We crawl back from the zombie plague with a fever-dream catch-up that somehow turns into a sharp conversation about power, autonomy, and who gets to make the rules. We dig into our HOA annual meeting; a real-life "Survivor" moment where alliances formed around one loaded question: do we leave each other alone, or do we pile on rules to control what neighbors do on their own land? From petty bylaw enforcement to short-term rental panic, we trace how community governance becomes a proxy war for fear, control, and NIMBY instincts.

Then we pull the thread from our previous Apocalypse Tech episode and go deep on surveillance capitalism, degoogling, and the creeping feeling that the internet has shifted from a decentralized commons into a centralized control mechanism. We cover data brokers, AI as a "truth gatekeeper," always-on vehicle tracking, and why your "free" apps aren't free. We end on a hopeful note: LoRa radios, Meshtastic mesh networks, DIY cyberdecks, and the case for physical media ownership as a practical act of digital self-defense and zombie preparedness.

Relevant Links:

• Meshtastic (off-grid mesh networking): meshtastic.org
• Privacy Guides (degoogling & privacy tool recommendations): privacyguides.org
• r/degoogle (community): reddit.com/r/degoogle
• DuckDuckGo (private search engine): duckduckgo.com
• Cyberdeck Cafe (the hub of the Cyberdeck community, FAQ, build guide, curated parts list): cyberdeck.cafe
• r/cyberDeck (Reddit community — builds, inspiration, troubleshooting): reddit.com/r/cyberDeck

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

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