Wednesday, October 14, 2026
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When you picture a family, what do you imagine? The nuclear kind ubiquitous on 20th-century TV? Or something else entirely? In the story below, Esquire contributor Stinson Carter shares a powerful, heart-warming story of how his own family changed over time. Though unconventional by sitcom standards, it’s no less full of love and compassion. It may, in fact, be fuller. Read the piece below. —Chris Hatler, deputy editor
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When the author’s dad died, he left behind a younger husband. There was no question that the man was kin. But what if he were to remarry? A story about what family really means.
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“I Drink Milk,” read the headline, a young man’s clever way of saying he was just a regular guy. “You’re 25–40 and not afraid to be yourself. No expectations or pressures, just possibilities.” The personal ad, published in The Stranger, the ’90s Seattle indie rag of record, caught my father’s eye. He was 44, but age didn’t stop him from calling.
Years earlier, 31-year-old Bill Bailey Carter had been a rising star in the southern advertising world, producing commercials that starred Orson Welles. By 39, his agency—and his marriage—had fallen apart. He moved to Seattle to start over, and I moved with my mom to Fairfield, Iowa. As I entered my teenage years, I sought something she couldn’t provide: a model for manhood. So the night before I started eighth grade, I moved west to live with my dad.
I still didn’t know the real reason behind my parents’ divorce, but as I met my dad’s many, many new guy friends, questions filled my mind. He sat me down one afternoon in our Capitol Hill apartment and said, “I need to talk to you about the fact that your father is gay.”
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For this year's Gadget Awards, we put nearly a thousand products under the microscope, and these are the 91 that we unanimously agreed will make your life better. If you’re tech curious, we say lean in. Live a little. Who knows? You might sleep better, eat better, and improve your day-to-day. If you’re tech cautious, well ... in 20 years your toothbrush will probably have a camera on it, just like ours do now. These are the best and most noteworthy products and brands of the year. Watch out; they’re about to be everywhere.
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Few people have lived a life like Muhammad Ali’s. The certified Greatest of All Time has had umpteen books, documentaries, and biographical dramas that told and retold of his years as a heavyweight champion and a political activist. Hell, there is a movie about Muhammad Ali starring Muhammad Ali. (Not to mention an iconic Esquire cover featuring the legend.) But a new Prime Video series, simply titled The Greatest, aims to be more than another boxing biography. The Greatest isn’t just about the man who was born Cassius Clay; it’s also about the family who raised him to be a legend.
“Most things you’ve seen or read, they don’t go into his childhood much,” says Lonnie Ali, the wife of Ali and the interim president and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center, in an interview with Esquire. “The Greatest is his pathway to growth, at home with his brother and his parents. It’s a granular deep dive into Muhammad’s life, to understand who he was, how he started, and how he progressed to become one of the most beloved icons.”
Created by Ben Watkins, with Lonnie Ali among its executive producers, The Greatest stars newcomer Jaalen Best as Muhammad Ali in the years from his gold-medal victory at the 1960 Olympics in Rome to his championship bout against Sonny Liston in February 1964. Between these hard-fought wins, Ali lives in Louisville—where his godlike status collides with Jim Crow—and trains to turn pro with the support and tough love of his family.
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