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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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.

GuideHomeWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The Asbestos You Can Live With and the Kind That Stops Work

Nine-inch tiles, popcorn ceilings, gray pipe wrap and attic vermiculite. What to leave alone, what to test, and the moment you put the tools down.

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Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideFoodWes Dunbar23 Sept 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.

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

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Science & Space6 min read

The Small Planes Worth Learning On and Worth Owning After

A used Cessna 172 is the safe answer, but it isn't the only one. What each trainer costs to fly, what breaks, and what to check before you buy.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideDogs & PetsNina Castellan23 Sept 20267 min

Gear That Actually Survives a 90-Pound Dog

Big dogs destroy cheap gear in a weekend. What to look for in beds, leashes, bowls and toys so you buy once instead of four times.

GuideFoodNina Castellan23 Sept 20266 min

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.

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

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BRO TakeLifeCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

The Tuesday visit beats the Christmas visit every time

Living close to grandparents changes both ends of the family, and the ordinary weeknights do more of the work than the holidays ever will.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideHomeWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

An Open Garage Door Won't Save You From a Generator

Cracking the door a foot feels like ventilation. It isn't. What actually keeps carbon monoxide out of your garage, your shop and your house.

GuideFoodWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Your beans won't soften because the bag is too old

Beans, nuts and whole grains keep a house fed cheaply, but only if you buy them fresh, store them cold and cook them like you mean it.

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What should I wear to this?

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GuideLifeCal Brennan23 Sept 20265 min

The Okinawan friend group that meets for fifty years

A moai started as a village money pool and became the most durable friendship structure anybody has built. The mechanics copy just fine.

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

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GuideHomeWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

If Your House Predates 1978, Test Before You Sand

Lead paint sitting on a wall isn't the danger. The danger starts the second you put a sander to it and the dust lands where a toddler crawls.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideFoodWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Your beans are a side dish because you cooked them like one

The places where people live longest eat beans nearly every day, and they never boil them in plain water. Fat, aromatics, a bare simmer, acid at the end.

GuideLifeCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Steal the slow habits of the world's longest-lived towns

Stay at the table after the plates are empty, walk twelve minutes after dinner, stop eating at eighty percent. None of it costs a dollar.

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Guide100 ThingsMarcus Vale23 Sept 20268 min

100 Things Every American Should Know About the Constitution

Four sheets of parchment, about 4,400 words, and it still runs the country. Everything you should be able to say from memory at the dinner table.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Food6 min

Greens, good oil and one loaf will carry your whole week

Life5 min

Ten minutes a day with nothing in your ears

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideTravelDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

How to come home from a work trip in the same shape you left

Four nights in a hotel doesn't have to cost you your sleep, your waistline or your Monday. The fixes start when you book, not when you land.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

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Food6 min read

Your vegetables need the same heat you give a steak

How to get a meat-loving family eating twice the plants without a lecture, a fake burger or a single sad boiled carrot.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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