The Preppers Waiting for War | SBS Dateline

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:19:58 +0000

In 2019, Dateline travelled to Sweden amid growing tensions between it and Russia, three years before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

We unpack why disaster prepping has become a government-sanctioned past time: and what Swedes are afraid of.

This episode first aired in 2019.

0.00: Sweden's crisis preppers
1.59: What are preppers?
3:18: The percieved 'Russian threat'
5:20: Build up of Russian military exercises
7:10: The skills to improvise and survive
9:10: Teaching self-sufficiency
11.06: Visiting Sweden's Cold War bunkers
12:50: Total defence
15:45: Civilian military volunteers
19.04: Defence Minister speaks
21:11: Meeting an off-grid prepper
24:58: A 'state of flux'
26:24: If war never happens

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Dateline is an Australian award-winning international documentary series with a current affairs backbone.
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