In a sense, all of us are preppers right now: stocking up on toilet paper and nonperishable goods, hunkering down, and avoiding social contact. But then, of course, there are the actual preppers living in high-tech, remote, expensive bunkers to ride out Covid-19.

They knew a disaster was coming, even if they didn't know it would be a viral pandemic. And for the last few years, author Bradley Garrett has been getting to know them while writing his book Bunker: Building for the End Times, coming out this summer.

"The terrible irony is that all of these preppers have been telling me to get ready, talking to me about disasters, and I've been incredulous, taking them to task, trying to tease out fact from fiction in their stories," says Garrett.

"And now, here I am, totally underprepared."