20 Million Preppers In America ATM

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh Reports in “The End of the World As We Know It” for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper NEW EPISODE PREMIERES SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 AT 8PM ET/PT NEW YORK, NY – (August 24, 2026) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a seven-time Emmy® Award-winning CNN Original, returns with an examination of the rapidly growing doomsday prepper movement in North America. “The End of the World as We Know It” with CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh premieres Sunday, August 30 at 8pm ET/PT and will be available to stream the following day at CNN.com/watch and on the CNN app for CNN streaming subscribers. Once considered a fringe movement, preparing for disasters and long-term emergencies has become increasingly mainstream, with an estimated 20 million Americans now identifying as preppers and the community expanding to include younger and more diverse followers. In this hour, Paton Walsh embarks on a monthslong journey across North America to explore both the survival tactics and mindset behind prepping. Drawing on his 25 years of experience covering conflict and its aftermath around the world, he puts his own survival skills to the test and immerses himself in the worlds of those preparing for a range of catastrophic scenarios. “It is extraordinary how the world of prepping suck you in to its emotions – that fish antibiotics, crossbows and ferro rods suddenly feel like something you need to have under the bed at home,” Paton Walsh said. “But its mainstream emergence is all a very real reflection of how vulnerable people feel – in the climate emergency, political eruptions, and sense of endless war – to the omni-crisis around us. One thing I learned was the stereotype of going it alone in the woods is still a bit nuts. You are going to need other people when the world as we know it ends.” Along the way, Paton Walsh explores a converted nuclear missile silo in Kansas that has been transformed into a luxury survival bunker. In the mountains of Colorado, he visits a survivalist community designed to shelter more than 100 people in the event of a collapse. And on a remote island off the coast of Mexico, he learns the fundamentals of wilderness survival, from building shelter and starting a fire to finding water and food. The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is a collection of unique and immersive single subject, one-hour episodes from CNN’s award-winning longform storytelling team showcasing character-driven stories, special interviews, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN’s anchors and correspondents. The series, which has been honored with three consecutive Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Recorded News Program, is executive produced by Susan Chun. Paton Walsh and director of photography Brice Laine previously reported for The Whole Story on the two-time Emmy® Award-winning “The Trek: A Migrant Trail to America”, “Elephant vs. Man” in Sri Lanka and “The Wired Rainforest” in the indigenous lands of Brazil. The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, August 30. The hour will also be available beginning Monday, August 31 to CNN’s streaming subscribers and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.