Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Kiplinger

How to Pay for Long-Term Care

Most people will need long-term care at some point, but insurance is pricey. Here’s a guide to covering the expenses.

Mic

Could an Afternoon Nap Really Be Better Than Sleeping More at Night?

Implementing a nap during the day could be even more beneficial than increasing the hours you sleep at night.

Nautilus

Don’t Tell Your Friends They’re Lucky

Luck has a lot to do with success. We just don’t want to admit it.

Bloomberg Businessweek

How to Do a Four-Day Workweek That Actually Works

More companies are mulling the shift but are concerned about maintaining productivity.

MIT Press Reader

The Bizarre Cultural History of Saliva

Frank Gonzalez-Crussi, author of “The Body Fantastic,” on the evolving perceptions of spit, from curative agent to expression of disdain.

Atlas Obscura

How Did the World’s Smallest Flightless Bird Get to Inaccessible Island?

The first scientists to describe the animal thought it might have walked.

The Atlantic

The Invasion of the German Board Games

Their peaceful premises and intricate rule systems are changing the way Americans play—and helping shape an industry in the process.

The Kitchn

How To Make the Best Macaroni and Cheese on the Stove

Whatever the occasion, a bowl of this mac and cheese will always spell comfort.

Literary Hub

25 Legendary Literary Feuds, Ranked

Ding ding ding: Let the fight begin!

Bloomberg

Amazon Sold a Used Diaper. It Tanked a Mom-and-Pop Business.

The company put the returned diaper back into circulation, prompting a scathing review that haunts the sellers to this day.

Narratively

The Woman Who Found a Snail in Her Soda and Launched a Million Lawsuits

Sixty-six years before the infamous spilled McDonald’s coffee, May Donoghue drank a ginger beer with a dead mollusk in it and changed personal-injury law forever.

Mental Floss

10 Mysterious Incidents at the Bermuda Triangle

Most shipwrecks can usually be blamed on weather, currents, or mechanical failures. For others, the Bermuda Triangle could be the culprit.

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

Wednesday, July 30

Vogue

Are Drugstore Shampoos As Good As Their Expensive Counterparts?

Everything you need to know about choosing an affordable shampoo without sacrificing hair health.

Outside

After the Biggest Doping Bust in Years, What’s Next?

Now that the fastest marathoner in history, Ruth Chepngetich, has been caught, is it time to give up and let athletes dope?

Mother Jones

The Surgery That Reveals Everything That’s Wrong With Women’s Health Care

From "wandering wombs" to modern biases, the troubling politics of hysterectomies

Vox

The Real Reason We Tip

…and why it needs to change.

The New Yorker

Mexico’s Molar City Could Transform My Smile. Did I Want It to?

More than a thousand dentists have set up shop in Los Algodones. Their patients are mostly Americans who can’t afford the U.S.’s dental care.

The Hollywood Reporter

Is Gen X Dying Before Our Eyes?

The tragic passing of ‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 80's wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and heavy-metal icon Ozzy Osbourne bring on a generation’s old familiar feeling: doom.

NPR

Here Are the 13 Books That Made the Booker Prize Longlist

An epic fable about two young Indian writers. A dark comedy about a loner who gets a job as a chauffeur for the mega-rich.

The 19th

Debbie Dingell Tells Her Story — Even When She Doesn’t Want To

The Michigan congresswoman is again recounting her childhood experiences as funding to combat domestic violence is under threat.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

ESPN

Fantasy Football: Six Late-Round ‘Fliers’ You Should Grab Late in Drafts

Hitting on a player late in drafts can be a big boost -- to your team and your ego. Here are six “fliers” you need to be considering.

Maclean’s

Confessions of the Working Poor

I work hard, buy quality clothes and know how to fake my way through dinner-party conversations. But behind the scenes, I’m part of a fast-growing Canadian underclass.

