Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Bloomberg Businessweek

How Liberace and Elvis Set the Stage for Celine, Elton and Adele

Entertainers of the 1950s, ‘60s and ’70s pioneered the lucrative business of extended residencies at Las Vegas theaters, which is flourishing again.

Inc.

Want to Make Difficult Conversations Easy? Try This 1 Counterintuitive Trick, According to Psychology

The anxiety you feel before entering a tough conversation can be greatly mitigated.

The Kitchn

The Best 2-Player Board Games for Couples to Play at Home Together

Great for date night or a slow Sunday afternoon.

The Washington Post

The Best Baked Ziti Isn’t Made With Ziti at All

The popular baked pasta has often overpromised and underdelivered. Here’s how we fixed it.

Slate

Running From the Pain

Exercise can be a very effective way to treat depression. So why don’t American doctors prescribe it?

BBC Worklife

Why Overly Kind and Moral People Can Rub You up the Wrong Way

‘Do-gooders’ are often judged harshly. Why do we resent their acts of altruism or question their motives?

Narratively

The Secret Sisterhood of Offshore Oil Workers

Living on a remote oil platform 60 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico is no easy assignment. Now imagine being one of the first women to ever step on board.

The Guardian

I Was the Poster Girl for OCD. Then I Questioned Everything I’d Been Told About Mental Illness.

When I sought help for crippling invasive thoughts, I was told I had a disease like any other. But I wasn’t able to recover until I understood the fallacy at the heart of mental healthcare.

Stylist

Should You Use Castor Oil for Your Skin? Our Beauty Team Investigates

Castor oil has gained a reputation in hair care for its ability to help your hair grow and shine. But could the benefits extend to skincare? We spoke to a dermatologist to find out.

BBC Future

The Forgotten Medieval Fruit With a Vulgar Name

Medieval Europeans were fanatical about a strange fruit that could only be eaten rotten. Then it was forgotten altogether. Why did they love it so much? And why did it disappear?

Aeon

Anger Is Temporary Madness: The Stoics Knew How to Curb It

Anger is a complicated emotion, but one you can learn to control. Here’s how.

Bustle

Would A More Humane Housewives Still Be Watchable?

We don’t tune into the Bravo franchise for lessons on being a good person, which makes the sourest moments a bit sticky.

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, June 8

Pocket Collections

How to Do Less at Home

Separating laundry? Pre-rinsing dishes? You just don’t need to. These articles will free you — and tell you why.

NBC News

Planned Parenthood Provides Basic Health Care. If They Close, Where Will Many Women Go?

Citing deep funding cuts, at least 200 Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide are at risk.

The New Yorker

Amelia Earhart’s Reckless Final Flights

The aviator’s publicity-mad husband, George Palmer Putnam, kept pushing her to risk her life for the sake of fame.

Vogue

Dance Aerobics Is So Deeply Uncool…and That’s Why I Love It

My instructor at L.A.’s Pony Sweat, a “fiercely noncompetitive dance aerobics practice,” told us to “fuck the moves” and with that exhortation came freedom.

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.

The Week

Where Will International Students Go If Not the US?

China, Canada and the UK are ready to educate the world.

Atmos

The Science And Symbolism of a Whale Fall

When a whale dies, its body creates a new mini ecosystem on the ocean floor—a process full of biological and poetic lessons.

Real Simple

How to Pick a Watermelon at the Store That's Sweet and Ripe

Learn how to tell if a watermelon is a good one with these simple tips.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Smithsonian Magazine

These Australian Cockatoos Learned to Operate Drinking Fountains With Their Feet to Quench Their Thirst

Birds in Sydney’s western suburbs have figured out how to get a sip from the fountains, even though they have access to nearby streams.

Vanity Fair

Zoe Saldaña on How Winning an Oscar Rekindled Her Spark, Her Relationship to Jewelry and Parenting Three Boys

Her life after her Oscar win and what she’s teaching her sons.

Variety

Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston on the Challenge of Adapting ‘The Life of Chuck’: ‘Even Stephen King’ Called It ‘Unfilmable’

The “Star Wars” and “Loki” stars talk about the Mike Flanagan film is based on a Stephen King story that the author once called “unfilmable.”

Discover

Understanding Ocean Rebound After Mass Extinction Events Could Help Us in the Future

Learn more about how the surprising survival of marine ecosystems after the last mass extinction can help us better prepare for the next one.

MIT Technology Review

Inside the Race to Find GPS Alternatives

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

Real Simple

Stop Overpacking—These Space-Saving Travel Finds Are All You Need, and They’re Under $30

Amazon’s Luggage and Travel Gear hub is filled with space-saving travel essentials under $30 from Bagsmart and Bagail. Score clever travel finds like packing cubes, pill organizers, and TSA-approved toiletry bottles. Items start at $6.

Martha Stewart

What to Do With Chipped China to Give Damaged Dishware a New Life

Don’t toss that chipped mug or cracked plate just yet. Discover clever, creative ways to repurpose damaged dishware—from wall art and desk organizers to bird feeders and handmade gifts. Give your old ceramics a beautiful second life.

Vogue

Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Dress Alterations

Everything from cost, to timeline, to common alterations most dresses need.

Elle

Breaking Down Kylie Jenner’s Breast Augmentation

Let’s break down “445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle.”

Nature

How I Got Through the Loss of My Supervisors

When I was a postgraduate, two of my close mentors died. Here’s how I coped.

Smithsonian Magazine

These Asian Bears Were Cut Open for Their Bile. Here’s What’s Being Done to Rehabilitate Them

Veterinarians in Vietnam perform surgeries, prepare special diets and craft recovery routines for moon bears to give them a better life

Gizmodo

American Interest in EVs Plummets to Lowest Level Since 2019

63% of Americans say it’s unlikely they’ll purchase an EV for their next car.

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.

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.

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.

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

From Strength Training in Your 20s to Yoga in Your 80s: How to Reach Peak Fitness at Any Age

Can you hold a 60-second plank? How about tying your shoelace in mid-air? Here’s how to test your fitness in every decade of life.

Inc. Magazine

6 Side Hustles That Could Take Off as Tariffs Grow

The full effect of the Trump tariffs likely won’t be seen in the U.S. for a few months, but the impact is already being felt on some products and at some retailers. Prices are inching higher despite temporary pauses on the highest duties in products from China and the European Union.