The media is now advising people on how to survive a nuclear attack

It's not every day that you scroll through your Twitter timeline, see an article about what to do "in case of a nuclear attack," and think, Huh, that seems like it'd be useful and relevant information for my life right now. But after North Korea reportedly succeeded in miniaturizing a nuclear weapon to fit on its missiles and President Trump subsequently promised to rain "fire and fury" down on Pyongyang, you might be in a different state of mind than usual:

NBC News' well-timed tweet actually refers readers to an article written in April — aka a more innocent time — and suggests "sheltering in place, beneath as many layers of protection as possible." While that might actually not do much to protect you, it does encapsulate the media's ominous coverage of the recent turn of events between America and North Korea.

For the time being, at least, you might as well "sleep well," as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday. "If we were really about to launch a massive, bloody war with North Korea that could potentially kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians in South Korea and elsewhere […] one would expect to see a major mobilization happening across the political, military, and diplomatic arms of the U.S. government," Vox points out. "We're not seeing anything like that. What we do have is a belligerent statement from President Trump that he made while on vacation in New Jersey."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Then again, you can always err on the safe side and befriend a prepper.