How to Be a Real Man

Character, duty, standards and the things nobody sat you down and explained.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

BRO TakeMarcus Vale22 Sept 20265 min

Masculinity is a job description, not an identity

Strip away the shouting from both sides and what's left is a short list of obligations you can either meet this week or not.

He knows which side the gas cap is on without looking

Eleven years married to a man who checks tire pressure for fun. Everything I've learned about the car, mostly by getting it wrong first.

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Plan a cook for eight people

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StoryMarriageSam Ortiz7 Oct 20265 min

She Started Thawing the Turkey on Saturday and I Laughed

Eleven Thanksgivings in, I've learned the holiday dinner runs on her quiet competence, and on a thermometer I used to ignore.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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Dads6 min read

She packs the car backward, and she's right every time

Six hundred miles, two kids, one cooler. On a road trip, my wife's system beats my Tetris skills, and her rules work for any family car.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

StoryBRO SeniorsCal Brennan7 Oct 20266 min

The moon doesn't follow the car, and other things I looked up later

The grandkids assume you know why the sky is blue and how to change a tire. By the end of this, you actually will.

StoryMarriageSam Ortiz7 Oct 20266 min

She Knew the Quiet Meant Trouble. I Thought It Meant Peace.

The field trip form had eleven lines and I knew three. A dad on what his wife knows about their own kids, and how he's catching up.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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StoryDadsSam Ortiz7 Oct 20266 min

Why the dog spins, and other things I said with total confidence

Stars, storms and one circling dog. A dad's bluffs exposed on the back porch, with the real answers you can use tonight.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

StoryMomsNina Castellan7 Oct 20266 min

Answered With Total Confidence and Absolutely No Idea

Gum in hair, a fever at 2 a.m., and why the sky is blue. First the bluff, then the real answer you can use tonight.

StoryMarriageSam Ortiz7 Oct 20266 min

She Fixed My Dinner From Across the Room

Nine kitchen rules my wife never had to look up, from grease fires to raw chicken, and the night I finally started writing them down.

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Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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StoryDadsSam Ortiz7 Oct 20266 min

Fractions, Pluto and the capital I got wrong at dinner

A fourth-grade worksheet, a seventh-grade essay and a dad bluffing his way through both. The real answers are in here, too.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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GuideFamilyRay Okonkwo7 Oct 20265 min

The lake cabin beat the theme park, and I kept the receipts

Two vacations, one spreadsheet and the only unit that counts: the stories your kids still tell a year later.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

ReviewBRO SeniorsCal Brennan6 Oct 20266 min

I told a frozen grandson the whole carburetor story

Video calling the grandkids is free, wonderful and mildly ridiculous. Grandpa sorts out what's worth it and how to stop the freezing.

StoryDadsSam Ortiz7 Oct 20267 min

How the car goes, where wind comes from, and other bluffs

Eight questions from the back seat I couldn't answer, plus the real answers you can give your kids tonight.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideCommunityCal Brennan6 Oct 20266 min

Be the Other Grown-Up a Kid Can Count On

Coaches, uncles and the guy next door shape kids in ways parents can't. It takes less than you'd think, plus a few rules you never bend.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Family6 min

The twenty-minute Sunday meeting that runs the whole week

Dads6 min

Say it in one sentence and your teenager will hear it

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideMomsNina Castellan6 Oct 20266 min

Stop Asking Your Kid Why They Did It

"Why" gets you a shrug or a lie. Four better questions turn a broken window into a kid who knows how to make things right.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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Family6 min read

Let your kids fail while it still costs twenty dollars

First job, first car, first apartment. Hand over the adult jobs early, while a mistake costs a late fee, not a lease.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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