Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Aeon

When Is Stress Good for You?

The subtle flows and toxic hits of stress get under the skin, making and breaking the body and brain over a lifetime.

BBC Travel

‘Kulning’: A Hypnotic Swedish Singing Tradition

Singers of this ancient form of Swedish herd-calling corral farm animals with haunting melodies, drawing in cows, goats, sheep and ducks with each hypnotic note.

Stylist

How to Deal With a Narcissist When You Can’t Avoid Them, According to a Psychologist

While it’s always advisable to give narcissists a wide berth, it’s not always possible. Stylist asked the experts how to manage narcissistic behaviour when you can’t avoid it.

Homes & Gardens

Bedroom Items You Should Never Throw Out – 6 Pieces To Keep To Avoid Decluttering Regret

You’ll likely regret getting rid of these six bedroom items – here’s why you should hang onto them.

Slate

Go Ahead, Heap Rewards on Your Kid

Parents are told stickers and trinkets for good behavior will ruin their children—but the research is wildly misunderstood.

Smithsonian Magazine

An Ode to the World’s Most Average Dinosaurs

They lacked the gargantuan size and spikes of the species museums often celebrate, but these species are how paleontologists learn about the Mesozoic.

The Conversation

Do I Have to Drink Eight Glasses of Water Per Day? We Asked Five Experts

Where did that age-old advice come from, and is it outdated?

CityLab

How to Build a Neurodiverse City

Cities and schools are not typically designed by, or for, people with conditions such as autism.

MEL Magazine

A Blinding History of the Laser Pointer

They can wreck your eyes, and they can land you 14 years in jail for shining one at a police chopper. But where did they come from?

MIT Technology Review

One Woman’s Race to Defuse the Genetic Time Bomb in Her Genes

How DNA sequencing and new genetic drugs raise the chance we can cure any inherited disease.

Fast Company

A Neurosurgeon Shares His Effective Strategy for Overcoming Fears

Instead of letting fear control your actions, be mathematical about your reaction and decision-making process by using this method.

BBC Culture

Five Ways to Be Calm – and Why It Matters

Is being calm about passivity and numbness, or is it a superpower that makes us strong? Lindsay Baker explores the ideas behind serenity, and ways that we can achieve it.

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 30

Vogue

Are Drugstore Shampoos As Good As Their Expensive Counterparts?

Everything you need to know about choosing an affordable shampoo without sacrificing hair health.

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.

NPR

Here Are the 13 Books That Made the Booker Prize Longlist

An epic fable about two young Indian writers. A dark comedy about a loner who gets a job as a chauffeur for the mega-rich.

The Hollywood Reporter

Is Gen X Dying Before Our Eyes?

The tragic passing of ‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 80's wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and heavy-metal icon Ozzy Osbourne bring on a generation’s old familiar feeling: doom.

The Hustle

The Only State Without a Walgreens Pharmacy

Many independent pharmacies are in turmoil throughout the US. But a unique law has made North Dakota a haven for mom-and-pop operators.

Mother Jones

The Surgery That Reveals Everything That’s Wrong With Women’s Health Care

From "wandering wombs" to modern biases, the troubling politics of hysterectomies

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.

MIT Technology Review

Chinese Universities Want Students to Use More AI, Not Less

Unlike the West, where universities are still agonizing over how students use AI in their work, top universities in China are going all in.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

NPR

Cooking With Kids Is Messy. This Dad Chef Wants You to Do It Anyway

Chef David Nayfeld has been cooking with his kid since she was 2. In a new book, Dad, What’s for Dinner?, he shares easy ways to involve kids in meal prep, and a weeknight recipe for meatballs.

Inc. Magazine

Let’s Talk About What Vibe Coding Is Really For

Vibe coding is a big party, and all good parties eventually get shut down. But not before all hell breaks loose.

ESPN

Fantasy Football: Six Late-Round ‘Fliers’ You Should Grab Late in Drafts

Hitting on a player late in drafts can be a big boost -- to your team and your ego. Here are six “fliers” you need to be considering.

Martha Stewart

How to Clean Porcelain Tile, According to a Flooring Expert

Keep your porcelain tile floors looking spotless with these expert-recommended cleaning tips. Learn the best methods and products to remove dirt, stains, and grime without damaging the surface.

Martha Stewart

6 Random Household Items That Work As Cleaning Products, According to Reddit

One Redditor recently asked the online community to share the most surprisingly effective items they’ve used for cleaning. Here are their top responses.

Reuters

This Construction Project Was on Time and on Budget. Then Came ICE.

Under a broiling Alabama sky a frustrated Robby Robertson, a construction site superintendent, surveys an 84,000 square foot, mostly built recreation center close to the Gulf coast port city of Mobile. The site is eerily quiet.

Undark

Amid PFAS Fallout, Maine Residents Navigate Medical Risks

As more people become aware of high exposures to PFAS, blood tests and clear medical advice can be difficult to find.

Natasha’s Kitchen

Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe

Our homemade Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe makes the perfect crispy, chewy crust using active sourdough starter. It’s also easy to make ahead.

Architectural Digest

How to Style a Teen Bedroom Without Chasing Trends

Let their maturing personality shine with these designer tips.

Bustle

This Wellness App Helps Prevent “Office Chair Butt”

The Wakeout app will help you beat “office chair butt” by reminding you to get up and at ‘em during your work day.

Outside

What It Takes to Crew the Hardest Race on Earth

Every year, ultrarunners sign up to compete in a brutal race that stretches 135 miles across Death Valley in the high heat of summer.

SFGate

In-N-Out Falls Out of Second Place in Latest Fast Food Burger Rankings

For the second year in a row, the Santa Barbara-born Habit Burger & Grill was deemed to have America’s best fast food burger.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

CNBC

While the Fed Kept Its Benchmark Unchanged, Here’s What Happened to Consumer Borrowing Rates

When it meets this week, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range — where it has stayed for all of 2025.

Maclean’s

Confessions of the Working Poor

I work hard, buy quality clothes and know how to fake my way through dinner-party conversations. But behind the scenes, I’m part of a fast-growing Canadian underclass.

The New York Times

Study May Undercut Idea That Cash Payments to Poor Families Help Child Development

Rigorous new research appears to show that monthly checks intended to help disadvantaged children did little for their well-being, adding a new element to a dispute over expanded government aid.

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.

NPR

In a First, the Senate Confirms a New CDC Director

Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She’s also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

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 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.

USA TODAY

Trump’s Trade Deal With the EU: What It Means for Your Wallet

The new tariff could increase prices on goods such as cars, furniture and pharmaceuticals. Trump's tariffs are expected to raise prices by 1.8% in the short term, per the Yale Budget Lab.

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.’

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.

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.

NPR

The Manhattan Gunman Believed He Had CTE. What Does That Mean?

The gunman accused of killing four people in New York City suspected he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE — a degenerative brain disease often associated with football players.