted Lacksonen is a writer and commentator known in the blogosphere as The Country Thinker. He has previously practiced as an attorney for a major international law firm, and worked as a structural designer in the shipbuilding industry. Ted lives in the rolling hills of his home state of Ohio with his wife and son.

Ted joins us today to discuss his recently released novel The Eagle Has Crashed, which is a near-future novel that is set in 2029-30. It is the story of the day that America’s national debt leads to an economic meltdown.

The Eagle has Crashed documents the lives of several ordinary Ohioans as the nation falls apart around them. As the situation worsens it brings out the best – and worst – in Ohioans and Americans across the land.

 

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air

 

Episode-813- Growing for Market with Steve “The Greenhouse Guy”

Steve Kasarda, started, built, owned and sold 3 nurseries. Now he grows for market (show theme) and manufactures greenhouses. He is here today to discuss “growing for market” without spending thousands or perhaps even hundreds of dollars.

Steve's Green Houses Growing in The North West Winter

Join Us Today As We Discuss…

  • General green house growing
  • Soils ,plant starts, grow temps, supplemental heat
  • Getting started at the market with selling, display and pricing mix of product
  • How to treat a customer and keep them as a customer
  • The role a greenhouse or poly tunnel can play in making you money
  • How long it takes to become an established market grower
  • Getting plant starts on the cheap or free
  • Creating unique niches and selling the average stuff as wel
  • How to organize your displays for transport and protect your merchandise
  • Making gardening into a profit center

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

Episode-808- Jeff Wheatley on Wood Stoves and Inserts

Jeff Wheatley has over 15 years experience selling, installing, and servicing Hearth appliances (Stoves, Inserts, & Fireplaces) in 3 major fuel types: Woodburning, LP & NG Burning, and Pellet Burning. Today he joins us to discuss the safe install & use of wood stoves.  He also provides us with tips on how to get the best efficiency, the most heat, the least creosote, the easiest maintenance, and the safest operation from your wood stove.

Join Us Today as we Discuss…

  • Why a stove chimney is a major expense
  • What is the biggest difference in modern vs. older stoves
  • Thoughts on single wall pipe penetrations
  • Which end of the pipe is up
  • Best practices for woodstove inserts
  • Why is it so important to fully season fuel wood

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Episode-805- Joel Salatin from Polyface Farms

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms

Joel Salatin, 54, is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.

The farm services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.

He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, ACRES USA, and AMERICAN AGRICULTURALIST.

Joel is a hightly sought-after conference speaker, he addresses a wide range of issues, from “creating the farm your children will want” to “making a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the country.”  We are very fortunate to have him with us today on The Survival Podcast.

Join Joel and I Today as we Discuss…

  • What are some of the biggest challenges to small producers today
  • How can farmers transition from traditional agriculture to more natural production
  • Thoughts on how homesteaders can adapt some of Joel’s techniques
  • The value of sprouting – Ferris Wheel sprouter idea
  • Thoughts on small livestock like poultry and rabbits
  • Thoughts on ethical slaughter
  • Grazing pork and poultry one behind the other
  • How can homesteaders work to achieve greater self sufficiency
  • What can we do to help small producers have more commercial success

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Joel’s Links