Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

BBC Travel

Why We Should Record Travel Moments

Travellers often talk about seeing the world, but it’s time we learn to listen to it, too.

Epicurious

How to Blanch Green Beans for Perfectly Snappy-But-Tender Veg

For crisp, never-squeaky green beans, start with this one step.

Slate

The Greatest Creative Run in the History of Popular Music

It’s Stevie Wonder’s “classic period.”

The Atlantic

How the Beatles Wrote ‘A Day in the Life’

More than 50 years after its release, the sprawling closing track on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band remains a testament to the group’s ambitious songwriting.

Afar

Why Did I Bring a Teenager to Venice?

On a trip with a young traveler in tow, a writer reflects on her first Venice adventure—and how it changed her life.

Outside

Why Do Rich People Love Endurance Sports?

Cycling, running, and obstacle course racing are dominated by white-collar workers.

Shondaland

How to Decorate as a New Couple

Moving in with a partner? Here are top tips from designer Nicole Gibbons on how to creatively join spaces without driving each other up the wall.

Knowable Magazine

The Quest to Understand Tornadoes

Scientists are still grappling with how and why violent twisters form. Will new technology and computing power help?

Literary Hub

10 Tales of Manuscript Burning (And Some That Survived)

A brief history of bibliocide.

Nautilus

This Is Where Your Childhood Memories Went

Your brain needs to forget in order to grow.

The Atlantic

Why Dad’s Side of the Family Tends to Miss Out

Many people have stronger bonds with their maternal relatives. Why?

MIT Press Reader

Dots Out of Line: On Neuroatypical Curiosity

Educators should ask not who is curious, but how is each person curious?

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

Saturday, July 12

ABC

Finding Robert Bogucki, the Man Who Disappeared on Purpose

In 1999 a young American dumped his bicycle and walked out into the Great Sandy Desert. Why was he willing to risk his life, and why do some people need to get lost in order to feel found?

Slate

The Menagerie Lurking in Rural America

Many people still own exotic animals like they’re any other pet. But they’re not.

The Guardian

‘It’s the Only Thing Between Me and a Divorce!’ The Remarkable Rise of the Big Family Planner

Many households would descend into chaos without somewhere to jot down work commitments, after-school activities, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries … But do you run the planner, or does the planner run you?

The New Yorker

How to Save a Dog

For nearly a year, a motley crew scoured New Orleans for a shaggy white mutt named Scrim.

BBC

In the Country With the World’s Lowest Birth Rate, Fertility Clinics Are Booming

Growing demand for IVF treatments is stoking some optimism in South Korea’s demographic crisis.

Texas Monthly

At 40, She Discovered She Was One of America’s Best Free Divers

Sara Burnett went from an introductory course to a world championship in just over a year.

Eating Well

16 No-Cook Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes

These healthy and delicious no-cook dinner recipes, like zucchini noodles, salads and taco bowls, can all be made in 20-minutes or less.

WIRED

AI Is a Lousy Chef

I asked an AI-powered recipe generator to make some menus. It didn’t tell me to put glue in my guacamole, but the results didn’t come close to besting recipes written by professionals.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Discover

No Matter How Old You Are, This Mindfulness Exercise Can Sharpen Your Attention

Learn how in as little as 10 minutes, meditation can boost focus.

Los Angeles Times

South Korea Struggles With Uncertainty Over U.S. Trade Negotiations

Trump wants to impose a 25% tariff on South Korea, but it’s been postponed. Will three more weeks be enough time to negotiate? Will there be another extension?

Vox

Would This Food Label Change How You Eat?

Switzerland’s new experiment will treat meat-packaging like cigarette warnings.

Dwell

Sofa Sagas: Every Couch Search Is Like a Love Story

After five years of trial, error, and occasional heartbreak, I learned that finding furniture is a lot like dating.

Fast Company

What’s Your Investment Psychology?

Understanding how your cognitive biases affect your investment decisions can help you avoid expensive mistakes.

CBS News

Are You a Student Loan Borrower? Here’s How the “Big, Beautiful Bill” Could Affect You.

New law reduces the number of federal student loan repayment options and caps how much individuals can borrow for higher education.

Inverse

Could the Green Goblin Finally Make His MCU Debut?

The Green Goblin is reportedly coming to the MCU, and Marvel already has the perfect actor on standby.

MIT Press Reader

Gaming Cancer: How Citizen Science Games Could Help Cure Disease

By inviting players to tackle real scientific problems, games can offer a hand in solving medicine’s toughest challenges.

Essence

Broke but Ambitious? Here’s How to Get Into Top Conferences Without Paying a Dime

Conference season doesn’t have to break the bank—here’s how ambitious women are getting in for little to nothing.

Smithsonian Magazine

‘Nothing Short of Magical’: Scientists Discover a Dinosaur Bone Nearly 800 Feet Beneath a Parking Lot at a Denver Museum

The partial vertebra appeared inside a 2.5-inch-diameter column of rock that researchers drilled, earning the title of the oldest and deepest dinosaur fossil found in Denver

Popular Science

Oldest Known Dog Breed Reveals Hidden Human History

Canine genetic history could settle a debate about a Viking outpost and human migration.

Texas Monthly

Cars Hit Millions of Monarch Butterflies Each Year. Nets Might Help.

TxDOT’s trial flight diverters are yielding mixed results.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Harvard Business Review

Leading Is Emotionally Draining. Here’s How to Recover.

Emotional depletion is a real and significant tax of modern leadership. Recovery is no longer a luxury.

Psyche

What to Do When Someone Goes on the Defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology.

Substack

The Death of Partying in the U.S.A.—and Why It Matters

Young Americans today spend 70 percent less time attending or hosting parties than they did at the beginning of the 21st century. Why?

USA TODAY

Increase Your Social Security Income in Retirement With Three Powerful Moves

There's a reason people are commonly advised not to retire on Social Security alone. The average monthly benefit won't go very far in helping seniors cover their costs.

Vox

For Years, Women Complained That This Medical Procedure Was Painful. Doctors Are Finally Listening.

How a common birth control method became the center of a reckoning.

NBC News

Job Scams Are on the Rise and More People Are Falling for Them

As job-seekers look for work in a challenging environment, an increasing number are falling victim to job scams that promise good pay for completing easy online tasks, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Harvard Business Review

New Research on Why Teams Overwork—and What Leaders Can Do About It

Why do so many high-performing professionals keep working at a punishing pace, even when it damages their health, relationships, and personal well-being?

CNBC

‘Revenge Savings’ Can Boost Your Bottom Line, Experts Say — Here’s How to Get Started

Saving more money is a perennial resolution, but emotions shouldn't drive that habit, financial experts say. Instead, be intentional. Here's how to get started.

The New York Times

Measles Cases Hit Record High, 25 Years After U.S. Eliminated the Disease

Experts worry that if vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks will become the new normal.

Harvard Business Review

How to Identify the Perfect Cofounder

One of the first and most important decisions entrepreneurs make is whether to go it alone or bring on cofounders.

Gizmodo

This Cough Syrup Ingredient Might Actually Slow Dementia

Several larger trials of ambroxol for Parkinson's are already underway.

The Atlantic

I Fought Plastic. Plastic Won

My futile quest to avoid the material that my entire world is made out of.