Pocket

We think of them as family members, but when it comes down to it, pets were domesticated fairly recently, making them only a few generations away from wild animals. This makes their behavior, how we treat them, and their purpose in our lives ripe for investigation. Check out some of the most-saved articles by Pocket users about the critters we welcome into our homes and backyards.

There’s No Such Thing As a Good Dog
Wes Siler, Outside
Ever come across a dog that seems too good to be true? Mild-mannered, good around children, happy to trot alongside its owner and be told what to do—those aren’t just personality traits. Turns out, it’s entirely possible to train any dog to behave in a calm, easygoing way, but it takes a little human training first.

The Cutest Animal on Instagram is Possibly in Your Trash Can
Gray Chapman, The New York Times
An opossum named Starfish. A skunk named Gizmo. Meet the newest crop of pet influencers shaking up the Instagram world. They’re cute, they’re tame (mostly), and they’re here to sell you endless t-shirts.

Should We Stop Keeping Pets? Why More and More Ethicists Say Yes
Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, The Guardian
With the closure of Ringling Bros Circuses and outcry over the treatment of animals at zoos and theme parks like SeaWorld, many people are starting to rethink animals as human entertainment. Should pet ownership fall under this category too?

Why Your Cat Thinks You’re a Huge, Unpredictable Ape
Nick Stockton, Wired
It’s hard to avoid treating your cat like a person—what better way to honor it, right? According to an Ohio veterinarian, that’s exactly what we shouldn’t be doing. Check out his tips on how to improve your relationship with your feline friend based on its needs, not yours.

Pet Care the Pocket Way
The next time you’re out walking your dog (or cat, or turtle … we’re not here to judge) grab some headphones and try listening to articles in your Pocket. Just tap the little headphones icon and it’ll start with the very first article and continue playing one after the next until you hit pause. And don’t worry about hiking beyond wifi range—with the Pocket app, you can listen to articles offline too, which prevents interruptions from signal-dropping and saves on data.

What’s it like being a housekeeper to the rich? How about a wildlife detective? Or America’s first full-time barbecue editor? In this week’s Sunday Reading Ritual, peek inside the lives of people with both ordinary and unusual job titles—all with extraordinary stories to tell.

I spent 2 years cleaning houses. What I saw makes me never want to be rich.
Stephanie Land, Vox
It’s hard to keep secrets from the person who scrubs your toilets and makes your beds. This first-person dispatch from a former housekeeper reveals the less-than-glamorous side of being wealthy.

Man of Letters
Stephen Meyers, CityLab
Delivering mail every day, rain or shine, can be grueling work, but there’s a softer side to the postal worker’s profession. Check out this heartwarming essay from a former mail carrier whose day-to-day interactions with customers changed the way he saw his city.

The Detective of Northern Oddities
Christopher Solomon, Outside
If a walrus full of ulcers washes up on the Alaskan coast or a sea otter turns up dead from histoplasmosis, Kathy Burek is on the case. This veterinary pathologist turned wildlife detective is witnessing the effects of climate change, one carcass at a time.

Confessions of a Fat Bastard
Daniel Vaughn, Texas Monthly
What does 48 hours in the life of a full-time barbecue editor look like? Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn, the first of his kind, dishes up a taste of his meat-filled days on the road. Who knew there were so many ways to cook beef brisket? Just don’t ask about his cholesterol.

The World’s Most Extreme Sled Dog Patrol
Kara Segedin, BBC
Peer through the lens of a photographer working on a Danish dog sled unit in Greenland. This photo essay documents the blizzards, sunsets, and wildlife that make up the daily grind for this hardworking team of humans and canines.

Pocket Pro Tip
Do you use Pocket at work? It’s great for on-the-job research—you can tag articles right when you find them with words like “ideas,” “leadership,” and “trends.” Look for the little tag icon next to the word “saved” that appears after saving a story and click it to assign a related tag or two.

These tags will help you find content you’re looking for more quickly when you search for it. You can also navigate to the tags section in your Pocket to browse stories by their tags.

Better yet, if you upgrade to Pocket Premium, suggested tags will automatically pop up, saving you time and helping you remember which tags you commonly use—which keeps everything in your Pocket within reach.

