Pocket-Worthy Reads

Stories to fuel your mind

Elle

The Karen Who Cried Kidnapping

How one unsuspecting craft-loving mom got tangled in an influencer’s viral yarn.

CityLab

The Leaf Blowers Will Not Go Quietly

Scores of US cities are trying to muffle the seasonal din of gas-powered leaf blowers. But the new regulations and fines are generating resistance, too.

Literary Hub

Redemption for Doctor Watson

Is there a character in all of Western literature more misunderstood, more defamed than Doctor Watson, the erstwhile sidekick of detective Sherlock Holmes?

Bicycling

How Bicycles Changed Women’s Lives

And how, in turn, women helped shape cycling.

The Atlantic

The Opposite of Toxic Positivity

“Tragic optimism” is the search for meaning during tragedy, and is better for us than avoiding darkness.

The Marginalian

Kahlil Gibran on Silence, Solitude, and the Courage to Know Yourself

“In much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.”

Popular Mechanics

How Dementia Patients Used Morse Code Training to Escape From a Senior Living Facility

Security experts analyze the clever way the husband and wife briefly broke free.

Nautilus

Can a Cat Have an Existential Crisis?

Treating my cat for depression caused me to question the state of anxiety in animals and us.

Darius Foroux

Tuning Out The Noise

How to get clarity in life. Do you ever feel like you’re completely lost in a world that keeps on racing? The world moves fast. One moment you’re excited about a new opportunity, and the other moment you feel totally hopeless for no particular reason.

Narratively

An American Tragedy: The Colorful Life and Shocking Death of Ovid Neal III

On the dark streets of a college town, two teenagers hoisted a rock and ended a man’s life. His loved ones want to know when we’ll finally value the lives of homeless people.

The Hustle

How One of America’s Last Piano Manufacturers Stays Alive

Piano-building was once one of the country’s largest industries. Today, only two companies remain in business.

BBC Travel

Kanaye Nagasawa: The Samurai Who Forever Changed California

Smuggled out of Japan, he became the US’ first permanent Japanese resident and helped birth California’s wine industry.

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

Wednesday, June 11

Men’s Health

The New Science of Hip Mobility

Own the weight room, crush backyard football, and beat back pain by strengthening and stretching your hips.

The New York Times

The Quiet Unraveling of the Man Who Almost Killed Trump

Thomas Crooks was a nerdy engineering student on the dean’s list. He stockpiled explosive materials for months before his attack on Donald Trump, as his mental health eroded.

BBC

How Being Alone Can Make You Happier

From spending time by yourself to making the most of being single, flying solo can be fulfilling – a philosophy championed by a new wave of books.

Current Affairs

Shrimp Are the Most Abused Animals on Earth

Many people may not think about small creatures like shrimp. But shrimp make up most of the animals that are alive on factory farms at a given moment, and their potential suffering needs to be taken seriously.

SELF

7 Ways to Heal Your Relationship With Exercise and Movement

Moving your body shouldn’t be a punishment.

SELF

I’m a Neurologist. Here’s the One Thing I Do Every Day for My Long-Term Brain Health

If you’re worried about cognitive decline, add this to your routine.

The New Yorker

How I Learned to Become an Intimacy Coördinator

At a sex-choreography workshop, a writer discovered a world of Instant Chemistry exercises and nudity riders to train for Hollywood’s most controversial job.

Asterisk Magazine

Where the Wild Things Aren’t

We tell our children that weirdness is a blessing in disguise. That’s our fantasy, not theirs.

Recommended Reads

Curated by Pocket

Axios

MAGA’s Blue-Collar Base Waits Patiently for Populist Payoff

So far, the clearest financial rewards of Trump’s tenure are flowing upward — to wealthy donors, family members, insiders and the president himself.

The New Yorker

Day-Care-Parent Small Talk, Translated

Man, this parking lot sure is a nightmare, isn’t it?: I hit your car.

Harper's Bazaar

The Mantra Behind Shakira’s New Haircare Brand, Isima? More Is More.

The Colombian superstar opens up about launching her debut line, her own iconic hair eras, and why she doesn’t accept unsolicited hair advice.

BBC

World Fertility Rates in ‘Unprecedented Decline’, UN Says

Hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, the UN warns.

CNET

‘Jaws’ Turns 50: All the Movies Will Stream in One Place. So, I’m Starting Shark Week Early

You’re gonna need a bigger screen.

Smithsonian Magazine

NASA Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Captures Image of Giant Ancient Volcano Just Before Dawn

The perspective is what astronauts would see out their window if there was an International Space Station flying around the red planet

Gizmodo

What Ending the U.S. Ban on Supersonic Flight Means for the Future of Travel

Passenger aircraft could fly from New York to Los Angeles in around two hours, but there are still challenges that stand in the way.

Los Angeles Times

Experts Break Down the Worst Emmy Snubs of All Time

The Emmys have (in)famously blanked a number of acclaimed series, including ‘The Wire,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ and more. We asked the experts to break down some of the worst omissions.

The Walrus

Canada Goose Built a Luxury Empire by Betting Big on China

The parka maker dodged geopolitics, the pandemic, and local pushback.

Capital B News

COVID Guidelines Just Changed. Black Americans Could Pay the Price.

Doctors say new federal guidelines put Black health at risk.

Eater

How to Ensure Your Dishwasher Outlives Its Standard Life Expectancy

Start by making sure you properly load the dishes.

CNBC

China’s Homegrown Coffee Giants Are Brewing up a U.S. Expansion

Facing intensifying competition at home, Luckin Coffee is set to take its most significant international leap yet with plans to open a branch in Lower Manhattan.

Life Hacks

Tips for better living

Vox

We’re Secretly Winning the War on Cancer

The quiet revolutions that have prevented millions of cancer deaths.

Men's Health

Inside the Brave New World of Streetlifting

The love child of calisthenics and weightlifting is about to make all of us rethink what it means to be strong.

Men's Health

I Thought I Knew What Strength Looked Like. Then I Experienced Streetlifting.

It totally changed the way I approach my training.

The Week

Average Retirement Savings by Age: How Do You Stack up?

Determine whether you're being appropriately frugal or going overboard.

The Week

Orthorexia Nervosa: When Clean Eating Goes Too Far

Disordered eating focused on extreme healthy eating has been on the rise in recent years, researchers have found.

HuffPost

‘Dry Begging’ Is a Form of Emotional Manipulation That Sounds All Too Familiar

Read this if you regularly hear statements like “I wish I had a partner who cooks” or “some people would be thrilled to have someone who loves them so much.”

IEEE

Getting Past Procastination

Create systems that allow you to be consistently productive.

HuffPost

This Sweet TikTok Trend Is Actually Helping People Deepen Their Friendships

You might be really shocked to see what your friends’ reactions are.

The Conversation

Your Brain Learns From Rejection − Here’s How It Becomes Your Compass for Connection

Rejection can feel physically painful. It also provides a lesson for your brain on whom to connect with and how.

Kiplinger

What Boomers and Gen Xers Can Learn From Younger Colleagues

Whether you’re a baby boomer or Gen Xer, your younger colleagues’ approach to work may help you find a new job or be happier in the one you’ve got.

Newsweek

Millions of Americans See Credit Scores Plunge

The credit scores of millions of Americans have plummeted in the first quarter of the year as a result of rising student loan delinquency rates, following the end of a years-long pause on federal payments.

CNBC

When It Comes to Saving, Gen Z Asks: ‘What’s the Point?’ That’s Dangerous, Expert Says

Young adults are feeling disillusioned about their economic prospects. That malaise can be dangerous, experts said.