Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

The Atlantic

Why Women’s Shoes Are So Painful

One sufferer seeks relief for her bleeding feet.

The Marginalian

Alain de Botton on Existential Maturity and What Emotional Intelligence Really Means

“The emotionally intelligent person knows that they will only ever be mentally healthy in a few areas and at certain moments...”

The Washington Post

This Pasta Dish Makes Brussels Sprouts Taste Positively Indulgent

A recipe from Ed Barrow’s “The Monday Pasta Club” bathes the shredded sprouts in generous amounts of butter, cream and cheese.

Popular Mechanics

Why We've Fallen for Optical Illusions for Thousands of Years

Mammoth or bison? Rabbit or duck? Ambiguous images have tricked our eyes forever.

Scott Young

What Medieval People Got Right About Learning

Apprenticeships are still around but most learning nowadays takes place in a classroom. Was it better before?

Quanta Magazine

The Architect of Modern Algorithms

Barbara Liskov pioneered the modern approach to writing code. She warns that the challenges facing computer science today can’t be overcome with good design alone.

Outside

Are You an Elk Parent or a Bison Parent?

The fine line between holding on and letting go.

Smithsonian Magazine

From His Tattered Chair, Archie Bunker Caricatured America’s Divides

The 1971 show aired the fraught political differences that were “All in the Family.”

Nir Eyal

This is How to Be Less Distracted By Having Fun in Tedious Tasks

Imagine how powerful you’d feel if you were able to transform the hard, focused work you have to do into something that felt like play.

Romper

I Did Everything Right… And Ended Up With A Picky Eater Anyway

You can’t control it, so don’t sweat it.

Knowable Magazine

The Tender Art of Tadpole Parenting

From poison frogs to worm-like caecilians, some amphibians are hardworking and surprisingly creative caregivers.

Apartment Therapy

Where to Start When Cleaning the Living Room

There’s no wrong way to clean. But where you start matters more than you might think.

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, June 7

The Guardian

‘Do You Have a Family?’

Midlife with no kids, ageing parents – and no crisis.

The Atlantic

What Hula Taught Me

Keeping a culture alive, one step at a time.

SELF

6 Bad Relationship Habits Couples Therapists Are Begging You to Break

Because ignoring the little stuff is how you end up in the big stuff—and no one wants that.

The New York Times

The Ethical Minefield of Testing Infants for Incurable Diseases

Screening can now determine their risk for an ever-growing list of conditions — including ones we can’t do much about.

Bon Appétit

From Girl Beer to Mom Water, Drinks Are Getting Weirdly Personal

By leaning into personality types, emerging beverage brands are trying to catch a vibe.

Esquire

Inside the Weird and Wonderful World of Miniatures

Once the province of retirees, miniatures are now trending on TikTok, starring on reality television, and selling for six figures. Here, we take you inside the big moment for these tiny worlds.

Men’s Health

How to Build Muscle at 50, According to a Trainer Who Does It

These five rules get you strong for life.

Vox

What Slaughtering Animals All Day Does to Your Mind

The meat industry has a PTSD problem.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Nautilus

The Power of the Prairie

Author Josephine Marcotty on the 3 revelations she had while co-writing Sea of Grass.

CBS News

What Is the Air Quality Index, the Tool Used to Tell Just How Bad Your City’s Air Is?

If you’re seeing a thick haze outside your window, it’s likely air pollution. Here’s how to find out what the air quality is near you.

Real Simple

Raised Beds or in-Ground Gardens? Here’s How to Choose the Right Setup for You

Make sure you’re choosing the setup that works best with your gardening goals and your location conditions.

GQ

Is It Better to Get Famous in Your 50s?

From Walton Goggins to Colman Domingo to Pedro Pascal, we’re in a golden age of actors getting wildly famous after decades of paying their dues—and they might be having the most fun of all.

Context

What Is Bottom Trawling and How Does It Harm Oceans?

