Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Stylist

Strength Training: 8 Exercises You Can Do in Your Living Room

Struggling to put together a workout that keeps you motivated? We’ve rounded up the best strength training exercises you can do at home to re-inspire your routine.

Elle

Why Won’t People Just Let Me Not Be a Mom?

No, I’m not a “fur mama,” a “plant mommy,” and I did not “birth” my book.

MIT Press Reader

What Irony Is Not

A handy guide to distinguishing the notoriously slippery concept from its distant cousins coincidence, satire, parody, and paradox.

Glamour

How to Calm Anxiety: 23 Ways to Reduce Stress

We asked mental health experts for their favorite ways to find some calm.

The Guardian

How Woodworking Is Helping People Carve Out Inner Peace

The craft is gaining popularity among those in search of a way to slow down, switch off and improve mental health.

PC Gamer

This Cozy Painting Game Has Me Feeling Like the Next Van Gogh

Cozy up and paint the town.

The Guardian

I Think My Cat Likes My Partner More. What Should I Do?

The signs that a cat likes you are fairly obvious. Here’s how to strengthen your bond with a pet if you think they prefer your partner more.

Knowable Magazine

How to Overcome Political Polarization on Climate Change

Conversations — in real life — can help bridge the partisan divide, but the trick is to have some structure to the discussion, says a human ecologist.

Fast Company

What to Do When You Feel Like You Don’t Fit In at Work

Culture fit isn’t just a fluffy goal. Having friends at work is important for your productivity and happiness.

The Guardian

The Lost Girls: ‘Chaotic and Curious, Women With ADHD All Have Missed Red Flags That Haunt Us’

After multiple burnouts, in my early 30s I finally knew why life sometimes felt harder for me. It made perfect sense, so why had no one noticed before?

Quanta Magazine

Machines Beat Humans on a Reading Test. But Do They Understand?

A tool known as BERT can now beat humans on advanced reading-comprehension tests. But it's also revealed how far AI has to go.

BBC Culture

Why Being Messy Is Good for You

From “non-aesthetic” homes to Frazzled English Woman and Marie Kondo, there’s a new wave of realism about what our lives are like. Holly Williams explores the life-changing magic of mess.

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

Sunday, August 10

Saveur

That Chewy, Bouncy Texture You Love Has a Name

Whether in boba tea, cuttlefish, rice noodles, or cassava dough, the texture of QQ connects people across cultures and generations.

BBC

How ’Keep Calm and Carry On’ Became a Divisive 21st-Century Phenomenon

After a forgotten WW2 propaganda poster was discovered in 2000, it found an astounding new resonance in 21st-Century Britain – becoming an endlessly memeable template that is both cherished and mocked.

Food52

Our 10 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes of All Time

From crispy to chewy, we’ve collected the best of the best.

The Guardian

Knife Throwing and Cheeseburger Spinning: The Agony and Ecstasy of Being a Viral Trickshot Video Star

Think you could throw a basketball off a 540ft dam, into a hoop – while blindfolded? Meet the talented and ludicrously patient people putting hours into the internet’s most joyful (and pointless) clips.

Condé Nast Traveler

16 Golden Rules That Business Travelers Swear By

People who constantly hit the road for work share what they wish they’d known from the jump.

The Associated Press

The World Nearly Beat Polio. But Fake Records, an Imperfect Vaccine and Missteps Aided Its Comeback.

The World Health Organization has closed in on its bold goal of eradicating polio several times, but the paralytic virus is entrenched in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The New Yorker

The Internet Wants to Check Your I.D.

New safety rules require users to verify their identities before gaining access to sites. This spells the end of the relative anonymity that we’ve come to expect online.

Lifehacker

Are ‘Ultra-Processed’ Foods Really That Bad for You?

They’ve been linked to heart disease and other health conditions.

Broccoli and Lentil Salad With Curried Tahini and Dates Recipe

Flavoursome and healthy, this creamy salad is perfect as part of a mezze.

Los Angeles Times

Being a Special Ed Teacher Taught Chinedu Unaka His Biggest Lesson in Stand-Up

The L.A.-born comedian, who recently released his first “LOL Live” special on Hulu, says his past teaching with mild to moderate special ed students gave him all the tools he needed to succeed onstage as a comedian.

The New Yorker

Revenge of the Vibecession

Last year, Donald Trump exploited the perception that the economy was bad, even though many indicators were good. Is it possible to do the opposite?

Grist

Energy Projects Across the Country Are in Limbo After Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

Community groups, businesses, and consumers say projects face an uncertain future after Republicans slashed renewable energy tax credits.

Fast Company

Housing Market Supply Is Finally Back in These 80 Metro Areas—and It’s Good News for Buyers

Among the nation’s 200 largest housing markets, these 80 metros now have active inventory above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

Inverse

After 6 Years, Star Wars Could Finally Fix the Sequel Trilogy

After six years, the franchise is going all in on the sequels, or at least the aftermath of them.

The New York Times

Remains of 3 Victims of 9/11 Are Identified From Minuscule Evidence

New York’s medical examiner is working methodically through a backlog of bones. “We’re talking about people putting in overtime 24 years later, for us,” said the son of one victim.