Death: It just might be the most uncomfortable topic on the planet, but it’s also the most universal and, dare we say, one of the most intriguing. This week, we’ve gathered a handful of fascinating stories about mortality saved by Pocket users. Save them to your own Pocket and dig in when you’re feeling open to considering one of life’s great mysteries.

Why I Hope to Die at 75
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, The Atlantic
Is there a magic age at which dying seems, well, right? Oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanual thinks so. Citing studies on the quality of life in old age and his own experiences with the elderly, he argues that it’s better to exit this world when you’ve still got some life left in you—and, by his calculation, 75 is the right age.

How Death Got Cool
Marisa Meltzer, The Guardian
What do you get when you cross Marie Kondo with hygge and throw in a dash of morbidity? Swedish death cleaning, the act of decluttering your life pre-death in the hopes of making things easier on your survivors. Sounds simple, but the first step—being willing to contemplate your own demise—is often the biggest hurdle.

One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die
Jon Mooallem, The New York Times Magazine
Death isn’t just a medical experience—it’s a human one. B.J. Miller, former executive director at Zen Hospice in San Francisco, is spearheading a movement to bring more mindfulness and compassion into traditional hospice care. Read this article not just for its insight into new ways to care for the dying, but for a touching story of the surprisingly reciprocal relationship Miller formed with one of his patients.

Digital Immortality: How Your Life’s Data Means a Version of You Could Live Forever
Courtney Humphries, MIT Technology Review
All those emails, texts, and posts could be adding up to something bigger than yourself—or maybe just another version of yourself? This article dives into an emerging technology that uses the digital data you’re already accumulating to create an eternal version of yourself that others can engage with long after you’re gone (and, as the article posits, maybe even while you’re still alive, too).

On a Lighter Note
We’re voracious readers here at Pocket, and we’re constantly posting links to the best stories we find online—including funny, unexpected and thought-provoking topics. Check us out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for a curated stream of high-quality content worthy of your Pocket.

There’s no one correct way to be a mother. It’s an incredibly common experience that’s also deeply personal, and this makes motherhood ripe for discussion among many writers and thinkers. Pocket readers have devoured hundreds of articles on the subject, and in honor of Mother’s Day, we’re sharing a few of our faves.

Motherhood Isn’t Sacrifice, It’s Selfishness

Karen Rinaldi, New York Times
Is motherhood a job? Or is it a privilege rooted in the desire to further one’s existence? Author Karen Rinaldi explores the sensitive subject of a mother’s ownership over her role in procreation and family life. Whether you agree with her position or not, it’s a fascinating read.

Game of Crones

Laura Lippman, Longreads
It’s never a bad idea to refrain from commenting on a stranger’s relationship to their child. As Laura Lippman’s story proves, you just might be speaking to the parent, not the grandparent, or vice versa. Lippman shares her experience as a new mom at 51—and all the social commentary that came with it.

Kids and an Exciting Mountain Career? It’s Complicated

Cassidy Randall, Outside
Many mothers balance work and life, but most don’t do it on the side of a mountain. Outside interviewed several top female skiers and mountaineers about their decision to raise kids without giving up on their professional dreams.

How Mom Hair as We Know it Came to Be

Cheryl Wischhover, Vox
The phrase “mom hair” first came to prominence in the ‘90s and continues to work its way into cultural conversations today. What is this mythical haircut, and is it really that awful? Vox breaks it down.

A Parenting Hack from Pocket
Raising kids can sometimes mean long nights sitting in the dark, whether you’re helping an infant fall asleep or waiting up for a teenager to get home. This is where dark mode comes in handy. Click “Text Settings” within any article in your Pocket and select the black circle. It’ll change your background to black and your text to white, making nighttime reading a whole lot easier on your eyes.

It’s Cinco de Mayo, which has us thinking about the fact that more than half of the world’s population is multilingual. Though it may feel second-nature to some, the ability to understand more than one language can deeply impact one’s thoughts, feelings, and way of living. Check out this array of articles that explores the intriguing ways that language makes us who we are today.

How Language Can Affect the Way We Think
Jessica Gross, TED
Gesturing to the right or left doesn’t exist in Pormpuraaw, an Australian Aboriginal community. To speak their language, you’ll have to hone your sense of direction, learning where south, east, north, and west are at all times. This is just one of several fascinating examples, noted in Jessica Gross’ article, of the many ways in which language shapes our experience of the world around us.

