Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

BBC Future

How Our Eyes Can Change Color Throughout Our Lives

Through apparently spontaneous change or through mishap or illness, our eyes can change color in surprising ways.

Nautilus

How Jocks and Mathletes Are Alike

Seven sports that come down to how well your neurons play.

Darius Foroux

How To Go From Procrastinate Hero To Procrastinate Zero

A reliable system for overcoming procrastination and achieving more.

Narratively

The Portly Victorian Undertaker Who Launched the World’s First Low-Carb Craze

William Banting tried every 19th century weight-loss fad. Polite society was shocked when he unveiled the method that finally worked.

The Atlantic

The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis

What a growing body of research reveals about the biology of human happiness—and how to navigate the (temporary) slump in middle age.

Greater Good Magazine

How to Overcome a Stubborn Regret

Regret can increase stress and negatively affect your physical health.

Knowable Magazine

Do Birds Have Language? It Depends on How You Define It.

In the cheeps, trills and tweets of birdsong, scientists find some parallels with human speech.

Mental Floss

The Reason Your Pillows Turn Yellow, and How to Clean Them

Yellow stains on pillows are gross, but they’re more common than you may think (and easier to clean).

Quanta Magazine

The Math Behind Gerrymandering and Wasted Votes

Simple math can help scheming politicians manipulate district maps and cruise to victory. But it can also help identify and fix the problem.

CityLab

A History of the American Public Library

A visual exploration of how a critical piece of social infrastructure came to be.

MIT Press Reader

Psychogeography: A Purposeful Drift Through the City

If geographers “carve,” “draw,” or “write” the earth, psychogeographers add a zest of soul to the mix, linking earth, mind and foot.

Literary Hub

25 Classic Crime Books You Can Read in an Afternoon

Terse, atmospheric brilliance in under 200 pages.

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

Sunday, July 6

Bon Appétit

An Inside Look at the Best Snack Trends at the Summer Fancy Food Show

At the Comic Con of snacks, we track down the latest in sweet treats, sauces, and drinks.

Smithsonian Magazine

In a Milestone for Manhattan, a Pair of Coyotes Has Made Central Park Their Home

For six years, two photographers have carefully followed the canines and documented their secret lives.

CNN

Here’s Who Stands to Gain From the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’ And Who May Struggle

President Donald Trump has promised that the “big, beautiful bill” passed by Congress will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation in American history.

Reuters

They Tried Made in the USA. It Was Too Expensive for Their Customers.

Tens of thousands of American small and midsize manufacturers are facing the choice between paying steep tariffs on Chinese imports or taking on significantly higher domestic production costs.

CNN

A Couple Tried for 18 Years to Get Pregnant. AI Made It Happen.

As artificial intelligence shapes fertility care, it’s now helping doctors find hidden sperm.

Boston

Did We Ruin Summer Camp by Making It Safe?

The kids are all right—but are they missing out?

New York Magazine

'People Want That African Euphoria'

Black Americans are moving to Ghana — and driving up the cost of living for everyone around them.

KCRW

Want Better Bakes? Here’s What Your Ingredients Actually Do

Pastry chef Nicola Lamb sifts through the essential ingredients of baking — flour, sugar, eggs, and butter.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Inverse

Why Is It So Hard for Hollywood to Make a Good Red Sonja Movie?

Forty years after the first misguided Red Sonja movie, Hollywood still can’t crack the unexpected feminist icon.

Inverse

Backpack Hero Proves Inventory Management Is Mightier Than the Sword

One roguelike RPG makes preparing for battle just as much fun as fighting, thanks to a unique focus on inventory management, and it’s free now on Epic Games.

Glamour

The Liberty Lost Podcast Investigates the World of Modern ‘Maternity Homes’

Glamour speaks with the host and subject of the hit podcast which investigates the rise of maternity homes and the women who say they felt pressured to give up their babies in the post-Roe era.

Nature

Japan Requires Name Change After Marriage — With Big Effects on Female Scientists

Survey finds law requiring married couples to share the same family name causes havoc for researchers.

