Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Homes & Gardens

7 Common Household Items That Are Polluting Your Air

Learn what household items are polluting the air around you in your home.

Nir Eyal

This is How to Be Less Distracted By Having Fun in Tedious Tasks

Imagine how powerful you’d feel if you were able to transform the hard, focused work you have to do into something that felt like play.

MIT Press Reader

A Century of Science Fiction That Changed How We Think About the Environment

Even before the idea of climate change took hold, sci-fi began to think of the planet as something that preceded our species and could conceivably continue without us.

Lifehacker

Stop Answering Your Kid’s Questions

It’ll help them gain a critical skill—and get you out of the hot seat.

The Guardian

I Was the Poster Girl for OCD. Then I Questioned Everything I’d Been Told About Mental Illness.

When I sought help for crippling invasive thoughts, I was told I had a disease like any other. But I wasn’t able to recover until I understood the fallacy at the heart of mental healthcare.

BBC Worklife

The Case for Turning Off Your Zoom Camera

Bosses want video call cameras on. But workers may have a strong argument against appearing on screen when they don’t want to.

Popular Mechanics

We Used to Make Fun of Fool’s Gold. Now, It Might Fuel Our Future.

The misunderstood mineral pyrite is hiding a big secret.

Smithsonian Magazine

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Mars

Scientists have learned a lot since they started sending crafts and rovers to our red neighbor.

Scientific American

How the Higgs Boson Ruined Peter Higgs’s Life

A biography of the physicist and the particle he predicted reveals his disdain for the spotlight.

The Washington Post

7 Hotel Red Flags That Should Make You Run in the Other Direction

No pictures? No booking.

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

Bruce Lee on Self-Actualization and the Crucial Difference Between Pride and Self-Esteem

“The less promise and potency in the self, the more imperative is the need for pride. The core of pride is self-rejection.”

The Atlantic

The Mystery of Urban Psychosis

Why are paranoia and schizophrenia more common in cities?

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 16

BBC

How Kentucky Bourbon Went From Boom to Bust

Tariffs, oversupply and teetotaling Gen-Zs have all contributed to the downfall of one of America’s most iconic liquors.

ESPN

The Predatory Web of Sextortion Increasingly Ensnares Young Athletes

A Michigan teen was goaded into sharing an intimate photo that scammers threatened to expose unless he paid up.

CBS News

This Car Ranks as America’s Most-Stolen Vehicle

Here’s why one Chevrolet model is the most-stolen type of car, according to a new report.

NPR

Recommendation: New Books Published This Week

A portrait of the lucrative drug-treatment industry; a memoir of a female firefighter; debut fiction from an Emmy-winning TV writer; and a brand new Karin Slaughter thriller.

NPR

Why the Origin of the Word ‘Dog’ Remains a Mystery

They’re known as man’s best friends, fur babies, pooches. But the most widely used word for these beloved animals — “dog” — is also a great linguistic mystery.

The Conversation

Can Air Conditioning Really Make You Sick? A Microbiologist Explains.

If an air conditioning system malfunctions or isn’t properly maintained, it can become contaminated with infectious microbes.

The New York Times

He Announced His Intention to Die. The Dinner Invitations Rolled In.

In early December, a 28-year-old Ghanaian artist and entrepreneur named Joseph Awuah-Darko announced on Instagram that he wanted to die.

BBC

A Dating App, a Niqab and a 9mm Gun: How a US Woman Was Hired to End a UK Family Feud

The investigation into the Wisconsin native revealed her to be “fairly unexceptional” with virtually no “criminal footprint”. And it remains unclear why she became a would-be contract killer.

The Awkward Adolescence of a Media Revolution

Truth is still alive on social media—but it’s not easy enough to find.

Nature

Countrywide Natural Experiment Links Built Environment to Physical Activity

By analysing the smartphone data of 2,112,288 participants, in particular observing and comparing the activity of the same individual in two different environments, we find that increases in the walkability of environments result in increases in daily phy

Business Insider

The Godfather of AI Has a Tip for Surviving the Age of AI: Train It to Act Like Your Mom

Geoffrey Hinton says humanity’s survival depends on creating AI “mothers” that will care for and protect us.

Fast Company

The Invisible Architects: How Can Ingredient Brands Scale?

When you can’t publicly tout your greatest inventions, here are four ways to get the visibility you deserve.

Parents

Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Rest of the Gang Save Their Summer Camp in New ‘Peanuts’ Musical

‘Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical’ hits Apple TV+ on August 15.

The Hollywood Reporter

The 15 Best ‘Sex and the City’ Episodes of All Time, Ranked

As the world waves farewell to Carrie Bradshaw — for good, it seems — with the end of ‘And Just Like That,’ I couldn’t help but wonder... which episodes of ‘Sex and the City’ stand the test of time?

SELF

How to Overcome Commitment Issues, According to Couples Therapists

Because settling down with one person doesn’t have to feel like a trap.

Smithsonian Magazine

How the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Enabled the Nation’s Capital to Govern Itself—With Congressional Oversight

Far from being a new debate brought on by current events, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itself.