I recommend purchasing the course. What is it, about $20 if you sign up or first time offer or something like that? The audio quality is not always great, they are difficult to understand at times, and it is not a "professional" presentation, but there is a lot of good material. There are many hours of audio. I thought it was a lot better than the TSP interview. No criticism of Jack, just the fact that there is only so much time in a podcast. The course is in part chronological and in part divided by subject matter. That seems disjointed at times. I would have liked more details on some of their activities (e.g., night in the life of a scavenging trip, people they ran into, etc.).
I have listened to it twice and made notes and bullet points that I shared with some family and friends. For example, he talks about the media and politicians and how they assured everyone that it would be okay and pushed propaganda, when the "underground" news was disconcerting. During the breakdown he talked about how society fractured along ethnic and other lines but at the same time wanted to be part of a larger group. There was no trust among people. He talks about psychology and how people coped with the shock. His experience confirms mob mentality and gangs. He discusses how they made do with food, hygiene, sickness and so forth. He explains what types of arms they had, how they got them, how they used them, and reinforces the need for training. There is a good lesson and sad story on awareness and hesitation. He dispels with the myth harbored by a minority that a breakdown would be freedom or somehow a vacation.
In short, his experience and observations provide substantial insight into one type of urban type of breakdown situation, how they could have better prepared in terms of strategy, skills and supplies, how some of the events in the Balkans might be mirror or similar here, how we may react to life-threatening events and moral questions, and why we should appreciate who and what we have here. We take so much for granted.
There are some who say it could not happen here. A review of history and mankind tells me such a supposition is fundamentally flawed. I hope and pray nothing like that happens, but Selco's course is a real asset to our community.