Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Greater Good Magazine

How to Become a Scientist of Your Own Emotions

A Q&A with researcher Marc Brackett about how to cultivate emotional intelligence in ourselves and our kids.

Country Living

Pro Tips For Your Car Camping Adventure

Explore America like you haven’t before.

Popular Science

Quantum Computers Can’t Teleport Things—Yet

It’s almost impossible to simulate a good wormhole without more qubits.

Vogue

The Best Places in the World to Travel Solo

Relish the opportunity to adventure alone.

Esquire

How to Wear Cologne

They’re not rules; they're guidelines. And they’ll help you find the right spritz for you.

MIT Press Reader

Alphonse Bertillon and the Troubling Pursuit of Human Metrics

To measure was to apprehend and be made accountable, and nowhere was this more resonant than in the identification and classification of criminals.

Glamour

This Easy Trick Will Give You Heavenly, Fluffy Pancakes in Minutes

You can making perfect brunch pancakes with this recipe, even if your cooking skills usually rely on a microwave.

The Hustle

The Economics of Costco Rotisserie Chicken

Costco’s popular chickens have stayed fixed at $4.99 for more than a decade — even in the face of raging inflation. But it’s come at a cost.

Knowable Magazine

How the Placebo Effect Went Mainstream

Back when it was published in 1955, Henry Beecher’s paper paved the way for sounder drug trials and pushed scientists to better understand how we process pain.

Fast Company

Want to Cut Your Work Hours in Half? Create an A/B Schedule

"You can get more done with more power to spare."

CityLab

The Rise and Fall of the Klaxon, the World’s Most Annoying Car Horn

Klaxon automotive horns, once standard safety equipment, disappeared from the roads after World War I. But the tensions they exposed about urban noise still echo.

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

The Good Luck of Your Bad Luck

Marcus Aurelius on the Stoic strategy for weathering life’s waves and turning suffering into strength.

Popular Collections

Curated guides to the best reads on the web

Pocket Collections

The Art of Navigating Thorny Office Politics

From bad bosses to gossipy colleagues and, of course, office refrigerator drama.

Today’s Pocket Hits

Monday, July 28

The Guardian

The Rise and Fall of the British Cult That Hid in Plain Sight

Philippa Barnes was a child when her family joined the Jesus Fellowship. As an adult, she helped expose the shocking scale of abuse it had perpetrated.

The Guardian

How Video Games Are Keeping Romance Alive – One Level at a Time

Some are using Final Fantasy and GTA Online as dating sites and long-time lovers are finding comfort and connection through Resident Evil. Could video games be the ultimate relationship tool?

Vanity Fair

How Goop Culture Helped Create MAHA

The California-based gynecologist and Gwyneth biography source, Dr. Jen Gunter, on everything from how she views Gwyneth Paltrow’s legacy to the most difficult aspects of fighting pseudoscience claims.

Business Insider

Return Fraud Is Running Rampant

Whether it’s sending back broken items or claiming a package never arrived, Americans are committing return fraud at Amazon and other retailers.

NPR

Are High-Protein Snacks Worth the Hype? Here’s How to Assess

Protein has taken over the packaged-snack aisles at the grocery store. But do you need extra protein in your chips and muffins?

The Associated Press

Photos Show a Filipino Couple Walking Down a Flooded Aisle on Their Wedding Day

Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar were determined to walk down the aisle on their wedding day.

NBC News

The Deadliest Extreme Weather Event Is Not What You Think It Is

Nationally, extreme heat causes more deaths each year than any other weather event, including floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.

Esquire

What I Didn’t Understand About My Autistic Son, and What I’m Learning Now That He’s an Adult

I have opened my heart and my mind to Sam, and he’s brought both of us to the place we so desperately need to be.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

The Marshall Project

What Happens When Someone Dies Inside One of America’s Worst Jails?

In Cuyahoga County, a jail death triggers mandatory investigations. Here’s what all Ohio sheriffs are supposed to do, and how to check their work.

CBS News

U.S. Postal Service to Celebrate 250th Anniversary Amid Trump Threats to Privatize

The USPS is celebrating with two new commemorative stamps and a celebration at the Smithsonian on July 26.

