Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Conversation

Five Tips to Help You Get Your Children Reading for Pleasure

...with five books chosen by children.

BBC Worklife

The Harmful Ableist Language You Unknowingly Use

Some of our most common, ingrained expressions have damaging effects on millions of people – and many of us don’t know we’re hurting others when we speak.

Shondaland

How to Hold Your Friends Accountable Without Breaking Your Friendship

There’s a fine line between giving your friends advice on reaching their goals and nagging them when they veer off course.

CityLab

The Quiet Power of Car-Free Neighborhoods

Restricting or banning vehicles in congested city centers pays off with cleaner air and safer streets. We need to talk more about the other big benefit — less noise.

Inverse

How to Shut off Your Brain: 4 Science-Backed Tips to Stop Thinking and Relax

“One of the reasons why chatter feels so bad is it's all-consuming, and you feel trapped.”

Slate

Just Read the Book Already

Digital culture doesn’t have to make you a shallow reader. But you have to do something about it.

Smithsonian Magazine

The Inventor of Ibuprofen Tested the Drug on His Own Hangover

Stewart Adams’ headache subsided—and his over-the-counter pain reliever became one of the world’s most popular medications.

Bicycling

Meet the Tech-Savvy Sleuths Who Will Hunt Down Your Stolen Bike

If they can’t find it in two weeks, they’ll give you a new one—guaranteed.

Bustle

Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?

Boundaries are important. But our relationships require a touch more compassion than some online blueprints offer.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Forget Factories, Small US Towns Want Buc-ee’s Gas Stations

Communities in the rural South dangle millions in tax breaks to lure the Texas chain.

Quanta Magazine

Proof Finds That All Change Is a Mix of Order and Randomness

All descriptions of change are a unique blend of chance and determinism, according to the sweeping mathematical proof of the “weak Pinsker conjecture.”

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

The Secret Life of Trees: The Astonishing Science of What Trees Feel and How They Communicate

“A tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.”

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

Friday, July 11

The New Yorker

How to Save a Dog

For nearly a year, a motley crew scoured New Orleans for a shaggy white mutt named Scrim.

WIRED

AI Is a Lousy Chef

I asked an AI-powered recipe generator to make some menus. It didn’t tell me to put glue in my guacamole, but the results didn’t come close to besting recipes written by professionals.

Texas Monthly

At 40, She Discovered She Was One of America’s Best Free Divers

Sara Burnett went from an introductory course to a world championship in just over a year.

The New York Times

How a Single Overdose Unraveled an Empire of Heroin

A man’s death after using “Flow” in a small Vermont city exposed a drug operation that spanned continents and sent a New York prosecutor on a heartbreaking journey.

ABC

Finding Robert Bogucki, the Man Who Disappeared on Purpose

In 1999 a young American dumped his bicycle and walked out into the Great Sandy Desert. Why was he willing to risk his life, and why do some people need to get lost in order to feel found?

Elle

How a ‘Breakup Moon’ Trip Helped Us Say Goodbye

My boyfriend and I knew our relationship was over. We decided to go to New Zealand anyway.

Slate

The Menagerie Lurking in Rural America

Many people still own exotic animals like they’re any other pet. But they’re not.

Substack

The Death of Partying in the U.S.A.—and Why It Matters

Young Americans today spend 70 percent less time attending or hosting parties than they did at the beginning of the 21st century. Why?

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Variety

Court Strikes Down FTC’s ‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule, Which Was Aimed at Letting Consumers Drop Services Easily

A federal appeals court vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s Click to Cancel rule -- which was to go into effect next week -- on procedural grounds.

Discover

Earth’s Inner Core Is Solid — Not Liquid — Even Though It’s Blistering Hot

Is Earth’s inner core solid or liquid? While the inner core is extremely hot, experts have known that it is solid for many years.

Big Think

The 4 Psychological Markers of Ideological Extremism

What do Coke bottles, thrill-seeking, and a shrunken prefrontal cortex have in common? They all help explain extremist ideologies.

Fast Company

Data Privacy Is Failing. Here’s What Encryption and MFA Can (and Can’t) Do

The tools and policies for data privacy exist, but using them still falls short.

Smithsonian Magazine

How Superman Became a Character for the Ages

The superhero from Krypton has a forgotten superpower: the ability to connect to people across space and time.

Motherly

Midwives Could Cut Maternal Deaths Nearly in Half—This New Data Shows What’s Standing in the Way

In 2021, the U.S. maternal mortality rate hit 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the CDC.

The 19th

After a Child Care Worker Is Detained by ICE, a Community Is Left Reeling

Nicolle Orozco Forero is one of the thousands of immigrant women who provide child care for American children, and one of the few who cares for children with disabilities. Now she and her seriously ill son are in ICE custody.

CBS News

Trump’s 50% Copper Tariff Could Raise the Cost of Appliances, EVs and Other Goods, Experts Warn

Manufacturers and construction companies — as well as consumers — would face higher prices if the U.S. jacks up tariffs on copper, analysts said.

Time

What Most People Overlook About Skin Cancer

Excessive sun exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer—but it’s not the only one.

Elle

The Best Street Style Photos From Paris Haute Couture Week

Dua Lipa! Cardi B! We’re capturing all the top looks on the ground in Paris.

Popular Mechanics

Scientists Found a Place Where the Earth’s Layers Are Upside Down

Normally, younger rocks are deposited above older ones, forming predictable geologic layers. In the North Sea, this process is a bit more complicated.

Vogue

How to Make the Most of a Full Moon

Full moon rituals are believed to have special power as they harness energies that align with our subconscious rhythms.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Psyche

What to Do When Someone Goes on the Defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology.

USA TODAY

Increase Your Social Security Income in Retirement With Three Powerful Moves

There's a reason people are commonly advised not to retire on Social Security alone. The average monthly benefit won't go very far in helping seniors cover their costs.

Vox

For Years, Women Complained That This Medical Procedure Was Painful. Doctors Are Finally Listening.

How a common birth control method became the center of a reckoning.

Harvard Business Review

New Research on Why Teams Overwork—and What Leaders Can Do About It

Why do so many high-performing professionals keep working at a punishing pace, even when it damages their health, relationships, and personal well-being?

NBC News

Job Scams Are on the Rise and More People Are Falling for Them

As job-seekers look for work in a challenging environment, an increasing number are falling victim to job scams that promise good pay for completing easy online tasks, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

CNBC

‘Revenge Savings’ Can Boost Your Bottom Line, Experts Say — Here’s How to Get Started

Saving more money is a perennial resolution, but emotions shouldn't drive that habit, financial experts say. Instead, be intentional. Here's how to get started.

Gizmodo

This Cough Syrup Ingredient Might Actually Slow Dementia

Several larger trials of ambroxol for Parkinson's are already underway.

Harvard Business Review

How to Identify the Perfect Cofounder

One of the first and most important decisions entrepreneurs make is whether to go it alone or bring on cofounders.

The New York Times

Measles Cases Hit Record High, 25 Years After U.S. Eliminated the Disease

Experts worry that if vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks will become the new normal.

The Washington Post

I’m a Gastroenterologist. Here’s Why I Tell My Patients to Eat This One Fruit.

Kiwis can boost your gut health. They may also lower triglycerides and cancer risk.

Harvard Business Review

When It’s Time to Leave a Career You’re Passionate About

People worry that others will see them as immoral and incompetent for quitting their passion. These fears are often misplaced.

The Atlantic

I Fought Plastic. Plastic Won

My futile quest to avoid the material that my entire world is made out of.