In this episode, we dig into the real-world tools for communicating and coordinating without cell towers or cloud services: Meshtastic mesh radios, ham radio via Winlink and JS8Call, GMRS repeater networks, and the more radical vision of Reticulum — a cryptographic network stack built for a post-internet world. We also cover the surprisingly active landscape of community mesh networks already running in cities like New York and Philadelphia, and why building decentralized infrastructure now is mutual aid, not just prepper fantasy.

Offline Wikipedia via Kiwix, self-hosted media libraries with Jellyfin, Calibre, and Audiobookshelf, and knowledge preservation archives like Open Source Ecology and Appropedia can turn a Raspberry Pi into a local server that keeps your community informed, entertained, and capable.

Communications

• Meshtastic — https://meshtastic.org
• Reticulum Network — https://reticulum.network
• Winlink (email over radio) — https://www.winlink.org
• JS8Call — http://js8call.com

Local networks

• NYC Mesh — https://www.nycmesh.net
• Philly Community Wireless — https://phillycommunitywireless.org
• People's Open Network (Oakland) — https://peoplesopen.net

Entertainment / media

• Jellyfin — https://jellyfin.org
• Kiwix — https://kiwix.org
• Internet-in-a-Box — https://internet-in-a-box.org
• Calibre — https://calibre-ebook.com
• Navidrome — https://www.navidrome.org
• Audiobookshelf — https://www.audiobookshelf.org

Knowledge preservation

• Survivor Library — http://www.survivorlibrary.com
• Appropedia — https://www.appropedia.org
• Open Source Ecology — https://www.opensourceecology.org
• Farm Hack — https://farmhack.org
• Precious Plastic — https://www.preciousplastic.com

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

Horror and zombie author Joseph Pesavento joins us to dig into what really drives undead fiction; the freedom, the collapse of rules, and the uncomfortable truth that the living are often the bigger threat. We trace his writing journey from a childhood journal inspired by Nickelodeon's Doug through film school screenplays to seven published books, and get into the practical, unfiltered reality of going indie. Joseph also breaks down Death Cleanse, his militarized zombie road-trip novel about the man who caused the outbreak, now trapped in an eerie Montauk bunker steeped in real conspiratorial history with a gore level that doesn't flinch.

Guest Links & Contact

Joseph Pesavento

• Website: josephpesavento.com
• Instagram: @josephpesaventowrites
• Death Cleanse (signed copy): josephpesavento.com/product-page/death-cleanse-signed

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

A Kimberly-Clark warehouse worker lit a 1.2-million-square-foot facility on fire and filmed himself saying "all you had to do was pay us enough to fucking live." Media coverage mourned the inventory. Dan and Leah come in burned out but reach for a comfort watch (V for Vendetta) and find it hitting like current events. The movie may be twenty years old, but the machinery it describes; propaganda, scapegoating, fear-based unity, and a public conditioned to accept cruelty as normal — is running at full speed right now.

From the Kimberly-Clark fire to stock buybacks that consumed 106% of company profits, to union-busting and Amazon workplace horror stories, the episode traces the pressure that builds when a system refuses to reform. Then we talk about V for Vendetta itself: the Guy Fawkes mask, the long game of symbolism, queer liberation themes, and what it looks like when people stop believing the polite path leads anywhere.

Elevator Pitch

Neal Noakes on Instagram: @Neal.Noakes.Books

We Will Not Survive on Amazon: Pre Order Here

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

The Kimberly-Clark Fire / Chamel Abdulkarim

• Wikipedia summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Kimberly-Clark_Distribution_Center_fire
• Democracy Now! coverage: https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/13/headlines/all_you_had_to_do_was_pay_us_enough_to_live_worker_sets_fire_to_california_paper_warehouse
• Jacobin deep dive on Kimberly-Clark financials: https://jacobin.com/2026/04/california-kimberly-clark-warehouse-arson

V for Vendetta

• Graphic novel (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta
• Movie quotes: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/392838-v-for-vendetta
• Critical essay — V for Vendetta and the limits of liberal protest: https://bloodknife.com/v-for-vendetta-and-the-limits-of-liberal-protest/

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com