Home & Garage

Fix it, build it, maintain it. The house is the biggest thing you own — act like it.

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

Your Soil Needs a Test and Compost, Not Another Bag of Fertilizer

Most yellow leaves aren't hungry plants. They're a soil problem nobody tested for. A cheap lab test and an inch of compost fix more than any bag will.

GuideCivicsJosh HalloranSep 26, 20267 min

Your First Amendment Gets Tested at a Folding Table

Speech, religion and assembly rarely get defended at the Supreme Court. They get defended at the three-minute podium, the permit office and the zoning board.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Baseball's Birth Story Was Made Up, and the Real One Is Better

A commission handed America a tidy origin myth in 1907. The true history has clerks, prisoners, a paid shortstop and a man who refused to swing back.

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

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Garden & Yard7 min read

Your First Raised Bed Costs More in Dirt Than in Wood

A 4x8 bed holds over a cubic yard of soil. Size it right, fill it with the right mix and plant things that'll actually win you a first season.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

BRO TakeSurvival & Self-DefenseDean ShawSep 26, 20266 min

Your Right to Bear Arms Is a Promise to Your Family

The Constitution protects your right to defend your home. It doesn't train you, store the gun, or make the plan. That part is on you.

StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Every Rodeo Event Was Somebody's Job First

Rodeo started as ranch hands settling an argument. It became the one sport where every event began as a day's work.

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

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GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20267 min

Start Your Seeds Later Than You Think and Closer to the Light

Most homegrown seedlings fail for two reasons: planted too early and grown too far from the bulb. Fix both and you'll beat the garden center.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideLifeCal BrennanSep 26, 20266 min

Everyone around you already knows your blind spot

You can't see how you come across. The people who share your kitchen and your office can, and they'll tell you if you ask the right way.

StoryHistoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

Farmers Invented the Pickup and Detroit Caught Up Later

Before Ford built a single pickup, men were sawing the backs off their cars. The truck has been shaped by its owners ever since.

Ask BRO

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

Ask it

GuideTravelDean ShawSep 26, 20266 min

The expensive part of a fly-in trip is the question you didn't ask

Private hunting lodges, fly-in camps and working ranches are worth every dollar, as long as you ask the right questions before the deposit.

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

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BRO TakeLifeCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

Belonging isn't a feeling, it's a standing appointment

The longevity research keeps landing on the same unglamorous thing: a group of people who notice when you don't show up.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 1, 20266 min

A Hundred Years Ago, Christmas Started With a Catalog

Raccoons at the White House, candles on the tree, and a whole country waiting on the mail. What the holidays of 1926 can still teach your family.

GuideFoodWes DunbarSep 23, 20265 min

Cook dinner so you're not starving at nine o'clock

The problem isn't your dinner. It's the two hours after it, standing at the counter with a sleeve of crackers.

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

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GuideLifeCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

Nobody's watching, and that's exactly the point

Character isn't decided in the crisis. It's decided in four unremarkable seconds at a self-checkout, and you've had a few thousand of those.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Science & Space6 min

The Small Planes Worth Learning On and Worth Owning After

Dogs & Pets7 min

Gear That Actually Survives a 90-Pound Dog

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Build Three Kits, Not One Giant Pile of Gear

The house holds the weight, the truck holds the redundancy, and the bag holds only what you can actually carry six miles.

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

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Food6 min read

A mocktail fails on sweetness, not on the missing liquor

Four things the alcohol was quietly doing, what to put in its place, and the ratios that keep a zero-proof drink from tasting like a kid's cup.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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