The Strange Persistence of First Languages
Julie Sedivy, Nautilus
“Language is memory’s receptacle,” writes Julie Sedivy of her experience re-exploring Czech, her native tongue, in the wake of her father’s death. She dives into the impact of losing touch with one’s first language—feelings of cultural and familial disconnect—and the surprising ease with which she was able to get it back.

Babies’ Brains are Wired to Learn Multiple Language at Once
Naja Ferjan Ramirez, Quartz
All newborns enter into this world with a special gift: the ability to distinguish between the 800 different sounds that make up the human potential for language. This makes them the ideal blank slate for absorption—but, as this article explains, the clock is ticking.

The World’s Most Efficient Languages
John McWhorter, The Atlantic
Some languages are more of a mouthful than others. German, for example, is known for having words for seemingly every possible action and emotion while some languages rely heavily on context, forgoing details like tense, plurality, and gender. Take a look at just what makes certain languages denser than others—and the resulting cultural impact.

Go Easy on Your Brain
Whether you’re fluent in one language or four, your brain needs a calm, relaxing place to take in content, and that’s exactly why we created Pocket. Save these stories and anything else you find online to Pocket and enjoy them when you’re ready. They’ll be waiting for you in a clean, quiet space, free from the distractions of the noisy internet.

On the surface, sporting events may seem like a vehicle for displays of physical strength, an outlet for competitiveness and an excuse to drink beer. But deep down, athletics reveal meaningful insights that get at the core of the human condition, like a fundamental need for community and the drive to continually improve oneself, delaying the inevitable decline.

In this edition of the Sunday Reading Ritual, we’re exploring the unexpected side of the athletic world—from better, more intentional ways to practice to the side effects of being a superfan.

Is it Ever too Late to Pursue a Dream?
Matt Giles, photos by Brendan Burden, Longreads
Once most athletes hit 30, it’s time to start thinking about life after the game. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? This fascinating longread takes a look at the science behind age and sports through the lens of a 39-year-old college student who got a spot on his school’s basketball team and wound up becoming a local celebrity.

The Beginner’s Guide to Deliberate Practice
James Clear, JamesClear.com

Mindlessly performing the same skill over and over in the hopes of getting better at it might seem effective, but as it turns out, there’s much more to practicing than that. Using examples from world-renowned athletes, chefs and musicians, James Clear breaks down the steps to building your own deliberate practice, no matter what you’re trying to achieve.

Is Fandom Really Worth It?
Ben Healy, The Atlantic

Heart disease. Increased testosterone. Decreased chance of depression. Being a diehard fan can come with some potentially life-altering side effects, depending on the scorecard. This article dives into some of the surprising stats around the physical ramifications of rooting for the home team.

Why Competitive Gaming is Starting to Look Like Professional Sports
Andrew Webster, The Verge

Imagine a world in which the same number of people who watched the Super Bowl also watch a Korean gamer destroy hundreds of digital characters in an epic Overwatch battle. This reality might not be far off. Check out the Verge’s exploration of the rise of e-sports and what it means for today’s athletic landscape.

A Pocket Workout Tip
The next time you hit the gym or go for a run, try listening to stories in Pocket. Tap the headphone button and it’ll read aloud any story you’ve saved, with each story starting after the last has finished — kind of like a podcast of your list. Better yet, it works offline, so you’re free to explore the open road without using up your data.

A gossamer veil surrounds a blue and green oasis in space. It’s the only place we know of that supports life in this universe—and it’s our home. In honor of Earth Day, we wanted to share a collection of stories, photos, and videos that reflect Earth’s beauty and also the unexpected consequences of our human footprint. And we’ll even leave you with inspiration and hope from the bees, who may just have it right.

We’re also excited to share a special collection of climate change articles curated by Rolling Stone journalist and Pocket user Jeff Goodell, inspired by his recent trip to Antarctica. It’s an important look at the state of the planet today and what we can do to turn things around. For a deeper dive, pick up a copy of his book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World.

