Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Conversation

This Salt Alternative Could Help Reduce Blood Pressure. So Why Are So Few People Using It?

Potassium-enriched salt tastes like regular salt and you don’t need to change how you cook or season your food. You just need to switch the type of salt you buy.

Men’s Health

The New Science of Hamstring Training

How a once-forgotten muscle has become the superstar of lower-body training.

The Guardian

The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Health: Sleep Well

“A consistent seven to nine-hour sleep each night is the most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health.”

Inc.

An Incredibly Clever Hack for People Who Want to Read More Books

This brilliant brain hack hijacks your social media habit to build a new commitment to reading.

Prevention

How to Be a Better Person: 16 Expert-Backed Methods for Self-Improvement

Try these simple life changes to become a more kind and thoughtful version of yourself.

Country Living

50 Meditation Quotes to Help You Find Inner Peace

No matter how stressed out you are, they’re sure to put you on the path to inner peace.

Slate

Dismantling My Dreams, One Brick at a Time

We lived out our fantasy to flip a house. We will never do it again.

Scientific American

The Scientific Underpinnings and Impacts of Shame

People who feel shame readily are at risk for depression and anxiety disorders.

Architectural Digest

11 Kitchen Storage Ideas to Make Your Small Space Easier to Cook In

Save your precious cabinet space with these brilliant tips.

Epicurious

How to Make a Dish Less Spicy

Tame the flame in that fiery curry like a pro.

Fast Company

How to Land a Job You’re Not Qualified For

It doesn’t hurt to apply, even if you feel underqualified. But there is a strategy you should follow.

Delish

What Nutritionists Wish You Knew About Popcorn

Think twice before reaching for the movie theater butter.

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 25

The Associated Press

Photos Show a Filipino Couple Walking Down a Flooded Aisle on Their Wedding Day

Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar were determined to walk down the aisle on their wedding day.

Glamour

What Is Mushroom Coffee? Everything to Know About the Buzzy Drink

Get your caffeine fix with added wellness benefits.

The Guardian

Freeze Your Nuts – but Not Your Mushrooms: 28 Thrifty, Fabulous Ways to Use Your Freezer

Bag up your breadcrumbs and gather your gravy. Here’s how to use your kitchen’s most underrated asset to its greatest potential.

NPR

The Best Games of 2025 So Far, Picked by NPR’s Staff

From indies like ’Blue Prince’ to big console exclusives like ’Donkey Kong Bananza’, NPR staff and contributors round up their favorite games of the year so far.

Esquire

What I Didn’t Understand About My Autistic Son, and What I’m Learning Now That He’s an Adult

I have opened my heart and my mind to Sam, and he’s brought both of us to the place we so desperately need to be.

Vox

Why Your Energy Bill Is Suddenly So Much More Expensive

And why it’s not getting cheaper any time soon.

NBC News

The Deadliest Extreme Weather Event Is Not What You Think It Is

Nationally, extreme heat causes more deaths each year than any other weather event, including floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.

NPR

Are High-Protein Snacks Worth the Hype? Here’s How to Assess

Protein has taken over the packaged-snack aisles at the grocery store. But do you need extra protein in your chips and muffins?

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Los Angeles Times

Ed Park Drops Clues Like ‘Barbie’ Throughout ‘An Oral History of Atlantis’

Ed Park, a Pultizer Prize finalist for his last sprawling novel, wrote an interlocking series of stories for his follow-up, ‘An Oral History of Atlantis,’ and his joy at working in shorter form is palpable.

Delish

Mini French Silk Pies Mean You Can Have Multiple of Your Favorite Dessert

Don’t stop at just one.

The Guardian

France to Recognise Palestinian State at UN General Assembly, Macron Says

French president announced decision on X, saying he hoped it would bring ‘lasting peace’ to Middle East.

Smithsonian Magazine

With Ancient DNA, Scientists Have Mapped 37,000 Years of Disease Across Europe and Asia

Zoonoses—diseases that spread from animals to humans—began to gain prevalence some 6,500 years ago with the rise of animal husbandry, a new study suggests

BBC

Why Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting at the Border?

The roots of the South East Asian neighbours’ dispute goes back to more than a century ago.

Fast Company

How Prominent Brands Manage Different Customer Segments As They Grow

Managing customer segments isn’t something that can be applied once to permanently solve problems.

High Country News

In Wyoming, Forestry Work Is Female

In the wake of DOGE cuts, an all-female ‘Forest Corps’ is filling federal agency gaps for Wyoming trail projects.

The New York Times

This Was Supposed to Be the Year China Started Catching up With SpaceX

It’s looking unlikely. Here’s why.

Cup of Jo

What Small, Inexpensive Things Make Your Life Better?

Here are our seven random tools that make our lives easier.

The Hollywood Reporter

‘South Park’ Takes on Trump in Season 27 Premiere As Creators Ink $1.5 Billion Deal

The long-running satire returns after a nearly 2.5-year hiatus and as a battle over its future has just concluded.

The Guardian

‘If I Switch It Off, My Girlfriend Might Think I’m Cheating’: Inside the Rise of Couples Location Sharing

Many apps like Find My allow us to follow our loved ones at all times. But just because we can, does it mean we should?

Axios

OpenAI’s Data Center Ambitions Collide With Reality

Massive new computing-power projects are moving forward, but slower than once expected.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Allure

Why Are People Fighting About At-Home Gel Nail Kits on TikTok?

A closer look at both sides of the “OPI nail drama.”

NPR

What Borrowers Should Know About Student Loan Changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill

If you’re a federal student loan borrower or about to become one, your head may be spinning.

Harvard Business Review

Make the Most of Your Vacation When You Can’t Fully Unplug

While advice abounds on the importance of fully unplugging during your hard-earned time off — and for good reason! — what should you do if you’re in a situation where you can’t be fully offline?

Axios

Venmo the Treasury to Help Pay Uncle Sam’s Debt? You Can, If You Really Want

Of all the things you might use Venmo for — buying drinks, splitting a check with friends, repaying a loan — there’s a good chance you’ve never had “sending the government a gift to help pay the public debt” on your list.

The Atlantic

The Problem With Rewards Credit Cards

Their fees are getting higher—and their benefits are sometimes wildly complicated to redeem.

The Associated Press

For Some Employees, Education Benefits Such As Tuition Assistance Prove Life-Changing

As higher education costs have grown to heights many U.S. residents find unattainable or illogical, some adults are looking to their employers for help.

Axios

Social Security Recipients Set to Face an $18,000 Benefit Cut in Just Seven Years

Retirees are facing the prospect of substantial Social Security cuts in just seven years, sooner than projected, due to the “big, beautiful bill,” per an analysis out Thursday from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

NBC News

Did Your Doctor’s Office Charge You a ‘Facility Fee’? Here’s What to Know.

Facility fees, often associated with inpatient hospital stays, are becoming more common for outpatient doctors’ appointments.

The Cut

‘Are My Student Loans About to Become Unaffordable?’

You could do nothing—or you could sign up for a new repayment plan. Here are your options.

NPR

You Can’t Outrun a Bad Diet. Food Not Lack of Exercise Fuels Obesity, Study Finds

One explanation for the rise in obesity in industrialized countries is that people burn fewer calories than people in countries where obesity is rare. A major study finds that’s not the case.

Slate

Narcissists Aren’t Really So Bad. Just Ask These Narcissists.

The diagnosable illness is also the internet’s punching bag. These narcissists have had enough.

CNET

I Asked Pro Chefs: What Are the Most Worthless Kitchen Tools?

Save your money and a little space in your cupboard by skipping these 20 kitchen gadgets.