Practical Prepping Podcast: "Big Brother Is Listening, Watching, And Tracking Us, And He Is Being Nosey"

Hosts: Mark & Krista Lawley
Date: October 6, 2025 (original recording: 2022)
Episode Number: 527

Episode Overview

This episode deep-dives into concerns about surveillance, privacy, and government overreach in modern American life. Mark and Krista Lawley, practical prepping advocates, dissect how personal information is being harvested, watched, and sometimes potentially misused by both corporations and the government. Their tone is conversational yet urgent, warning listeners to stay informed and vigilant, not just about disasters, but about everyday privacy threats.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From “Conspiracy Theory” to Proven Reality

• Surveillance is no longer a fringe concern—it’s a daily reality backed by evidence from tech giants’ cooperation with the government.
• The hosts stress this is a nonpartisan issue, impacting all citizens regardless of beliefs or affiliations.
  • Mark: "What about when a conspiracy theory becomes truth, when it's proven not to be a conspiracy theory and that we were right all along?" (01:53)

2. Surveillance Mechanisms: Search Terms & Devices

• Search Term/Keyword Warrants:
  • Law enforcement agencies have issued broad search warrants demanding data from search engines for anyone using certain terms (e.g., “how to make a bomb”).
  • Krista: "You have to be careful what you search." (03:24)
  • Even innocent searches can become part of a digital profile.
• Device Eavesdropping:
  • Devices like phones, Alexa, and rings can covertly listen or transmit conversations.
  • Shared a personal anecdote: After a private, in-person conversation about buying a tuba, an ad for tubas popped up unprompted on their phone.
    • Mark: "Nothing was typed in ... we were quite astonished when we saw that they were listening.” (07:08)
  • Hacking incidents with systems like Ring devices:
    • “A man's voice began to speak to that child because they could now see and hear that little six year old in her own room through hacking.” (07:55)
• Market Profiling:
  • Social media and advertisers routinely track online activities, building user profiles and anticipating future choices.

3. Due Process and the Constitution

• Emphasis on the importance of traditional warrant processes for surveillance.
  • Mark: "Protect the rights as guaranteed under the Constitution and do it like we had to do 30 years ago to get a warrant to put a tap on a telephone." (08:48)
• Concern about expanding surveillance to non-criminal, personal, or dissenting conversations:
  • "What if simply because of that conversation, their data gets sent to some agency... and they go on a watch list because they are preppers?" (11:34)

4. The Shift in Labeling and Public Perception

• Preppers, parents at school board meetings, and others are being flagged as “extremists” or even “domestic terrorists” for viewpoints or behaviors once considered normal.
  • Examples: School boards closing public meetings, parents “labeled as domestic terrorists” for protesting curriculum, and preppers flagged on social media.
• Raises alarms about the growing redefinition of extremism and who determines those standards.
  • Mark: “What’s extreme? ...Am I over prepped and are prepped beyond what the government recommends or sanctions?" (12:41)
  • Krista: "The government made up of people that we elect to be working for us, not against us." (10:44)

5. Data Misuse: Deepfakes and Media Manipulation

• Technology now allows voices and faces to be manipulated to produce believable deepfakes.
• Cites recent deepfake examples, such as manipulated Tom Cruise videos or political figures.
  • Krista: "I would have sworn in a court of law. What I just saw and heard was Tom Cruise." (22:08)
  • Mark: "The technology is good. Oh, the technology is being misused.” (22:42)

6. Practical Ways to Defend Privacy

• Digital Strategies:
  • Use alternative search engines (e.g., DuckDuckGo) that claim not to track users.
  • Consider VPNs for online anonymity.
  • Remove or physically separate smart devices from sensitive conversations.
    • “Put your phone in the other room. Don't just turn it off, but take it to the other end of the house or the car.” (26:00)
• Financial Strategies:
  • Growing concern about IRS plans to monitor transactions over $600 (“aggregate” during the year), vastly expanding surveillance of private banking.
  • Recommendation to use cash whenever possible to avoid transaction tracking.
    • “What I'm going to start doing is I'm going more to cash.” (39:02)
  • Warns that “rewards cards” or store loyalty programs track purchases regardless of payment type.
    • "Even if you pay cash, if you've got a rewards card that promises you points off...that's a form of tracking." (40:25)

7. Societal Trends: Centralized Control & Erosion of Property Rights

• Exposes fears about movement towards national firearm registries and the philosophy that private property should be relinquished for "the greater good."
  • Krista: “There have been some people in very high positions...that are publicly calling for us to relinquish our property rights." (32:30)
  • Discussion on “equal outcome” vs. “equal opportunity”—with warnings that forced equality leads toward harmful ideologies.

8. Personal Responsibility & Activism

• Encourages listeners to contact their representatives and demand transparency and protection of civil liberties.
  • Krista: "If we do nothing, nothing happens...Reach out to your local...state...federal representatives..." (24:17)
• Cites the quote: “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” (25:04)
• Final advice: Stay prepared, stay informed, and err on the side of caution.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being profiled for searches:
  • “They begin to develop an almost profile, so to speak, of you...they can even anticipate what you may be interested in just based on your search terms.” – Co-host (05:05)
• On surveillance reaching into private conversations:
  • “We were quite astonished when we saw that they were listening. Not only is that happening on your telephone, it's happening in your house every day.” – Mark (07:08)
• On the principle of privacy:
  • "Private and personal conversations should have and have up to a certain point been protected because you're not breaking any laws ..." – Krista (10:44)
• On being excessive about prepping:
  • "What's extreme? ...Does that mean if I've got 10 days worth of supplies, I'm an extreme prepper?” – Mark (12:41)
• On deepfake dangers:
  • "Somebody could take a political leader and create a recording...saying exactly the opposite of what they actually believe.” – Co-host (22:47)
• On the philosophy of government overreach:
  • “It's about control. I mean, there's no doubt that it's about control.” – Mark (13:32)
• On everyday responses:
  • "I totally agree with where you're coming from paying cash for your purchases. However...even if you pay cash, if you've got a rewards card...that's a form of tracking.” – Co-host (40:25)
• On civic engagement:
  • “If we do nothing, nothing happens.” (24:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:29: Early discussion of surveillance schemes and keyword warrants
• 06:39: Story about search term leading to phone ad after offline conversation
• 07:55: Ring device hacked to talk to a child—real hacking dangers
• 11:34: Preppers, prepping, and being flagged as "extreme"
• 14:08: DOJ and school board dissenters labeled as "domestic terrorists"
• 21:17: Dangers of manipulated/altered recordings and deepfakes
• 25:37: How law enforcement uses phone pings, tracking via technology
• 27:00: Practical privacy precautions (VPNs, removing devices)
• 28:03: IRS proposal to monitor all bank transactions over $600
• 39:02: Advocating cash transactions to reduce trackability
• 40:25: Loyalty/rewards cards as surveillance tools
• 44:31: Call to listeners for feedback, and closing practical advice

Wrap-Up & Call to Action

The Lawleys close with a reminder: in an age when both government and corporations can—and do—watch, listen, and log nearly every move, citizens must remain aware and proactive. "Stuff happens, stay prepared... and stay informed, do your research and be careful." (44:31-44:46)

Contact:
Email: info@practicalprepping.info
Website: practicalprepping.info

Summary Takeaway:
This episode serves as an urgent, practical alert: surveillance is real, broad, and growing. The best defense is awareness, conscious action, and civic engagement—protect your privacy, understand the systems around you, and don’t hesitate to speak out for your rights.