Brett & Kate McKay 217 posts 0 comments

There’s something about sunlight that really recharges you. If you don’t get enough of it, you feel very much like a potted plant that’s been kept too far from a window — you start to feel as though you’re physically and mentally…
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For decades, fitness culture has tended to break people into two categories: you’re either a strength guy or an endurance guy. You lift heavy or run far — but not both.But my guest today says you don’t have to choose; you can excel at…
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It’s a new year, which means people everywhere are making resolutions about what they’re going to add to their lives. More exercise. New routines. A fresh system that will finally get everything they’ve got going on dialed in.There’s…
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On the Art of Manliness, we talk about many things, from personal development, to physical fitness, to concrete skills and know-how. If you’ve ever wanted to do more than just listen to/read the content we publish, and desire to start…
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in: Advice, Character, Podcast Brett & Kate McKay • December 30, 2025 Most of us chase goals — starting a business, running a marathon, getting a promotion — without ever asking: What are the actual odds this will…
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Happiness is the subject of thousands of articles, podcasts, and scientific studies. Yet all this focus on happiness doesn’t seem to be making people any happier. In fact, the more they try to be happy, especially by fighting to get rid…
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Another year — our 17th in operation — has wound down here at the Art of Manliness. Here are a few highlights from the various projects that spring from the AoM epicenter. Dying BreedOne of the highlights of 2025 was launching Dying…
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Teddy Roosevelt, the patron saint of the Art of Manliness, had an exuberant love of life. A friend of T.R.’s described his joie de vivre as the “unpacking of endless Christmas stockings.” If Teddy Roosevelt approached all of life as if…
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The Holly and the Ivy. If you’re feeling tired of the standard set of classic holiday films, give The Holly and the Ivy a watch. In the movie, a family gathers at the home of their father — a recently widowed parson. This is not a happy…
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To make winter a more enjoyable time of year, you ought to consider adopting certain practices you only do during this season — rituals that help to create a kind of liturgy for life.One of those practices could be fire meditation.Fire…
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Books are everywhere. They’re so common, they’re easy to take for granted. But my guest argues that they’re worth fully appreciating — because the book isn’t just a container for content; it’s a revolutionary technology for shaping…
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I finally got around to watching Casablanca this year. I’m a little embarrassed it took this long. I think the delay was due to the fact that I already thought I’d seen it, on account of seeing clips of it so often. It’s part of the…
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Does it feel like the world is out to get you?Does it seem like everyone you know is an a-hole?Does it feel like your life is going nowhere and that you’ll always be a loser?If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above questions,…
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in: Odds & Ends Brett & Kate McKay • December 12, 2025“Last Christmas” by Jimmy Eat World. I can’t say I’m a fan of the original “Last Christmas” by Wham!, but I am a big fan of this cover by Jimmy Eat World.…
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Winter gets a bad rap.I know I often treat it like a season to be endured rather than enjoyed, but there’s plenty of fun to be had when the temperature drops. And there are plenty of small winter rituals that make the cold months feel…
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in: Health, Health & Fitness, Podcast Brett & Kate McKay • December 9, 2025Most of us know what we should do to be healthier: eat better, move more, sleep well. The real challenge? Actually following through.On…
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About 10 years ago, I impinged my right shoulder pretty badly, which prevented me from doing regular low-bar barbell squats. I didn’t want to stop squatting completely while I healed up, so I bought this funny-looking contraption with a…
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Stocking stuffers often get overlooked in the rush to see the bigger gifts Santa’s left (be sure to check out our ideas for those). But they’re one of my favorite parts of Christmas. There’s something so fun about little gifts small…
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How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life by Kurt Streeter. This beautiful article profiles Paul Lundy, a former facilities manager who walked away from a soul-crushing career in his mid-50s to apprentice under Bob Montgomery, a 92-year-old…
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There’s a lot of debate these days about what it means to be a man. But maybe the answer is simpler than we think, and a lot of masculinity just comes down to confident competence. A broad set of know-how. The ability to get stuff done.…
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