Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

BBC News

The Rise and Fall of the Bombshell Bandit

For two months an unusual bank robber shocked, mystified and captivated the US. She was a woman, she was short, young and well-dressed, and she held up a string of banks in quick succession.

Atlas Obscura

The Valley of the Cheese of the Dead

In this remote Swiss town, residents spent a lifetime aging a wheel for their own funeral.

Fast Company

Do These 5 Emotionally Intelligent Things Within 5 Minutes Of Meeting Someone

Being instantly likable isn’t rocket science, but this checklist takes practice to master in the short space of a first impression.

Aeon

Falling for Sleep

Can we rekindle the joy of slumber?

MIT Press Reader

In Search of the Impossible Machine, the Artificial Heart

The history of the total artificial heart is punctuated with both brilliant innovation and continual clinical failure.

The Guardian

‘People Eat Two or Three Packets a Day’: How Instant Noodles Took Over the World

High-salt, processed noodles have become a favourite cheap meal, especially in developing countries, but nutritionists warn of the health costs.

Smithsonian Magazine

The Dirty Secret About How Our Hands Spread Disease

The human hand is an incredible tool—and a deadly threat.

Culture Study

The Diminishing Returns of Productivity Culture

Human productivity has a ceiling.

The Conversation

When We Lose Weight, Where Does It Go?

Don’t worry, 98 percent of health professionals surveyed didn’t know either.

The Atlantic

The Most Misunderstood Concept in Psychology

What are boundaries?

BBC Worklife

How Mindfulness Can Make You a Darker Person

Mindfulness is thought to have multiple benefits – but it can also make you less likely to feel guilty about wrongdoing and derail your moral compass.

Greater Good Magazine

How Parents and Children Can Learn Emotional Skills Together

You can better connect with your children and their communities by learning social-emotional skills alongside them.

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

HuffPost

13 Fire Safety Items You Should Always Have In The House

Fire experts share how to prepare for a house fire or wildfire.

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.

NBC News

Crypto Kidnapping: How Armed Gangs Are Hunting the Internet’s High Rollers

Kidnapping and extortion are growing concerns in the crypto world, with cases rising alongside the price of bitcoin.

BBC

Turbulence Is Increasing. Here’s How the Aviation Industry Is Trying to Smooth Things Out.

Climate change is creating stronger turbulence. Aircraft designers hope innovative new techniques will reduce its effects.

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 New York Times

I Teach Creative Writing. This Is What A.I. Is Doing to Students.

My conversations with A.I. showcased its seductive cocktail of affirmation, perceptiveness, solicitousness and duplicity — and brought home how complicated this new era will be.

CNN

In pictures: Starvation in Gaza

Food markets are empty. Human waste is piling up. Illness is spreading. And people in Gaza are “collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration,” humanitarian organizations warn.

NPR

She’s Trying to Open a Birth Center Near a Maternity Desert. It’s Not Easy.

When Katie Chubb was pregnant she wanted to have her baby at a birth center, but there was no local option. Now she's trying to open one herself. She has community support, but not from the hospitals.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

W Magazine

Liza Minnelli Talks Her Life in Parties & Why She’ll Never Stop Dancing

From Studio 54 to sobriety, the icon revisits her star-studded nights out.

The Verge

The Verge’s 2025 Back-to-School Shopping Guide

From laptops to dorm room staples.

CBS News

Did the U.S. or the EU Emerge As the Winner in Trump Trade Deal?

The new trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union will lift tariffs on imports of goods from EU countries to their highest level in decades and hurt the trading bloc’s economic growth, according to some experts.

The New York Times

UnitedHealth Grew to Be a Leviathan. Then Came the Backlash.

The conglomerate was viewed as one of the most successful companies in America, but patients are enraged and investors have lost faith in its business model.

Glamour

The Unsinkable Scheana Shay

Through 11 seasons of “Vanderpump Rules,” the Bravolebrity never shied away from sharing every detail of her personal life—even when it was cringe. So will she let a little thing like the show ending get her down? If you think so, you don’t know Scheana.

Fast Company

3 Tips for Getting More Satisfaction Out of Your Routine

Sometimes it feels like life is a meaningless routine. A time management coach offers tips on getting more joy out of your day.

Big Think

5 Science Facts That Come From Simply Watching the Moon

Even just by examining the Moon with the unaided eye, we can learn an incredible amount about the Moon, Earth, and more.

Popular Mechanics

Elon Musk Is Putting His Grok AI in Your Tesla

The large language model can be controlled hands-free with your voice, but it can’t control your vehicle.

PS

I Went Through a “Sleep Divorce,” and It Was Amazing for My Marriage

Here’s how it went for one couple.

Fast Company

How to Deal With Loneliness at Work

One of the best predictors of your happiness at work is whether you have colleagues that you are close with.

Parents

Bullying Can Make Kids Anxious to Start a New School Year—Here’s How Parents Can Help

For the 1 in 5 kids who are bullied, returning to school might be distressing. Here’s what parents can do.

Smithsonian Magazine

A Rare Portrait of Maryland’s Medical Hero Was Rediscovered in a Mussels Joint

The painting depicts John Beale Davidge, a physician known for his ideas about yellow fever and founding the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

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.

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.

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.’

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Atlantic

The Problem With Rewards Credit Cards

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

Axios

Why GLP-1s Could Become the “Everything Drug”

The biggest buzz around GLP-1 drugs these days has nothing to do with weight loss. And that might lead to some problems for patients and insurers.

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.