Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Men’s Health

How Many Calories You Can Burn Just By Walking

Walking is an effective, low-impact cardio workout with benefits that go well beyond calorie burn. Still, here’s what to keep in mind if you’re keeping track.

The Hustle

Why Nobody Got Paid for One of the Most Sampled Sounds in Hip-Hop

A few seconds from one forgotten rap song have tied artists and eras together for decades.

Elle

How I Lost My Hair and Found a Community

I was terrified that chemotherapy meant saying goodbye to all my hair. I couldn’t have predicted what I’d discover in its place.

Inc.

21 Books Highly Recommended by Successful Executives

Looking for a good title to pick up? Here's where to start.

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

The Songs of Trees: A Biologist’s Lyrical Ode to How Relationships Weave the Fabric of Life

“We cannot step outside life’s songs. This music made us; it is our nature.”

Darius Foroux

How To Improve Your Mindset, Build Strength, And Make A Living Doing What You Love

Basically, how to be good at life.

Epicurious

If You Have 3 Ingredients and a Skillet You Can Make Arepas

These warm, toasty cornmeal pockets can be slathered with butter, stuffed with scrambled eggs, or sandwiched around sliced avocado and cheese.

Quartz

Designers and Statisticians Disagree On What Makes a Good Information Graphic

The fundamental disagreement between designers and statisticians isn’t rare, nor is it new.

Stylist

The 5 Most Common Regrets of the Dying—and What We Can Learn From Them

Bronnie Ware, a former palliative care nurse and bestselling author, shares the five most common regrets of the dying—and her advice on how to live a life full of happiness and joy.

Inc.

26 Favorite Books of High Achievers

People who achieve the most in life make it a practice to glean wisdom from others.

Atlas Obscura

The Illegal Ramen Vendors of Postwar Tokyo

Black markets and American wheat imports popularized ramen.

Bon Appétit

They’re Vegetarian, but Only When They’re Home

More people are opting into the “social omnivore” lifestyle—never eating meat at home but unwilling to give it up when out with family and friends.

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

Sunday, July 13

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.

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.

Texas Monthly

The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.

On July 4, the Guadalupe ripped our home from its pillars, pulling my family into its waters and into the night. Then morning came.

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.

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.

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.

The Guardian

‘It’s the Only Thing Between Me and a Divorce!’ The Remarkable Rise of the Big Family Planner

Many households would descend into chaos without somewhere to jot down work commitments, after-school activities, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries … But do you run the planner, or does the planner run you?

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

Fast Company

Don’t Take the Race for ‘Superintelligence’ Too Seriously

AI’s latest buzzword du jour is a handy rallying cry for competitive tech CEOs. But obsessing over it and its arrival date is pointless.

The 19th

The Care Work of the Courtroom: How Women Lawyers Are Fighting to Keep Immigrants Safe

Women immigration lawyers approach their cases and their own communities with empathy and education — while navigating policies meant to deter and detain.

Grist

Seeing Fewer Fireflies This Year? Here’s Why, and How You Can Help.

Fireflies are vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss. A few landscaping tricks and turning off porch lights can make a big difference.

Harper's Bazaar

Are We Finally Ready to Let Lena Dunham Be Lena Dunham?

The rom-com series ’Too Much’ marks a new chapter in Dunham’s complicated, confessional legacy.

CNET

What Is a Network Switch? I Spoke With a Netgear Expert to Find Out

Here’s how a network switch might improve your home internet connection.

Time

The New Superman Hinges on a Radical Reinvention of the Man of Steel’s Parents

James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ makes one of the biggest changes to Superman’s origin the character has ever seen.

Essence

How Indigo Became the Signature Shade at the Heart of Black Fashion

Four cultural stewards of sustainability unpack how indigo embodies Black fashion’s legacy of labor, innovation, and enduring influence.

The Atlantic

How the Grateful Dead Nearly Solved the Problem With Live Music

The band’s innovative sound system made them sound better than ever. It also nearly broke them.

NBC News

Blue-State Leaders Weigh New Laws to Deal With Financial Fallout From Trump’s Big Bill

Legislators say they face new state budget burdens because of the law and are clamoring for solutions that might help fill in shortfalls or avoid major deficits.

Fast Company

BYD’s Cars Can Now Fully Park Themselves. Game Over, Tesla

BYD, the Chinese car company, is the first automaker to add full Level 4 autonomous parking to all its cars.

Martha Stewart

How to Keep Cabbage Worms Out of Your Garden—and Save Your Favorite Vegetables

Discover the best ways to keep cabbage worms out of your garden, including plenty of organic and natural methods good for your garden.

Fast Company

Why AI-Powered Hiring May Create Legal Headaches

Many companies are turning to generative tools like ChatGPT to streamline hiring. But new research shows these systems may introduce bias—and open businesses up to serious risks.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Fast Company

Why Do We Trust Certain People (Even When We Shouldn’t)?

The science of who is (and isn’t) trustworthy. Why are some people perceived as more trustworthy than others?

Harvard Business Review

Leading Is Emotionally Draining. Here’s How to Recover.

Emotional depletion is a real and significant tax of modern leadership. Recovery is no longer a luxury.

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.

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.

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

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.

Gizmodo

This Cough Syrup Ingredient Might Actually Slow Dementia

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

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.

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 Atlantic

I Fought Plastic. Plastic Won

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