Reuters

All-Star Games May Be Flawed but Still a Boon for Professional Sports Leagues

Once a much-anticipated celebration of a sport’s best talents, All-Star games have fallen into a constant state of reinvention amid a high-stakes effort by North American leagues to make their star-studded showcases a ratings hit.

Discover

Homo Juluensis May Be Part of a New Group of Ancient Humans

Learn more about how to make sense of Asia’s confusing hominin fossil record of Homo juluensis, and why scientists proposed a new species.

CNET

With Trends Like ‘Japanese Walking,’ Is Walking Actually Exercise? We Asked Personal Trainers

Given the “hot girl walks” and “Japanese walking” trends, we reached out to personal trainers to find out if walking is actually enough exercise on its own.

Reuters

Trump Signs Order Aimed at Curbing Big-Money College Sports Payouts

President Donald Trump waded into a debate over the influence of big-money payouts in college sports on Thursday, signing an executive order adding federal government scrutiny to the practice.

Los Angeles Times

Has Musk Lied About Self-Driving Teslas? California Says So

California says Tesla’s claims about its self-driving capabilities cross the line into false advertising. A DMV judge is hearing arguments pro and con.

Real Simple

7 Storage Hacks Pro Organizers Use to Declutter Pantries for Good

We spoke with three professional organizers about the pantry storage solutions they always recommend to clients. Shop storage containers, rolling carts, lazy Susans, and more. Prices start at $7.

Fast Company

How to Go From Quiet to Commanding

An executive coach offers introverts five tips for sounding more confident. You’re smart, capable, and consistently deliver results. But in meetings, your voice disappears.

Business Insider

Trump Wants to Ban ‘Woke AI.’ Here’s Why It’s Hard to Make a Truly Neutral Chatbot.

Trump’s order to ban “woke AI” calls for model neutrality — but that’s a big challenge for AI companies.

The New Yorker

“South Park” Skewers a Satire-Proof President

The new season première goes after Trump as never before—and solves a problem that’s plagued comedians since his first term in office.

The Cut

All I Wanted Was to Be the Popular Girl. My Teen Doesn’t Care About That.

How my 14-year-old daughter taught me to butt out and let her be.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Parents

A Parent Let Their Son Choose What to Do With Money They Found–Here’s What He Decided

Doing real-time experiments like this in the wild can teach us a lot about our kids and ourselves as parents.

NPR

Dear Life Kit: My Friend Says Ugly Things About Her Body and It Makes Me Anxious

Body-acceptance advocate Katie Sturino and Ronald Young Jr., host of the podcast Weight for It, answer listener questions about body image, weight loss drugs and bullying.

Harvard Business Review

The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation

Before commercial pilots push back from the gate, they complete a comprehensive preflight check to verify that every system functions correctly during the journey ahead.

The Atlantic

The Problem With Rewards Credit Cards

Their fees are getting higher—and their benefits are sometimes wildly complicated to redeem.

Kiplinger

Are You an Auto Theft Target? Discover the Clues

Thieves seized over 850,000 cars last year. See which models, states and behaviors draw the eyes of opportunists.

NPR

Home Sales Are Down. So Why Are Prices at an All-Time High?

Those with equity in a home can trade up more easily, while many first-time homebuyers are still stuck on the sidelines.

USA TODAY

Young People Always Worry About Social Security. Older People Are Joining Them.

Americans are worrying more about Social Security, and the Trump administration may be partly to blame.  In an AARP survey released July 22, only 36% of Americans voiced confidence in the future of the retirement trust fund, down from 43% in 2020.

The Week

How Will the New Tax Deductions on Auto Loans Work?

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited.

The Guardian

‘Old People Are Capable of More’: Meet the Female Weightlifters in Their 70s and 80s

Forget the stereotype of the frail old woman who needs help carrying groceries – fitness mavens like Joan MacDonald show you can strength train at any age.

Time

What to Say to Someone With Cancer 

Some well-meaning phrases don’t always go over well.

NPR

Doctors Urge FDA to Remove Black Box Warning on Hormone Therapy for Menopause

The FDA may remove the warning labels on hormone replacement therapies used to treat the symptoms of menopause. Doctors say the warning is scaring people who could benefit from these treatments.

USA TODAY

Estate Sales Are Booming. Thank Gen Z

Environmentally-conscious young people are heading to estate sales for low cost, well-made products.