Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Aeon

Dreadful Dads

Few of the great existentialists had children. How can their philosophy help with the anxiety and dread of fatherhood?

Atlas Obscura

Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.

Smithsonian Magazine

Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails? Scientists Examine the Endearing Behavior

Dogs communicate through tail-wagging, and humans may have selected for the trait during domestication.

The Conversation

To Have Better Disagreements, Change Your Words

Here are 4 ways to make your counterpart feel heard and keep the conversation going.

The Guardian

Barter, Bid and Bag a Bargain! Vintage Experts on 21 Ways to Buy Secondhand Treasures

Get up early, decide on your budget and never say: ‘What’s your best offer?’ Here’s how to find affordable antiques like a true professional.

Kiplinger

What to Do When Your Rent is Too High

You have some options if your rent is too high, even though it may feel bleak.

GQ

How to Thrift Shop Your Way to Victory

One veteran inveterate thrifter shares his secrets for bin-digging, rack-rifling success.

Teen Vogue

151 Actually-Interesting Questions to Get to Know Someone

Get ready for some silly topics.

BBC Future

The Search for Earth’s Hidden Mountains

The deep Earth contains vast mountain ranges with peaks up to four times the height of Everest. But no one knows why.

Knowable Magazine

The Psychopathic Path to Success

Research is reframing psychopathic tendencies, an often sensationalized and maligned set of traits, and finding some positive twists.

WIRED

You Know It’s a Placebo. So Why Does It Still Work?

As researchers try to make sense of “open-label” placebos—fake drugs that proudly announce their fakeness—the mysterious effect is starting to show up beyond the world of medicine.

The Kitchn

How To Make Panna Cotta

Don’t be intimidated, it’s actually super easy.

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

Friday, August 8

Atavist

The Talented Mr. Bruseaux

He made his name in Chicago investigating race riots, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But America’s first Black private detective was hiding secrets of his own.

BBC

How ’Keep Calm and Carry On’ Became a Divisive 21st-Century Phenomenon

After a forgotten WW2 propaganda poster was discovered in 2000, it found an astounding new resonance in 21st-Century Britain – becoming an endlessly memeable template that is both cherished and mocked.

The Toronto Star

What Michael Did

How does a family cope when one member — in the midst of a psychotic episode — kills another?

The Atlantic

The Tech Novel’s Warning for a Screen-Addled Age

Elaine Castillo’s second novel captures the numerous ways that screens help people hide from themselves.

Condé Nast Traveler

16 Golden Rules That Business Travelers Swear By

People who constantly hit the road for work share what they wish they’d known from the jump.

Food52

Our 10 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes of All Time

From crispy to chewy, we’ve collected the best of the best.

The Guardian

Knife Throwing and Cheeseburger Spinning: The Agony and Ecstasy of Being a Viral Trickshot Video Star

Think you could throw a basketball off a 540ft dam, into a hoop – while blindfolded? Meet the talented and ludicrously patient people putting hours into the internet’s most joyful (and pointless) clips.

The New Yorker

The Internet Wants to Check Your I.D.

New safety rules require users to verify their identities before gaining access to sites. This spells the end of the relative anonymity that we’ve come to expect online.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Epicurious

How to Spatchcock a Chicken, Step-by-Step

Butterfly your bird for even grilling, faster cooking, and easier carving once it’s done.

CNBC

What Private Assets in 401(K) Plans Mean for Investors: ‘You’re Only Asking for Trouble,’ One Advisor Says

Millions of investors may soon have access to private assets in their 401(k) or other workplace retirement plans. What to know about the risks and rewards.

Literary Hub

Doubles, Glitches, Hallucinations, Dreams: Nine Books That Feature David Lynchian Deja Vu

Vanessa Roveto recommends Marguerite Duras, Leslie Scalapino, Joyelle McSweeney, and more.

Parents

What Parents Need to Know About Insect Bites and Encephalitis

Encephalitis cases are increasing. Here’s what parents need to know about insect bites and encephalitis.

Psyche

We’re Learning Just How Early in Life Empathy Starts to Move Us

What contagious crying, comforting hugs and other cute behaviour in infants tells us about the roots of emotional connection.

The Guardian

Bernband’s Alien Landscape Is the Perfect Place for Digital Wandering – Just Don’t Expect a Map

With distinct, discrete areas that you can visit at any time, this is not a traditional open world game, and resists gamification with the mantra ‘there’s no goal but to stroll.’

Popular Mechanics

A Company Says It Can Predict Your Baby’s IQ Before Birth. But Where’s the Science?

The company released white paper that details how it’ll be able to screen embryos for the likelihood of 17 different diseases. But it only mentioned its IQ predictions on social media.

The Marshall Project

After a Death Behind Bars, Families Struggle for Answers. This Guide Can Help.

Learn what questions to ask prison or jail officials, how to request key records and what to consider if you’re thinking about legal action.

Psyche

Does Progress Seem Slower When You Constantly Check on It?

Research on how we perceive the rate of change shows how you can be strategic about goal tracking and boost your motivation.

Popular Science

A Googly-Eyed Fish Could Upend Evolutionary History

The cartoonish-looking Norselaspis had the ‘heart of a shark under the skin of a lamprey.’

Context

Hawaii Decides How to Spend ‘Green Fees’ to Protect Nature, Tourism

Hawaii’s landmark climate impact fee will boost conservation, offering a model as Trump cuts climate and environmental spending.

Mental Floss

10 Strange and Surprisingly Specific National Park Rules

With hundreds of millions of people visiting the U.S. National Parks every year, it’s no wonder there are rules and regulations in place to keep the parks safe and clean.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Allure

Inside the World of Professional Back-Scratching

“I just want to pay someone to tickle my back.”

Psyche

What a Disastrous Investment Showed Me About Optimism

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there.

The Conversation

Vaccines Hold Tantalizing Promise in the Fight Against Dementia

A prominent Nature study and related research raise the possibility that vaccines may have a broader role in experimental therapeutics outside the realm of infectious diseases.

The Guardian

My Scar Makes Beach Outings an Ordeal. How Can I Care Less About It?

You don’t need to love your scar to feel confident – but you can retrain your brain to care about it less.

Cup of Jo

What’s It Like to Date While Disabled?

I always call my childhood best friend after a date. Here’s why.

The Associated Press

Keeping Work From Spoiling a Vacation Takes Planning and the Right Phone Settings

The summer vacation season is in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, but navigating the line between work time and personal time is tricky for a lot of people.

Psyche

How to Alter the Passage of Time to Feel Fast or Slow

Knowing the psychology behind why moments drag or whizz by can give you a degree of control over your experience of time.

The Conversation

Are You in a Mid-Career to Senior Job? Don’t Fear AI – You Could Have This Important Advantage

If you have decades of work experience, your skills may be exactly what’s needed to harness AI’s power, without falling into its traps.

The Cut

What It’s Really Like to Work in Corporate HR

“I was essentially the assistant principal for grownups.”

CNBC

Education Department Launches Key College Financial Aid Form Sooner Than Expected

The Education Department said the rollout of the 2026-27 FAFSA will be on schedule this year, with beta testing already underway.

Kiplinger

Are You Leaving Money on the Table? Four Strategies to Free up Stuck Investments

From forgotten 401(k)s to outdated asset allocations, stuck money can hurt your retirement. Here’s what to do about it.

Slate

I Responded to One of the Spam Texts From a “Recruiter”—Then Took the Job. It Got Weirder Than I Could Have Imagined.

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