CBS News

Ken Burns on How the American Revolution “Turned the World Upside Down”

Filmmaker Ken Burns says the American Revolution created a “new thing called a citizen.”

SELF

How to Get Better at Small Talk: 5 Tips From Communication Pros

Think of it as a social performance you can finesse—with some help from the pros.

Jezebel

Jezebel’s July Book Club Pick: ‘The Bombshell’ by Darrow Farr

Farr’s “delulu” protagonist plays a Patty Hearst-like role in this novel about being 18 and becoming the face of a militant independence movement.

Vogue

16 Cookbooks Defining the Way We’re Cooking (and Entertaining) in 2025

We’re only halfway through 2025, and already our shelves—and stovetops—are groaning with the bounty of this year’s best cookbooks.

Kiplinger

The $33,000 Retirement: One Man’s Surprising Path to Financial Freedom at 61

Forget what society tells you, even with less than $1 million, you can be happy in retirement.

Fast Company

France, Spain, and 6 Other Countries Pledge to Tax Premium Fliers

First- and business-class fliers (as well as passengers on private jets) will have to pay an extra tax to offset their polluting flights.

Outside

Op-Ed: Selling Public Lands Won’t Fix the Housing Crisis in Ski Towns. but This Policy Helps.

An expert in Colorado mountain towns explains why different policies can actually make a difference in the push to build affordable housing

The A.V. Club

Spinal Tap Defined a Real Genre With a Fake Band

The Spinal Tap rockers led by Christopher Guest played real music, shot direct cinema, and changed mock-docs forever.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

DW

Paris Reopens Seine River for Public Swimming

Parisians have begun bathing in the Seine for the first time in over 100 years after a ban was lifted. The French capital has created three swimming zones along the river as part of its Olympic legacy.

Inc. Magazine

Half of Remote Employees Nap During the Workday, a Survey Says 

Employers might want to keep an eye open for any visible facial creases, suspiciously mussed hairdos, or groggy comments during video meetings with remote staff. It turns out nearly half of people working from home admit to taking naps on company time.

Men's Health

How Long It Should Take to Walk a Mile—and How That Can Help to Improve Your Fitness

Whether you're looking to move more or you want to upgrade your daily stroll, these tips will help you pick up the pace.

The Atlantic

The Feminine Pursuit of Swoleness

A new book considers how weight lifting can help you unlearn diet culture.

Lifehacker

Five Psychological Tricks You Can Use to Make Yourself Feel Happier

It’s easy to see why being happy is such a challenge these days. People are working jobs they hate, struggling to pay bills, and living in an increasingly isolated, digitally driven world.

Fast Company

Why Office Gossip Can Be Good for the Workplace (If It’s the Right Kind of Gossip)

Gossip at work is inevitable. But what exactly workers gossip about can be key in dictating company culture. Rumor has it that gossip can be a positive force in workplace cultures, under the right circumstances.

The Conversation

Self Determination Theory: How to Use It to Boost Wellbeing

A foundational idea in self-determination theory is that we have three basic psychological needs: for autonomy, competence and relatedness.

The New York Times

Illness Took My Mother’s Independence, but It Gave Us Something Precious

An immune condition changed my mom’s life — and taught us to see art differently.

Fast Company

How to Make the Most of Your Summer Vacation

Plan to connect with loved ones and plan to disconnect from work.

The Guardian

How Sorry Are You? Why Learning to Apologize Well Could Save Your Relationships

Got something to say sorry for? Here are words that have no place in your apologies, according to those who have spent years analysing them.

The New York Times

Better Half

The midpoint of the year is an opportune moment to look back at where we’ve been, and set our sights for where we want to go.

The New York Times

Gen Z, It Turns Out, Is Great at Saving for Retirement

Brynnley Beckman is only 23, but she is already thinking about retirement. She teaches ninth grade biology at the Shelton School in Dallas and contributes 3 percent of her salary to an employer-sponsored retirement fund. She hopes to increase her contribution by 1 percent each year.