Scott Kelly Spent a Year Taking Photos in Space. They’re Beautiful.
Photographs by Scott Kelly, The New York Times

In orbit aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly wasn’t just gathering data for NASA’s Twins Study. He also captured incredible images of Earth from the cupola of the space station—and in the process, he’s given us perspective on our own home and its beauty.

It’s not uncommon for astronauts to return from space with a transformed perspective on their home. See how seven other astronauts describe this experience courtesy of National Geographic.

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change
Nathaniel Rich, Photographs and Videos by George Steinmetz, The New York Times Magazine

This feature explores the 10-year period from 1979 to 1989—the decade when humankind first came to a broad understanding of the causes and dangers of climate change. This article tracks the efforts of a small group of American scientists, activists, and politicians who raise the alarm and try to stave off catastrophe. It may come as a revelation to many just how thoroughly they grasped the problem and how close they came to solving it. Aerial photographs and videos help to tell the story.

How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis
Jonathan Blitzer, Photography by Mauricio Lima, The New Yorker

In the western highlands of Guatemala, the question is no longer whether someone will leave but when. Explore how the changing climate patterns in Guatemala are affecting families and their ability to survive. Then pull back to understand the ripple effect across agriculture, society, economic markets, and ultimately the mass migration of people who are leaving the most vulnerable parts of this country.

Want to dig deeper? This short National Geographic video reveals how climate research offers coffee farmers hope for their crops. Guatemala’s third-largest export is coffee, which thrives in a narrow climate on the country’s mountainous slopes.

Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe
Abrahm Lustgarten, The New York Times

A decade ago, the U.S. mandated the use of vegetable oil in biofuels that would power the vehicles of the future. Discover how a growing appetite for Palm oil led to mass deforestation on the other side of the world on the island of Borneo—one of the only habitats of the orangutan, one of our closest cousins.

If You Want to Tackle Big Problems, Try Thinking Like a Bee
Mary Halton, IDEAS.TED.COM

When it comes to climate change, the greatest minds in the world are struggling to come up with solutions. Maybe it’s time to look elsewhere for inspiration—like the humble honey bee. This TEDx talk from beekeeper Marianne Gee will open your eyes to our interrelationship with bees—and show that thinking small, like the bee, may be the best way to think big. Watch and share this video so we can all “waggle” together and make a change for Earth Day.

Hopefully these reads give you perspective, inspiration, and something good to put in your Pocket. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to get great recommendations every day.

Happy Sunday!

March is Women’s History Month. It’s a moment to “amplify women’s voices to honor the past, inform the present and inspire the future. The stories we tell deepen our understanding of women’s contributions to America and the world, showing how far women have advanced and how we as a country value equality and the contributions of all our citizens.” (Smithsonian Institution)

At Pocket, we couldn’t agree more. We believe that stories can bring us power, insight, perspective—and can be a source of inspiration. That’s why we help you discover and read the good ones. Here are four stories that celebrate and reflect on the progress that women are making in America.

Three Michelin Stars! Meet the first woman to smash America’s boys’ club
Miranda Bryant, The Guardian

Food is a labor of love that takes passion. This is the inspirational story of Dominique Crenn,

a chef in San Francisco who has taken a place in the history books. Hailing from France with little cooking experience, she’s the first woman in the US to be awarded the top honor by the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide.

‘I am not a symbol, I am an activist’: the untold story of Coretta Scott King
Jeanne Theoharis, The Guardian

Coretta Scott King was more than the wife of legendary Dr. Martin Luther King. This story reminds the world that Mrs. King had her own beautiful and independent story and made a deep contribution to U.S. history.

The Radical Working-Class Roots of Improv Comedy
Gabrielle Moss, Bitch Media

In the mid-1900s, a new form of comedy was introduced thanks to a woman who thought outside the box. Learn about the fascinating roots of improv comedy and a woman named Viola Spolin, the founder of modern improv.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Unlikely Path to the Supreme Court
Jill Lepore, The New Yorker

Before she became a hero to feminists, Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to overcome their distrust. Learn more about the path of the second female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

We hope you save these stories and share them with others this month. If you are someone who likes to keep a permanent archive of stories like these, get Pocket Premium and never lose an article—even if a link moves goes offline in the future.

Have a peaceful Sunday.