Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Kiplinger

How to Pay for Long-Term Care

Most people will need long-term care at some point, but insurance is pricey. Here’s a guide to covering the expenses.

Mic

Could an Afternoon Nap Really Be Better Than Sleeping More at Night?

Implementing a nap during the day could be even more beneficial than increasing the hours you sleep at night.

Nautilus

Don’t Tell Your Friends They’re Lucky

Luck has a lot to do with success. We just don’t want to admit it.

Bloomberg Businessweek

How to Do a Four-Day Workweek That Actually Works

More companies are mulling the shift but are concerned about maintaining productivity.

MIT Press Reader

The Bizarre Cultural History of Saliva

Frank Gonzalez-Crussi, author of “The Body Fantastic,” on the evolving perceptions of spit, from curative agent to expression of disdain.

Atlas Obscura

How Did the World’s Smallest Flightless Bird Get to Inaccessible Island?

The first scientists to describe the animal thought it might have walked.

The Atlantic

The Invasion of the German Board Games

Their peaceful premises and intricate rule systems are changing the way Americans play—and helping shape an industry in the process.

The Kitchn

How To Make the Best Macaroni and Cheese on the Stove

Whatever the occasion, a bowl of this mac and cheese will always spell comfort.

Literary Hub

25 Legendary Literary Feuds, Ranked

Ding ding ding: Let the fight begin!

Bloomberg

Amazon Sold a Used Diaper. It Tanked a Mom-and-Pop Business.

The company put the returned diaper back into circulation, prompting a scathing review that haunts the sellers to this day.

Narratively

The Woman Who Found a Snail in Her Soda and Launched a Million Lawsuits

Sixty-six years before the infamous spilled McDonald’s coffee, May Donoghue drank a ginger beer with a dead mollusk in it and changed personal-injury law forever.

Mental Floss

10 Mysterious Incidents at the Bermuda Triangle

Most shipwrecks can usually be blamed on weather, currents, or mechanical failures. For others, the Bermuda Triangle could be the culprit.

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

Wednesday, July 30

NPR

Here Are the 13 Books That Made the Booker Prize Longlist

An epic fable about two young Indian writers. A dark comedy about a loner who gets a job as a chauffeur for the mega-rich.

BBC

Record-Breaking Divers Are Pushing Human Limits and Reshaping Scientists’ View of Our Species

Humans have a long history of diving to forage from the seabed and today elite freedivers are reaching greater depths than ever. Some researchers argue humans belong in the sea.

Mother Jones

The Surgery That Reveals Everything That’s Wrong With Women’s Health Care

From "wandering wombs" to modern biases, the troubling politics of hysterectomies

Vox

The Real Reason We Tip

…and why it needs to change.

The Hustle

The Only State Without a Walgreens Pharmacy

Many independent pharmacies are in turmoil throughout the US. But a unique law has made North Dakota a haven for mom-and-pop operators.

The Hollywood Reporter

Is Gen X Dying Before Our Eyes?

The tragic passing of ‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 80's wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and heavy-metal icon Ozzy Osbourne bring on a generation’s old familiar feeling: doom.

Vogue

Are Drugstore Shampoos As Good As Their Expensive Counterparts?

Everything you need to know about choosing an affordable shampoo without sacrificing hair health.

MIT Technology Review

Chinese Universities Want Students to Use More AI, Not Less

Unlike the West, where universities are still agonizing over how students use AI in their work, top universities in China are going all in.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

CNBC

While the Fed Kept Its Benchmark Unchanged, Here’s What Happened to Consumer Borrowing Rates

When it meets this week, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range — where it has stayed for all of 2025.

ESPN

Which Teams Break Through or Bounce Back in the 2025 College Football Season?

FSU has nowhere to go but up, Michigan can get way better, and Arizona State is building on its CFP berth. What other teams are primed for bigger things in 2025?

The Atlantic

How Justin Bieber Finally Gave Us the Song of the Summer

American listeners don’t want to party; they just want a break.