Governments are meeting in France to discuss how to protect oceans from harmful fishing practices, like bottom trawling.

CNET

Everything You Need to Know About Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Games

Nintendo released some updated versions of Switch games, like Breath of the Wild, so you can play them on the new console.

History Today

Thatcher’s Wordsmiths

Margaret Thatcher struggled to write her own speeches. Who put the words in her mouth?

Fast Company

Can You Find This Sidewalk EV Charger? It’s Hiding Inside the Curb

This new charger lives inside the sidewalk itself, to make it easier to charge parked cars without taking up sidewalk space.

Fast Company

Smart Technology Is Making Our Homes Safer

Connected devices like fire and carbon monoxide alarms are transforming our approach to preventing and responding to home emergencies.

The Guardian

At Least Three Killed in Russia’s ‘Most Powerful’ Strike on Ukraine’s Second City – Russia-Ukraine War Live

Kyiv and Moscow in dispute over prisoner swap as at least three people killed in night-time attack on Ukraine’s second city.

MIT Technology Review

Inside the Race to Find GPS Alternatives

Startup Xona Space Systems hopes to provide an unspoofable alternative to increasingly threatened GPS.

Kiplinger

My Professional Advice: When It Comes to Money, You Do You

This is how embracing the ‘letting others be’ and ‘learning to surrender’ mindsets can improve your relationship with money.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

NPR

Divorce Lawyers Say It’s a Seasonal Business. Here’s Why.

Divorce lawyers know certain times of the year are much busier than others.

The Associated Press

What I Learned About Getting a Hearing Aid

It might start when you realize you can’t hear the doorbell, or certain ringtones. Conversation sounds garbled.

CNBC

With an ‘Above Normal’ Hurricane Season Forecast, Check These 3 Things in Your Home Insurance Policy

Hurricane season began on June 1. Now is the time to take a look at your homeowners insurance policy and make sure you're well covered.

Stylist

The dos and don’ts of OOO etiquette, so you don’t ruin your (or anyone else’s) holiday

Summer holiday season is upon us. These are your out-of-office dos and don’ts.

Time

10 Things to Say When Someone Won’t Get Off Their Phone

Trying to talk to someone stuck on their phone is such a universal experience, there’s a name for it: “phubbing,” short for “phone snubbing,” or ignoring someone in favor of a phone.

HuffPost

Hand Sanitizer Isn’t As Effective at Killing Germs As You Think — Here’s What You Need to Know

Plenty of different types of viruses and bacteria are resistant to alcohol-based sanitizers. And they can make you very sick.

Well+Good

Not Only Do You Deserve a Little Treat—There Are Benefits, Too

Enjoying little sweet treats has gone viral on social media, but are there any physical and emotional benefits to treating yourself? Expert dietitians and mental health professionals weigh in here.

Harvard Business Review

Why Employees Work While Sick—and How Leaders Can Stop It

New research suggests that presenteeism isn’t simply a matter of personal choice or lack of sick leave—it’s a structural problem rooted in how jobs are designed and workplace expectations are managed.

NPR

A Surprising Trick to Making Hard Choices: Try Thinking Less

The tactic may seem counterintuitive, but it can help you make tough decisions faster and with more confidence, says decision coach Nell Wulfhart.

Business Insider

New Data Confirms It: Companies Are Hiring Less in Roles That AI Can Do

Most people assume it will take years for AI to reshape the job landscape. But tasks that chatbots can do are already vanishing from job postings.

The Atlantic

You Don’t Know Yourself As Well As You Think You Do

The dream of perfect self-knowledge is unattainable, and chasing it too doggedly can leave you more confused and stuck than when you started.

The Guardian

I Found Myself Googling: Can Brain Cancer Cause Hiccups? How I Fell Into a Hypochondriac Rabbit Hole

Begging doctors for tests, I worried that I was missing something and heading for an early death. Would understanding the roots of my health anxiety lead me to a cure?