Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

GQ

Why Is Gen Z So Obsessed With ‘Old Money Style’?

A new generation has grown enamored with classic symbols of wealth—navy blazers and cable-knit sweaters, JFK Jr. and The Talented Mr. Ripley—with complicated implications.

BBC News

The Rise and Fall of the Bombshell Bandit

For two months an unusual bank robber shocked, mystified and captivated the US. She was a woman, she was short, young and well-dressed, and she held up a string of banks in quick succession.

Nir Eyal

Hindsight Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices

Hindsight bias is when people feel they “knew it all along.” You see it in business, medicine and law. Learn how it works, why it exists, and how to beat it.

The Conversation

When We Lose Weight, Where Does It Go?

Don’t worry, 98 percent of health professionals surveyed didn’t know either.

Darius Foroux

How to Beat Procrastination (Backed by Science)

Procrastination has been around since the start of modern civilization. Historical figures like Herodotus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and hundreds of others have talked about how procrastination is the enemy of results.

The Guardian

How ‘No’ Became a Dirty Word in Parenting

The gentle, child-led approach to raising children has become popular with millennials – and one two-letter word has fallen sharply out of fashion. Is this progress, or a recipe for future disaster?

Dwell

The Life-Changing Magic of “Knolling”

Before purging your belongings to tidy up, consider this organizational tactic championed by two artists.

Popular Mechanics

Scientists Found a Paradox in Evolution—and It May Become the Next Rule of Biology

A study unexpectedly reveals that cells thrive on chaos.

MIT Press Reader

In Search of the Impossible Machine, the Artificial Heart

The history of the total artificial heart is punctuated with both brilliant innovation and continual clinical failure.

MEL Magazine

The Rickety Economics of Food Trucks

Can you ever do more than break even when selling hot dogs, kimchi-flavored tacos, lobster rolls or ironically-shaped pretzels to the fickle masses?

The Guardian

‘People Eat Two or Three Packets a Day’: How Instant Noodles Took Over the World

High-salt, processed noodles have become a favourite cheap meal, especially in developing countries, but nutritionists warn of the health costs.

Knowable Magazine

The Neurons That Make Us Feel Hangry

Neuroscientists think a cluster of cells in the brain that stimulate appetite could be a target for eating disorder therapies.

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

Tuesday, July 29

NPR

She’s Trying to Open a Birth Center Near a Maternity Desert. It’s Not Easy.

When Katie Chubb was pregnant she wanted to have her baby at a birth center, but there was no local option. Now she's trying to open one herself. She has community support, but not from the hospitals.

The New Yorker

“No Tax on Tips” Is an Industry Plant

Trump’s “populist” policy is backed by the National Restaurant Association—probably because it won’t stop establishments from paying servers below the minimum wage.

The Guardian

The Rise and Fall of the British Cult That Hid in Plain Sight

Philippa Barnes was a child when her family joined the Jesus Fellowship. As an adult, she helped expose the shocking scale of abuse it had perpetrated.

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.

The Guardian

Who Needs Quinoa? 17 Overlooked and Affordable Superfoods, From Peas and Potatoes to Popcorn and Even Sugar

What is a superfood? According to Italian scientists writing in the journal Frontiers in Food Science and Technology in February, the term was coined in the 1960s to describe foods that could fight malnutrition.

POLITICO Europe

Inside the Wild World of Britain’s Private Spies

Lucrative, freewheeling — and largely unregulated — private intelligence and security firms are booming in the land of James Bond and John le Carré.

NBC News

Crypto Kidnapping: How Armed Gangs Are Hunting the Internet’s High Rollers

Kidnapping and extortion are growing concerns in the crypto world, with cases rising alongside the price of bitcoin.

Axios

Why GLP-1s Could Become the “Everything Drug”

The biggest buzz around GLP-1 drugs these days has nothing to do with weight loss. And that might lead to some problems for patients and insurers.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

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.’

PS

I Went Through a “Sleep Divorce,” and It Was Amazing for My Marriage

Here’s how it went for one couple.

Martha Stewart

How to Paint a Room for a Flawless Finish, According to Experts

Painting a room can elevate it and take it to the next level—if you know what you’re doing.

W Magazine

Liza Minnelli Talks Her Life in Parties & Why She’ll Never Stop Dancing

From Studio 54 to sobriety, the icon revisits her star-studded nights out.

Smithsonian Magazine

A Rare Portrait of Maryland’s Medical Hero Was Rediscovered in a Mussels Joint

The painting depicts John Beale Davidge, a physician known for his ideas about yellow fever and founding the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Axios

Car Buyers Aren’t Waiting for Prices to Go Higher, Survey Finds

55% of Americans are now weighing car purchases in the year ahead, up from 47% in Q1.

Grist

The Guerilla Campaign to Save a Texas Prairie From ‘Silent Extinction’

“This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle or throwing up white flags.”

Journal of Democracy

Venezuela’s Lost Year

A year ago Nicolás Maduro stole Venezuela’s election and entrenched his power by jailing and killing those who opposed him. But the world’s democracies don’t need to sit on the sidelines.

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.

Glamour

The Unsinkable Scheana Shay

Through 11 seasons of “Vanderpump Rules,” the Bravolebrity never shied away from sharing every detail of her personal life—even when it was cringe. So will she let a little thing like the show ending get her down? If you think so, you don’t know Scheana.

USA TODAY

The Hawaiian Word Every Traveler Should Know

The Hawaiian concept of “malama” emphasizes taking care of the land and community. Hawaii’s Malama Hawaii Program connects tourists with volunteer opportunities to give back to the islands.

The New York Times

How Parenting Changed After Etan Patz

Did the shocking disappearance of a 6-year-old in 1979 forever alter how Americans raised children? Or were there other reasons for parents to be anxious?

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Atlantic

The Problem With Rewards Credit Cards

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

NPR

Dear Life Kit: My Friend Says Ugly Things About Her Body and It Makes Me Anxious

Body-acceptance advocate Katie Sturino and Ronald Young Jr., host of the podcast Weight for It, answer listener questions about body image, weight loss drugs and bullying.

Harvard Business Review

The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation

Before commercial pilots push back from the gate, they complete a comprehensive preflight check to verify that every system functions correctly during the journey ahead.

Parents

A Parent Let Their Son Choose What to Do With Money They Found–Here’s What He Decided

Doing real-time experiments like this in the wild can teach us a lot about our kids and ourselves as parents.

Kiplinger

Are You an Auto Theft Target? Discover the Clues

Thieves seized over 850,000 cars last year. See which models, states and behaviors draw the eyes of opportunists.

NPR

Home Sales Are Down. So Why Are Prices at an All-Time High?

Those with equity in a home can trade up more easily, while many first-time homebuyers are still stuck on the sidelines.