This Saturday, August 7th, CNN Films is premiering a half-hour documentary on the main CNN channel at 9 PM Eastern Time / 6 PM Pacific Time, with another airing at 9 PM Pacific Time. Starting the next day, it will be available for streaming on CNN’s paid subscription service.
To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I agreed to participate in this project. Myself, along with Jon Stokes, Tom Rader, Caleb Causey, and some of our family members, spent a few days doing interviews that reportedly make up roughly half the film. CNN's production team visited us while we were filming the new Austere First Aid video course, capturing some behind-the-scenes footage as we worked on set. You can see a still from the shoot above, though I'm sorry the image link isn’t properly embedded here.
The documentary was initially intended to explore how more people from diverse backgrounds are getting involved in the self-reliance and modern preparedness movement. They wanted to showcase how this community has evolved beyond outdated stereotypes and how individuals can prepare themselves in practical, non-paranoid ways. However, given the current state of the world post-COVID, CNN requested a sort of follow-up piece focusing on how people are reacting now that a pandemic has actually occurred.
Now, I have to admit, I’m somewhat skeptical about how this might turn out. Mainstream media doesn’t always handle these topics fairly or accurately, often veering into sensationalism or clickbait territory. Still, we decided to go ahead because we trusted the filmmakers behind this project. Their previous work, the *Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak* series on Netflix, dropped in early 2020 and seems almost prescient given its timing. That documentary, filmed in 2019, included interviews with experts who warned about the potential for a novel coronavirus outbreak originating from bats in China. As we all know, their warnings proved tragically accurate.
Given this background, the producers pitched the idea of revisiting the topic now that the scenario has unfolded in real life. While I remain cautiously optimistic, I hope viewers tune in expecting the usual "doomsday bunker porn" but stay for the deeper message. After all, understanding how to build resilience in our communities is more important than ever.
Here’s the trailer to give you a better sense of what to expect.
So, we’ll see how it goes. If you’re curious to check it out for free—and maybe laugh at how awkwardly we stumbled through our lines—you should tune in to CNN this Saturday night!
Stay safe, stay prepared, and let’s hope this documentary does justice to the incredible work happening within the preparedness community.
[Image placeholder: A still from the documentary shoot]
[Trailer embed placeholder]
Until then, keep your eyes peeled and your wits sharp!
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