Condé Nast Traveler

How Artists, Makers and Fisherfolk Are Still Shaping Midcoast Maine

This central sweep of the shore has always been a place of refuge. On a visit to his home state, Darrell Hartman discovers it’s still a haven for dreamers and doers.

The Verge

One of Nintendo’s Most Creative Super Nintendo Games Is Now on the Switch

Mario Paint has been added to the Nintendo Switch Online’s SNES catalog and supports the Switch 2’s mouse mode.

Polygon

The Fantastic Four Are Selfish Parents — but That Isn’t the Movie’s Main Problem

The MCU may not have the nuance for this moral dilemma.

CNBC

While the Fed Kept Its Benchmark Unchanged, Here’s What Happened to Consumer Borrowing Rates

When it meets this week, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range — where it has stayed for all of 2025.

Fast Company

Stuck in a ‘Trend’ Economy? Here’s How You Can Break Free From It

Building a business based on trends is not the best strategy for long-term growth. Don’t succumb to the trend economy.

Gizmodo

The Biggest Signs That AI Wrote a Paper, According to a Professor

How do you spot a ChatGPT written paper?

Salon

New Soda at Costco. Same $1.50 Dog?

Pepsi is out, Coke is in — and Costco fans are watching closely to see if the $1.50 dog-and-soda deal survives.

Vox

How Republicans Are Trying to Redistrict Their Way to a Majority

A Vox reporter explains what’s going on with the GOP’s early redistricting plans.

Mental Floss

12 Surprising Word Pairs That Sound Related—but Aren’t

Think the word ‘human’ was created by slapping ‘hu-’ on ‘man’? Think again: ‘Man’ and ‘human’ aren’t related at all.

Popular Mechanics

Scientists Witnessed the Birth of a Monster—8.3 Billion Years After It Happened

So that’s how the most monstrous of all black holes came to exist.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

The New York Times

Study May Undercut Idea That Cash Payments to Poor Families Help Child Development

Rigorous new research appears to show that monthly checks intended to help disadvantaged children did little for their well-being, adding a new element to a dispute over expanded government aid.

The Guardian

Trust Your Gut and Fail Bravely: Seven Influential Women on the Advice They Would Give Their 30-Year-Old Selves

It’s tempting to imagine what we might have done differently. But, as Diana Nyad says: ‘We earn our wisdom.’

CNBC

Animal Shelters Are Crowded as High Costs Squeeze Pet Owners

Millions of animals are stuck in increasingly cramped shelters because their owners are struggling to pay rising vet bills and other expenses.

CNBC

Even Many High-Earning Americans Don’t Feel Wealthy. Here’s Why

Many high earners in the U.S. still feel broke. Between lifestyle creep, debt and social pressure, even $200,000 per year doesn’t always buy peace of mind.

NPR

The Manhattan Gunman Believed He Had CTE. What Does That Mean?

The gunman accused of killing four people in New York City suspected he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE — a degenerative brain disease often associated with football players.

Vox

How to Make the Hardest Choices of Your Life

From picking a career to picking a spouse, one radical philosophical idea will guide you.

The Guardian

‘It Would Destroy Me’: Fear of Student Loan Default Haunts US Borrowers

The Trump administration has ended the pandemic-era pause on repayments, leaving many facing colossal debts.

USA TODAY

Trump’s Trade Deal With the EU: What It Means for Your Wallet

The new tariff could increase prices on goods such as cars, furniture and pharmaceuticals. Trump's tariffs are expected to raise prices by 1.8% in the short term, per the Yale Budget Lab.

The Associated Press

If You Don’t Have Diabetes, Do You Really Need a Continuous Glucose Monitor?

A quarter-size device that tracks the rise and fall of sugar in your blood is the latest source of hope — and hype — in the growing buzz around wearable health technology.

The Cut

What If a Child Was Terrified of Food?

The rise of ARFID, a new eating disorder driven not by body image but by fear.

NPR

In a First, the Senate Confirms a New CDC Director

Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She’s also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

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.