Survival & Self-Defense

Water, fire, shelter, navigation and the lawful defense of yourself and your family. Skills you carry, taught safety-first, for men and women.

The BRO Survival & Preparedness GuideThe printable family manual: a kit and go-bag builder, water and food calculators, the core skills and a family emergency plan.Get ready, calmly

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Run a chili cook-off the guy with the most friends can't rig

Blind cups, a real score sheet, one breaker you'll definitely trip, and a trophy people will actually fight over next year.

StoryHistoryMarcus Vale3 Oct 20266 min

Proving up took five years and two neighbors willing to swear

The Homestead Act's paperwork was easy. Staying alive on the claim was the hard part, and at the end your neighbors had to vouch for you.

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideGarden & YardWes Dunbar5 Oct 20267 min

Plant Paste Tomatoes If You Actually Want Sauce

Most homemade sauce fails in March, when you buy the wrong seeds. Pick the right variety and the timing, and one August afternoon fills your freezer.

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

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Civics7 min read

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.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

StoryHistoryDean Shaw3 Oct 20266 min

From the Plow to the Combine, One Broken Bottleneck at a Time

For most of history a farm was only as big as one family could harvest. How a blacksmith, a Virginian, and a few stubborn tinkerers changed that.

GuideGarden & YardWes Dunbar5 Oct 20266 min

Plant by Your Frost Date, Not Your Zone

Your zone tells you what survives winter. Your frost date tells you when to plant. Most first-year gardeners mix them up and lose a flat of tomatoes.

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

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GuideLifeCal Brennan26 Sept 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.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

StoryHistoryMarcus Vale3 Oct 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.

GuideGarden & YardWes Dunbar5 Oct 20266 min

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.

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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