Rolling Stone

Adam Sandler’s Movies, Ranked Worst to Best

From Happy Gilmore to Uncut Gems, the greatest (and most grating) films of the star we call the Sandman.

The Atlantic

A Requiem for Puff Daddy

When I was growing up, the now-disgraced mogul was the most formidable ambassador of Black cool.

Smithsonian Magazine

These Salacious Artworks Chronicle the History of Adultery, From Biblical Punishments to Royal Mistresses

Artists such as Rembrandt, the Pre-Raphaelites and Georgian caricaturists used their craft to examine the morality and ramifications of adulterous affairs.

Discover

Mounting Pressure in the Tintina Fault Could Mean Dangerous Earthquakes

Learn about the Tintina fault, which has been stirring for thousands of years and may hit the Yukon Territory with a major earthquake in the future.

Architectural Digest

How to Style a Teen Bedroom Without Chasing Trends

Let their maturing personality shine with these designer tips.

Kiplinger

Even Retirees Get a Case of the Mondays

Anxiety about the start of a new week isn’t just experienced by those in the workforce. Retirees deal with it, too. Here’s why it happens and strategies for dealing with it.

Undark

Amid PFAS Fallout, Maine Residents Navigate Medical Risks

As more people become aware of high exposures to PFAS, blood tests and clear medical advice can be difficult to find.

Vanity Fair

Fantastic Four: First Steps Is a Hit. Is That a Good Thing?

The movie is bland and perfunctory—and if it had failed, the studio might have been forced to try harder next time.

Popular Mechanics

Scientists Witnessed the Birth of a Monster—8.3 Billion Years After It Happened

So that’s how the most monstrous of all black holes came to exist.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Maclean’s

Confessions of the Working Poor

I work hard, buy quality clothes and know how to fake my way through dinner-party conversations. But behind the scenes, I’m part of a fast-growing Canadian underclass.

The New York Times

Study May Undercut Idea That Cash Payments to Poor Families Help Child Development

Rigorous new research appears to show that monthly checks intended to help disadvantaged children did little for their well-being, adding a new element to a dispute over expanded government aid.

CNBC

Even Many High-Earning Americans Don’t Feel Wealthy. Here’s Why

Many high earners in the U.S. still feel broke. Between lifestyle creep, debt and social pressure, even $200,000 per year doesn’t always buy peace of mind.

NPR

In a First, the Senate Confirms a New CDC Director

Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She’s also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

The Guardian

Trust Your Gut and Fail Bravely: Seven Influential Women on the Advice They Would Give Their 30-Year-Old Selves

It’s tempting to imagine what we might have done differently. But, as Diana Nyad says: ‘We earn our wisdom.’

USA TODAY

Trump’s Trade Deal With the EU: What It Means for Your Wallet

The new tariff could increase prices on goods such as cars, furniture and pharmaceuticals. Trump's tariffs are expected to raise prices by 1.8% in the short term, per the Yale Budget Lab.

NPR

The Manhattan Gunman Believed He Had CTE. What Does That Mean?

The gunman accused of killing four people in New York City suspected he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE — a degenerative brain disease often associated with football players.

The Cut

What If a Child Was Terrified of Food?

The rise of ARFID, a new eating disorder driven not by body image but by fear.

The Associated Press

If You Don’t Have Diabetes, Do You Really Need a Continuous Glucose Monitor?

A quarter-size device that tracks the rise and fall of sugar in your blood is the latest source of hope — and hype — in the growing buzz around wearable health technology.

The Guardian

‘It Would Destroy Me’: Fear of Student Loan Default Haunts US Borrowers

The Trump administration has ended the pandemic-era pause on repayments, leaving many facing colossal debts.

CNBC

Animal Shelters Are Crowded as High Costs Squeeze Pet Owners

Millions of animals are stuck in increasingly cramped shelters because their owners are struggling to pay rising vet bills and other expenses.

Vox

How to Make the Hardest Choices of Your Life

From picking a career to picking a spouse, one radical philosophical idea will guide you.