Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Smithsonian Magazine

The Story of Charles Willson Peale’s Massive Mastodon

When a European intellectual snubbed the U.S., the well-known artist excavated the fierce fossil as evidence of the new Republic’s strength and power.

Country Living

16 Practical Pantry Organization Ideas That Will Actually Work

A picture-perfect pantry is more attainable than you think.

Outside

Why Do Rich People Love Endurance Sports?

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

Prevention

The Connection Between Inflammation and Anxiety, According to an Expert

And how you can calm your mind with food.

The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

A Stoic’s Key to Peace of Mind: Seneca on the Antidote to Anxiety

“There are more things … likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Narratively

The Assault Case That Shook Ancient Rome

Inside the trial of Gnaeus Plancius, more than 2,000 years before the #MeToo movement.

CityLab

Kansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With Microtransit

Since 2016, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has offered door-to-door trips from on-demand shuttles. Here’s what the transit operator has learned.

Apartment Therapy

9 Secret Shortcuts of People Who Are Good at Everyday Math

How to calculate a tip, convert temperature quickly, and more.

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.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Station Wagon Owners Really Love Their Cars. Too Bad.

For a tiny yet vocal set of auto enthusiasts, it’s hip to be square. But carmakers have largely moved on.

BBC Future

The Weird Way Language Affects Our Sense of Time and Space

The languages we speak can have a surprising impact on the way we think about the world and even how we move through it.

Glamour

How to Get the Perfect Manicure at Home

No visit to the salon required.

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

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.

The New York Times

How a Single Overdose Unraveled an Empire of Heroin

A man’s death after using “Flow” in a small Vermont city exposed a drug operation that spanned continents and sent a New York prosecutor on a heartbreaking journey.

Slate

The Menagerie Lurking in Rural America

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

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.

Elle

How a ‘Breakup Moon’ Trip Helped Us Say Goodbye

My boyfriend and I knew our relationship was over. We decided to go to New Zealand anyway.

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?

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.

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?

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Elle

The Original Birkin Just Sold for $10.1 Million

Bidding may have only lasted 10 minutes, but it was fiercely competitve.

Context

As Wildfires Spread to Europe’s Cities, What Can LA Teach Us?

Europe’s expanding cities face increasing wildfire risk as climate change drives hotter summers: policy-makers need to prepare

CBS News

Doctors Fear ICE Agents in Health Facilities Are Deterring People From Seeking Care

As the Trump administration continues its push to detain undocumented immigrants​, doctors are hearing that some patients are avoiding health care settings out of fears over possible ICE raids.

Harper's Bazaar

Inside Gia Coppola’s Thoughtful Approach to Shopping

The director dives into all things fashion and cinema in the latest episode of Bazaar’s podcast.

Fast Company

What’s Your Investment Psychology?

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

Den Of Geek

Why Family Movies Are a Safer Box Office Bet Than Superheroes Right Now

With live action adaptations of recent animated classics have dominating the summer box office, families have made their viewing preferences clear.

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.

Axios

Trump Defends Global Allies Against “Witch Hunts”

Bolsonaro’s trial clearly reminds Trump of his own.

The 19th

Parents Struggle to Find Child Care. School Vouchers Could Make K-12 Just As Complicated.

Driven by the rise of ‘school choice,’ companies are trying to help parents navigate K-12 education options.

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

CNET

Travel Mugs, Nonstick Pans and More Items That Don’t Belong in the Dishwasher

The dishwasher can ruin your favorite cookware, tools and utensils. Here are 11 everyday kitchen items that aren’t dishwasher-safe.

Time

Gen Z Is Hungry for Career Advice. But Their Parents Are Lost Themselves

A recent survey found that parents often feel unsure about how to help their kids adapt to the future labor landscape.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

The Washington Post

I’m a Gastroenterologist. Here’s Why I Tell My Patients to Eat This One Fruit.

Kiwis can boost your gut health. They may also lower triglycerides and cancer risk.