Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Nautilus

Once Upon a Gemstone

Precious stones hold the stories of continents, oceans, and cultures.

BBC Travel

The US’ 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Mounds

Constructed by a mysterious civilization that left no written records, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are a testament to indigenous sophistication.

MIT Press Reader

Greening Democracy: The Transformative Power of Nature on Children and Society

Reconnecting children and nature may be the last cause in America that transcends political, religious, racial, and professional barriers.

CityLab

How the Tuberculosis Epidemic Influenced Modernist Architecture

Light, air, and hygiene were not just aesthetic preoccupations of the early Modernists: They were the best treatment for tuberculosis at the time.

Quanta Magazine

The Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves

Rogue waves—enigmatic giants of the sea—were thought to be caused by two different mechanisms. But one idea that borrows from the hinterlands of probability theory has the potential to predict them all.

Popular Science

How to Actually Remove Pesticides From Your Fruit

Assuming that you should be worried about them in the first place.

Stylist

Walking Uphill Can Feel Difficult – Here Are 7 Ways to Make It Easier

Heading out on a hike, but worried about how you’re going to handle walking uphill? Here are seven ways to make it easier, according to the experts.

Bustle

A Guide To Red Flags

In dating and in life, they’re not always what you think they should be.

Bicycling

How Much Protein Per Day Do You Need? Experts Answer.

Protein is a major part of cycling performance—particularly when it comes to recovery. Here’s how to figure out your needs.

Knowable Magazine

How Animals Follow Their Nose

It’s not easy to find the source of a swirling scent plume. Scientists are using experiments and simulations to uncover the varied strategies that animals employ.

Dwell

How to Source Vintage and Secondhand Furniture Online

All you need is patience, time, and (of course) to know where to look.

Inverse

Taking a Vacation Is Seriously Good For Your Brain — But Only If You Do It Right

Say it with us: Vacation is good for you.

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, August 6

The Associated Press

The World Nearly Beat Polio. But Fake Records, an Imperfect Vaccine and Missteps Aided Its Comeback.

The World Health Organization has closed in on its bold goal of eradicating polio several times, but the paralytic virus is entrenched in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

BBC

Mississippi Burning: The Shocking Murders That Sparked Change in the US

In August 1964, three civil rights activists were found dead in the Deep South. The public’s response provided the impetus for new civil rights legislation in America.

Slate

I Quit Drinking. It’s Great. There’s Just One Small Problem.

How do I deal with my emotions without whiskey?

POLITICO Magazine

Meet the Fraudster Who Wants to Make California Its Own Country

The man behind the Calexit movement claims to be a baller. But he’s broke.

The Atlantic

How the Muppets Helped Me Grieve

After my father got sick, his collaborations with Jim Henson kept me afloat.

The New Yorker

Treating Gaza’s Collective Trauma

In Gaza, where displaced children play games called “air strike” and act out death, the lack of mental-health resources has become another emergency.

Slate

My Scammer

I responded to one of those spam texts from a “recruiter”—then took the job. It got weirder than I could have imagined.

Eater

The Best Housewarming Gifts (That You’ll Want for Yourself)

If a whole leg of ham is a little too much, there’s always a pickle crock.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

AFAR

This One Travel Hack Will Slow Down Your Vacation and Give You Stunning Images

Researchers and National Geographic photographers are teaching people how to take better photos, be more mindful, shift their focus, and enjoy vacations more.

NBC News

He Needed a Graveyard Shift at UPS to Pay for Training. Now He’s a U.S. Champion Sprinter

Before Jacory Patterson claimed a national title on Saturday, he’d done something even tougher — make a living as a professional track and field athlete.

Lifehacker

21 of the Weirdest Things You Can Bring on an Airplane

The list of things you can bring on a plane is maybe just as strange as what you can’t.

Parents

What Makes a Good After-School Snack?

If you’re making up for what they didn’t eat, or even if you’re just tiding your kids over until dinner, the food they munch on between meals matters. Here’s what nutritionists say.

