Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

BBC Future

Why Our Pursuit of Happiness May Be Flawed

It is an emotion linked to improved health and well-being, but is our obsession with being happy a recipe for disappointment, asks Nat Rutherford.

SELF

5 Questions to Ask Yourself If You Think It’s Time to Dump a Friend

Does your friendship have to end or can it change instead?

The Guardian

The Heart Rate Secret: What It Reveals About Our Health—From Sleep and Alcohol to Fight or Flight

There are more and more ways to monitor our heart rates, but what do the numbers really mean? Here is everything you need to know.

Inc.

How to Become the Best in the World at What You Do

With the right approach, and a little hard work, you can do what you love and earn a living at the same time.

WIRED

How to Actually Find Good Recipes Online

So many food blogs and recipe sites are full of pretty pictures but untested recipes. Don’t worry, it’s possible to find something you’ll love to cook and eat.

BBC News

Was I Wrong to Fall for a Cheating Cat?

What should you do, asks Anisa Subedar, when a persistent pussycat in the neighbourhood decides to adopt you?

Greater Good Magazine

How Much of Your Happiness Is Under Your Control?

The researchers behind the original “happiness pie chart” share what they’ve learned in the past 15 years.

Nautilus

Who Really Found the Higgs Boson?

The real genius in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery is not who you think it is.

Aeon

Keeping It in the Family: Why We Pick the Partners We Do

Wading into the intriguing research on choosing a mate.

Quanta Magazine

The End of Theoretical Physics as We Know It

Computer simulations and custom-built quantum analogues are changing what it means to search for the laws of nature.

BBC Culture

Why Being Creative Is Good for You

What is the key to creativity, and how does it help our mental health? Beverley D’Silva speaks to author Julia Cameron and others about ’flow’, fear and curiosity.

The Conversation

A Hot Bath Has Benefits Similar to Exercise

A hot bath burns calories, helps control blood sugar and keeps your blood vessels healthy. What’s not to like?

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

Vox

The Real Reason We Tip

…and why it needs to change.

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.

The 19th

Debbie Dingell Tells Her Story — Even When She Doesn’t Want To

The Michigan congresswoman is again recounting her childhood experiences as funding to combat domestic violence is under threat.

Outside

After the Biggest Doping Bust in Years, What’s Next?

Now that the fastest marathoner in history, Ruth Chepngetich, has been caught, is it time to give up and let athletes dope?

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

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.

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.

Vogue

Are Drugstore Shampoos As Good As Their Expensive Counterparts?

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

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

The Conversation

What to Do When Wasps Crash Your Picnic – a Scientist’s Guide to Dining Safely With These Insects

Did you know wasps switch from ham to jam foraging during the late summer?

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.

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.

Fast Company

AI Embarrassed Them at Work. Don’t Let This Happen to You

Employees are pressured to use AI at work, but the rules for using it are still being written, creating an environment ripe for mistakes.

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.

ESPN

Fantasy Football: Six Late-Round ‘Fliers’ You Should Grab Late in Drafts

Hitting on a player late in drafts can be a big boost -- to your team and your ego. Here are six “fliers” you need to be considering.

Discover

Building Blocks of Life in Deep Space Could Mean Life Extends Further Than Once Thought

Learn more about the prebiotic molecules who’s origins come from deep space.

Mental Floss

This Stone Fruit Galette Is a Celebration of Summer Produce

Why bake a pie when you can make a rustic, freeform galette?

Axios

Marc Benioff: AI and Humans Both Have a Role

Salesforce CEO sees a future of working alongside bots at Salesforce and across the industry.

Time

Why Your Energy Bill Is So High

With increased demand overwhelming the grid and climate change driving record heat, Americans’ energy bills keep rising.

Vulture

Let Your Kids Watch TV. It’s Fine.

A no-guilt screen-time guide.

Axios

Drug Prices Likely to Rise With Tariffs on EU

Drugmakers have been heavily reliant on foreign countries’ manufacturing and raw materials, most of it duty-free.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.’

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.