Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Drive

Here’s How to Lift a Car and Not Be Crushed

The car goes up and down, up and down, up and down.

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.

Fast Company

Do These 5 Emotionally Intelligent Things Within 5 Minutes Of Meeting Someone

Being instantly likable isn’t rocket science, but this checklist takes practice to master in the short space of a first impression.

Scientific American

Borderline Personality Disorder May Be Rooted in Trauma

A focus on the traumatic origins of an often stigmatized psychiatric diagnosis is inspiring treatments.

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.

Narratively

Food Fads Have Always Been Ridiculous. Just Ask the Great Masticator.

Horace Fletcher preached the gospel of fanatically chewing food until it completely dissolved in the mouth. Even celebs like Upton Sinclair and Franz Kafka drank the Kool-Aid.

Bon Appétit

Simple Pasta Carbonara

Humble ingredients—eggs, pasta, cheese, and pork—combine to create glossy, glorious spaghetti carbonara.

The Hustle

How Hollywood Insures Its Biggest Stunts

When Tom Cruise drives off a cliff, insurance companies are standing by in case something goes wrong.

Bustle

11 Foolproof Ways To Find A New Hobby

Actually helpful tips to fill the idle hours.

BBC Future

The Mystery of Why Some People Become Sudden Geniuses

There’s mounting evidence that brain damage has the power to unlock extraordinary creative talents. What can this teach us about how geniuses are made?

Culture Study

The Diminishing Returns of Productivity Culture

Human productivity has a ceiling.

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?

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

The Independent

Why Are We So Bad at Apologising?

For a nation that is famously apologetic about everything, the UK apparently has a hard time saying sorry. Olivia Petter asks why we find making genuine apologies so difficult – and what that says about our ability to take accountability.

Vox

Am I Actually “Too Sensitive”?

Some people, in fact, are more prone to big feelings than others.

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.

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.

BBC

The ‘Other’ Michelin Award Travellers Should Know

Long overshadowed by the coveted Michelin stars, the Bib Gourmand celebrates the world's best budget-friendly restaurants.

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.

The Guardian

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

Can’t afford goji berries, spirulina or turmeric – or just don’t like the taste? Most kitchens are full of healthy but unglamorous alternatives. Nutrition experts name their favourites.

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 Dangers of Hot Air

What happens when we backpedal on basic science

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.

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

Here’s how it went for one couple.

Gizmodo

Your Nature Photos Are Doing More Science Than You Think

The number of peer-reviewed studies using iNaturalist data has surged more than tenfold in the past five years, new research shows.

Business Insider

‘Grammatically Correct and Emotionally Vacant’: The Pitfalls of Relying on AI Too Much in Your Job Hunt

Recruiters say they’re getting stuck with piles of robotic-sounding résumés and applicants who are likely cheating during video interviews.

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.

Fast Company

Are 1 in 1,000-Year Floods Getting More Common?

What is causing these devastating flash floods, and what can be done to combat rising, high precipitation levels?

Fast Company

5 Habits That Are Making You a Worse Leader

From avoiding hard decisions to failing to show vulnerability, these are some of the behaviors at work that make you seem like an ineffective leader.

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.