Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

How to Thrift Shop Your Way to Victory

One veteran inveterate thrifter shares his secrets for bin-digging, rack-rifling success.

The Washington Post

These Are the Most Fulfilling Jobs in America

When we looked at new data on which jobs give you the most pride or satisfaction, or serve the community best, one job took the top spot in every category.

Bon Appétit

How to Soften Butter—Quickly—According to a Pro Baker

Three methods for when you need cookies right now.

PC Gamer

Why You’re Right to Hate Motion Blur in Games (but Devs Aren’t Wrong to Include It)

Motion blur might be the most hated post-processing effect in PC games. Here’s why it keeps showing up.

Aeon

How to Reduce Digital Distractions: Advice From Medieval Monks

They came up with some pretty quirky tricks to stay focused, but they may have been on to something.

Afar

Charming College Towns With Off-Campus Appeal

Whether you’re touring colleges with your kids or there for extracurricular activities, these towns offer A+ fun.

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 Atlantic

4 Rules for Identifying Your Life’s Work

What shape your professional path should take depends on how you define success.

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.

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.

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.

Greater Good Magazine

Tips for Rooting Out Bias in Yourself and Your Organization

Bias is ubiquitous, but we can take steps to overcome it if we understand where it comes from.

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

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.

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.

Atavist

The Talented Mr. Bruseaux

He made his name in Chicago investigating race riots, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But America’s first Black private detective was hiding secrets of his own.

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.

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.

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.

What Jane Austen’s Possessions Reveal About Her Literary Ethos

Small things can be almost sacred, as is Fanny Price’s “nest of comforts,” assembled out of bits and pieces in the old schoolroom at Mansfield Park—a faded footstool, a collection of family silhouettes, a sketch of her brother’s ship; objects none of which is considered good enough for dis

Quanta Magazine

How Can Math Protect Our Data?

Mary Wootters discusses how error-correcting codes work, and how they are essential for reliable communication and storage.

Popular Mechanics

500 Years Later, Scientists Solve Leonardo Da Vinci’s Human Heart Mystery

The inventor sketched intricate muscular structures half a millennium ago. Turns out he was on to something.

The Guardian

Bernband’s Alien Landscape Is the Perfect Place for Digital Wandering – Just Don’t Expect a Map

With distinct, discrete areas that you can visit at any time, this is not a traditional open world game, and resists gamification with the mantra ‘there’s no goal but to stroll.’

Popular Mechanics

Scientists Are Mapping the End of the World. and Maybe, Just Maybe, a Way Out.

Positive climate action can have cascading effects.

People

Macaulay Culkin Reveals Sweet Comment Son Made About Brenda Song’s Character on ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’

During his appearance on Sean Evan’s ‘Hot Ones,’ Macaulay Culkin talked about everything from his decades-long career to his family life, which he likes to keep private. The former child actor shares his two sons, Carson, 2, and Dakota, 4, with his actress fiancée Brenda Song.