Pocket Future

Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Hustle

The People Making Millions off Listerine Royalties

A little-known provision in a 100-year-old contract opened up the door for private investors to mint money from mouthwash sales.

Fast Company

5 Common Workplace Bullies (And How To Deal With Them)

Do you work with one of these types of bullies? Here’s how to cope.

Afar

Charming College Towns With Off-Campus Appeal

Whether you’re touring colleges with your kids or there for extracurricular activities, these towns offer A+ fun.

Aeon

Dreadful Dads

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

Literary Hub

The 45 Best Prison Escape Movies, Ranked

We’ve got chases and escapes, from POW camps, maximum security prisons, and chain gangs.

The Conversation

To Have Better Disagreements, Change Your Words

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

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 Guardian

‘The Dreaded B-Word’: How to Start Budgeting

Money is emotional – but avoiding a budget is often more of a headache than making one.

MIT Press Reader

The Dark Radiance of Atomic Bomb Literature

The more we expose ourselves to the prose of the victims, the more visibility we give them.

Kiplinger

5 Financial Red Flags in Relationships

Financial warning signs are crucial to building a secure future with your partner.

Atlas Obscura

Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.

Scott Young

Two Types of Growth

It’s a mistake to assume you’ll grow and improve at a steady rate.

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

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.

Food52

Our 10 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes of All Time

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

The Associated Press

The World Nearly Beat Polio. But Fake Records, an Imperfect Vaccine and Missteps Aided Its Comeback.

The World Health Organization has closed in on its bold goal of eradicating polio several times, but the paralytic virus is entrenched in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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.

Saveur

That Chewy, Bouncy Texture You Love Has a Name

Whether in boba tea, cuttlefish, rice noodles, or cassava dough, the texture of QQ connects people across cultures and generations.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.’