Grist

Here’s What to Watch for at This Month’s Global Plastics Treaty Talks

Delegates are meeting in Geneva for a sixth — and potentially final — round of negotiations.

Nautilus

Propaganda Doesn’t Have to Be a Dirty Word

Talking with philosopher Nathan Crick about using mass persuasion for good.

The Associated Press

How to Humanely Deal With Pests Without Using Cruel Traps or Harmful Chemicals

It might be tempting when you have insects you don’t want in your yard to reach for a spray can. But there are more humane and effective ways to control them without harming other wildlife, and people too.

Parents

How to Tell If You’re Parenting Through a ‘Functional Freeze’

This nervous system response can leave parents feeling like they’re spending their days on autopilot without any sense of emotional connection to those around them. Here’s how to know if you’re experiencing functional freeze and how to address it.

CBS News

RFK Jr. Halts $500 Million for MRNA Vaccine Research

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the federal government is calling off around $500 million worth of vaccine development projects that use mRNA technology.

Vanity Fair

George Clooney and Adam Sandler’s ’Jay Kelly’ Explores What Movie Stardom Really Means

The two actors explain Noah Baumbach’s new Hollywood tale, which forced them to dig deep and forge a tight bond: “I kept telling the cast, ‘Don’t call him Sand Man.’”

Polygon

Nintendo Is Raising Prices — Will the Game Industry Follow?

Should gaming fans be worried about widespread $80 games?

CBS News

How Unusual Are Jobs Numbers Revisions? According to Experts, They’re a Common Feature.

Revisions are a “feature, not a bug” of any jobs report, former BLS commissioner told CBS MoneyWatch.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

BBC

The Unusual Brains of Noise-Sensitive People

Though noise sensitivity is often dismissed by doctors, it can have long-term effects on our mental and physical health.

ABC News

How Trillions in Government Debt Could Hit Your Wallet, According to Experts

A federal agency ratcheted up its estimate of debt tied to Trump’s spending law.

SELF

5 Injuries ER Doctors See All the Time—and How to Avoid Them

You might be surprised by the seemingly innocuous behaviors that cause them.

NBC News

Tips to Help Manage Your Buy Now, Pay Later Loans

While such loans can help you make large purchases without paying interest or undergoing hard inquiries in your credit report, they can also easily be overused.

The Guardian

Burn Notice: Gen Z and the Terrifying Rise of Extreme Tanning

Nasal sprays, injections and sunbeds – for many people, the yearning for a tan now outweighs the risks. But why?

CNBC

Credit Card Debt Reaches $1.21 Trillion — in Line With Last Year’s All-Time High, NY Fed Finds

Credit card balances rose by $27 billion in the second quarter to $1.21 trillion, according to a new report by the New York Fed.

HuffPost

This Magic Number Is the Highest Heel Height You Should Wear, According to Podiatrists

“Listen to your feet, because they’re trying to tell you something.”

Fast Company

These Creatives Moved to Europe and Designed a Better Life and Career. Should You?

Thinking of leaving the United States for life abroad? You’re not alone. A record-setting 21% of Americans expressed a desire to emigrate in 2024. While politics might play a role in the uptick, an increasing number of creative professionals are also leaving for career reasons.

Allure

A New Form of Alopecia Is Affecting Menopausal Women

Experts are calling it an “emerging epidemic.”

HuffPost

The ‘Expectation Effect’ Hack Might Be the Secret to Happiness

This one simple but powerful shift can have major benefits. But be mindful of going overboard.

The Marginalian

How to Be a Happier Creature

Even as the merchants of silicon and code try to render us disembodied intellects caged behind screens, something in our animal body knows where we came from and where we belong.

WIRED

What’s Inside the Tiny Miracle Food Pouches That Can Save the Lives of Starving Gazans

Packed with calories and protein, the same magic mixture has successfully treated famine for decades—but due to funding cuts it’s now in short supply.