Books

What to read next, the classics worth the effort and how to make reading a habit again.

Three cuts of beef, seven nights, and nobody guesses the budget

A chuck roast, a flank steak and two pounds of ground beef feed two adults for a week, and the plan comes with a grocery list and a Sunday schedule.

BRO TakeLifeCal BrennanNov 4, 20265 min

Say "I was wrong" first, and people start believing the rest

The man who owns his mistakes quickly makes every other thing he says worth more. Here's how to do it without groveling or caving.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideGuides & ChecklistsWes DunbarNov 4, 20265 min

How to teach your son to shave in one calm Saturday morning

Fuzz on his lip, a razor in your hand, and twenty minutes at the sink. Teach it once, teach it right, and he'll never learn it from a video.

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

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How To6 min read

How to set up a revocable living trust that actually works

Signing the trust is the easy part. Retitling your assets is what keeps your family out of probate court, and it's where most people stop short.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideScience & SpaceDean ShawNov 3, 20266 min

The needle never lies. It just answers a different question.

A compass points where Earth's magnetic field points, which is close to north but not the same thing. Here's how it works and how to catch it being wrong.

GuideTravelDean ShawNov 3, 20265 min

Book the permit before you buy the rod

A backcountry fishing trip is won or lost months before the first cast. Permits, seasons, gear, and the one day worth paying a guide for.

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

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideMedia LiteracyMarcus ValeNov 2, 20265 min

Who should be in this story, and isn't?

The most useful question you can ask about a news story takes five seconds: who would actually know, and where are they?

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideScience & SpaceDean ShawNov 2, 20266 min

A 100,000-ton ship floats and a pebble sinks

Weight has nothing to do with it. What decides sink or float is how much matter each atom brings and how tightly it's packed.

GuideTravelDean ShawNov 2, 20265 min

Teenagers don't want the plaque. Give them the field.

A fifteen-year-old will stand through a ranger talk if he's walking someone's actual steps. Here's how to build a battlefield trip around that.

Ask BRO

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

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GuideMedia LiteracyMarcus ValeNov 2, 20266 min

The headline says one thing. Paragraph nine says another.

Most readers stop after the headline. Here's a five-minute method for catching the ones the story itself doesn't support, whoever they favor.

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

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideScience & SpaceDean ShawNov 2, 20265 min

A dead battery isn't empty. It's finished falling.

Your battery never held a tank of electricity. It held chemistry that wanted to react, and a dead one is just a battery where the reaction ran out of road.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideTravelDean ShawNov 2, 20266 min

Flying standby with a family is a seat-count problem

One open seat is easy. Four on the same flight is a different game. How to plan a standby trip so a full flight doesn't strand your family.

GuideMedia LiteracyMarcus ValeNov 2, 20265 min

What the source won't say is half the story

Every statement is a set of choices about what to leave out. Learn to read the gaps and you'll spot spin from any direction.

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

PartnerNames.com

GuideScience & SpaceDean ShawNov 2, 20265 min

Why a Microwave Heats the Soup and Mostly Skips the Bowl

Run a mug of water for ninety seconds and the water's near boiling while the mug stays tame. The reason is a neat bit of physics, and it changes how you use the thing.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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