Listen 32 min Why American individualism is perfectly suited to the doomsday prepper movement Photo by Shutterstock. When the pandemic hit last year, it didn’t take long for grocery stores to have their shelves wiped clean. Long lines sprung up as shoppers scrambled to stock up on canned goods, water, and toilet paper. For some, however, preparing for the apocalypse is a serious business. Doomsday preppers are more than just fringe survivalists. High-end luxury apocalypse shelters are increasingly popular among the mega-rich, and, fuelled by times of chaos and uncertainty, end-times preparedness has become a multimillion-dollar industry. In “Notes from an Apocalypse, a Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back,” Irish author Mark O’Connell explores survivalist destinations around the globe and examines why people feel the need to go to extreme lengths preparing for “The End of Time.” Though survivalism has global appeal, he says that America’s rugged individualism is particularly suited to the prepper movement.