Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

SELF

What to Read and Watch When You’re Sad and Just Want to Wallow a Little Bit

Loss can be terribly isolating, but art can be a soothing balm that helps you feel less alone.

The Kitchn

How To Roast Any Vegetable

They taste great and there’s no recipe required.

Aeon

How Europe Became So Rich

In a time of great powers and empires, just one region of the world experienced extraordinary economic growth. How?

Bloomberg Businessweek

The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It

BookTok readers are flocking to physical stores to snag a copy of the latest viral hit—and helping the once-struggling chain turn a corner.

Knowable Magazine

What Can We Do About Ultraprocessed Foods?

Researchers are figuring out the features of these foods that harm our health — and proposing ways ahead.

MIT Press Reader

How Did Consciousness Evolve? An Illustrated Guide

Two leading voices in evolutionary consciousness science explore the subject through words and images.

Shondaland

It’s Okay to Be Needy in Romantic Relationships

Having a need for consistent connection with your partner is actually a sign of emotional maturity.

Bustle

12 Unexpected Tricks To Help You Make A Great First Impression On Anyone You Meet

We already know what we’re supposed to do to when we meet someone: smile, be friendly, and maintain eye contact. But there are a few other tricks you can have up your sleeve as well.

The Guardian

‘It Could Feed the World’: Amaranth, a Health Trend 8,000 Years Old That Survived Colonization

Indigenous women in North and Central America are coming together to share ancestral knowledge of amaranth, a plant booming in popularity as a health food.

Epicurious

The Big-Batch of Braised Beef Your Family Will Go Nuts For

It’s a freezer-friendly meal that feels fancy—but couldn’t be easier to make.

GQ

Grip Strength Is An Indicator of How You’re Aging—Here’s Why That Matters

Plus, why you shouldn’t go all in on your grip strength if you want to live a longer, healthier life.

Quanta Magazine

Evolution Runs Faster on Short Timescales

Evolution progresses much more quickly over years or centuries than it does over geologic time. Now the oldest viruses on the planet are enabling scientists to calibrate this evolutionary clock.

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 23

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?

The Walrus

Can Office Tools Help Couples Optimize for Domestic Bliss?

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the colour-coded Google Calendar.

The New York Times

The Trouble With Wanting Men

Women are so fed up with men that the phenomenon even has a name: heterofatalism. So what do we do with our desire?

WIRED

A Head-to-Toe Breakdown of Social Media’s Billion-Dollar Remedies

Bad mood? Puffy face? Immune issues? Across TikTok and Instagram there are scores of influencers ready to sell you some products—without ever sending you to a doctor.

BBC

How a Fatal Accident Ended Ted Kennedy’s Presidential Hopes

In July 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy pleaded guilty to fleeing the scene of an accident where a young aide died. But many questions about the ‘Chappaquiddick incident’ went unanswered.

Grist

The Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are More Deadly at Night

It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role in why nocturnal disasters claim more lives.

Virginia Quarterly Review

The Game Is Played With Great Feeling

How Pokémon can save the world, one Pikachu at a time.

Boston

Blood Feuds: The Fight Over Who Gets to Be Native American

A Rhode Island tribe’s quest for state recognition has sparked a controversy.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Grist

Kerr County’s Tragic Flood Wasn’t an Outlier. It Was a Preview.

Mounting evidence shows no state is safe from the flooding that ravaged the Texas Hill Country. Your community could be next.

Axios

Hospitals Scoop up Physician Practices, Driving Prices Up

It’s the latest evidence of consolidation in health care.

ESPN

Ranking 2025 NFL Rosters: Best Projected Starting Lineups

We ranked every NFL roster ahead of the season, then picked strengths, weaknesses, X factors and underrated players to know.

Big Think

What We’ve Learned After 35 Years of NASA’s Hubble

When the Hubble Space Telescope first launched in 1990, there was so much we didn’t know. Here’s how far we’ve come.

The Guardian

Nine Households Control 15% of Wealth in Silicon Valley As Inequality Widens

Report finds wealth divide widened in Silicon Valley at double the rate of the whole US over the past decade.

CNET

I Get 5G on My Phone at Home, So Why Can’t I Get 5G Home Internet? Here’s What I Learned

Even if your shiny new phone gets stellar 5G service, you’re not guaranteed 5G home internet service. Insiders tell me why.

PS

The Summer’s Hottest Parenting Hack? Boredom

Parents are skipping back-to-back summer activities in favor of letting their kids get bored while school’s out, and experts are here for it.

The Guardian

‘I Went Vegan on the Second Day of Filming’: James Cromwell on Making Babe, the Talking Pig Classic

‘I broke for lunch before everybody else and all the animals I had been working with were on the table – cut up, fricasseed, roasted and seared.’

The Marginalian

Doris Lessing on How to Read a Book and How to Read the World

Born in Iran and raised in Zimbabwe, Doris Lessing was fourteen when she dropped out of school and eighty-eight when she won the Nobel Prize.

Real Simple

Your Most Organized Life Starts Here

It’s time to declutter your closet, organize your kitchen like a pro chef, and get your stuff together. Here’s how to get organized—and actually stay that way.

Cup of Jo

How to Show up for Kids Who’ve Lost a Parent

Four women who lost their parents early in life share what helped them deal with their grief.

Vox

Inside the Federal Government’s Purge of Climate Data

Climate facts are inconvenient — so Trump is making them disappear.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Time

10 Questions to Help You Plan for the End of Life

Talking about death is often life-affirming.

NPR

A Creek With Atomic Waste From WWII Is Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

A new study in JAMA shows how proximity to Coldwater Creek, where nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project was improperly stored, affected cancer rates over the decades.

BBC

Mineral v. Chemical Sunscreen: Which One Should You Be Using?

Some people are trading chemical sunscreens in favour of mineral versions because of fears over toxicity, pollution and effectiveness. Is there actually any difference?

CBS News

COVID-19 Cases Are Rising in These States Amid Summer Wave, CDC Data Shows

The data, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also showed a significant increase in COVID-related emergency room visits for young children.

CNBC

Student Loan Bills Could Double for Some Borrowers As Biden-Era Relief Expires

Many student loan borrowers could see their monthly bills more than double now that the Biden-era SAVE plan is defunct.

CNBC

What a Trump, Powell Faceoff Means for Your Money

Tensions are escalating between the White House and the Federal Reserve, with consumers caught in the middle.

Stylist

Managers, Here’s How to Have an Effective 1-to-1, According to Career Experts

How to help your team members get the most from your meetings.

The Walrus

Before You Share That Health Tip, Read This

Misinformation is everywhere. And yes, some of it has probably gotten to you.

Fast Company

I’m a Two-Time Tech Founder. but Restaurants Are Where I Learned to Lead

The surprising lessons the conveyor belt sushi business taught me. Sudden equipment failures. Supply chain surprises. Retaining staff as the goalposts move in real time. These aren’t challenges I’ve faced as a tech founder—but I have faced them running restaurants.

The Week

How Can You Get the Maximum Social Security Retirement Benefit?

For many, Social Security benefits are a key part of their retirement plan. So it makes sense that you would want to get the most possible from this monthly source of income.

Money.com

Why You Probably Need Flood Insurance — Even if You Don't Live Near Water

Over the Fourth of July weekend, parts of central Texas were devastated by flash floods after the region was hit with the equivalent of four months' worth of rain in just a few hours. At least 134 people were killed, and more than 100 are still missing as of press time.

Yahoo

What Is ‘Revenge Saving,’ and Should You Hop on the Trend?

“Revenge saving” emphasizes making up for poor financial habits by being aggressively frugal or restrictive with your current spending.