Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Atlantic

What People Actually Say Before They Die

Insights into the little-studied realm of last words.

Mental Floss

“This Land Is Your Land”: The Story Behind America’s Best-Known Protest Song

It has been a staple of kindergarten classrooms for decades. But Woody Guthrie didn’t intend for the song to be a ringing endorsement of American exceptionalism—he wrote it for those who were getting left behind.

Bloomberg

Nine Bosses on What They Do on the Weekends to Unwind

From pickleball to kitesurfing to hikes with the kids, these C-suiters stay active.

The Guardian

Vegetables Are Losing Their Nutrients. Can the Decline Be Reversed?

A process called biofortification puts nutrients directly into seeds and could reduce global hunger, but it’s not a magic bullet.

The Guardian

‘The Dreaded B-Word’: How to Start Budgeting

Money is emotional – but avoiding a budget is often more of a headache than making one.

The Guardian

Ghost Hunting and Interactive Art: The Weird Afterlife of Xbox Kinect

Microsoft’s motion-sensing gaming camera was released for the Xbox 360 in 2010. Artists, roboticists and more are still finding new ways to use it.

Popular Science

4 New Myths About Climate Change—and How to Debunk Them

Pushing off climate change policy isn’t that far removed from denying its existence.

The Guardian

Typing Loudly, Wearing AirPods: ‘Taskmasking’ Is How Gen Z Pretends to Work at the Office

As more companies mandate a return to the office, young workers learn to game the system to take back control.

Kiplinger

What to Do When Your Rent is Too High

You have some options if your rent is too high, even though it may feel bleak.

The Kitchn

How To Make Panna Cotta

Don’t be intimidated, it’s actually super easy.

MIT Press Reader

The Dark Radiance of Atomic Bomb Literature

The more we expose ourselves to the prose of the victims, the more visibility we give them.

Scott Young

Two Types of Growth

It’s a mistake to assume you’ll grow and improve at a steady rate.

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

Saturday, August 9

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.

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.

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.

Food52

Our 10 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes of All Time

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

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.

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.

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.

How to Properly (and Safely) Clean Your Laptop

It’s a job that’s more important than you might think—so don’t put it off.

SELF

5 Injuries ER Doctors See All the Time—and How to Avoid Them

You might be surprised by the seemingly innocuous behaviors that cause them.

Texas Monthly

Wandering the Ghost Town Capitol With the Texas Democrats Who Stayed Behind

Most members of the House Democratic Caucus fled the state this week in an attempt to stall a Trump-ordered gerrymander. We tried to talk to the few who stayed.

BBC

What Are Semiconductors and Why Is Trump Threatening 100% Tariffs?

The President said he plans to introduce 100% tariffs on foreign-made chips, but the largest producers may avoid the levy.

Inverse

How Star Trek Gave a Deep-Cut Character an Indiana Jones Reboot

‘Strange New Worlds’ is not giving us our father’s Roger Korby. In a new interview, Inverse catches up with Cillian O’Sullivan to get his take on what makes his character so different.

Parents

The Best and Worst States to Have a Baby in 2025

WalletHub looked at 31 key measures of cost and health care accessibility to put together the list.

CBS News

With New Tariffs in Effect, Economists See Profit Dips and Price Hikes up Ahead

Profit hits and price hikes are already coming down the pike as a result of new U.S. tariffs, according to economists.

The New York Times

The ‘Cease-Fire’ Trap: Has the World Given up on Peace?

In a pessimistic era, a temporary, tenuous pause to fighting has become the most anyone is trying to achieve.

Andscape

Steelers OT Calvin Anderson Nearly Died From Malaria — He’s Now Advocating to Save Others

WASHINGTON — As Calvin Anderson walked the long, narrow hallways of the Longworth House Office Building, it didn’t take much for him to stand out. The Pittsbur…

The Hollywood Reporter

Last Call for Late Night

After 70 years of tucking America into bed, it looks like the curtain is about to come down on the late night genre. What’s being lost is more than a TV tradition but a backdrop for some of America’s most memorable moments.