A psychologist explains why negativity dominates your daily thoughts, and what to do about it
Fast Company · 6 minBrain science offers strategies that go beyond positive affirmations to create more lasting change.
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Today’s essential reads
How to Make Better Coffee
PocketA handy guide to upping your coffee game, from weighing different prep methods to troubleshooting your process.
The problem of global energy inequity, explained by American refrigerators
Vox · 6 minThe average fridge in the US consumes more electricity in a year than an average person in dozens of countries.
The death of 'mandatory fun' in the office
BBC · 7 minThe pandemic put an end to required birthday cupcakes, team happy hours and forced ‘fun’ activities. Many workers are deeply relieved.
25 Pieces of Marriage Advice From Couples Who’ve Been Together 25+ Years
Fatherly · 15 minWhat keeps a relationship going for the long haul? Here are the honest answers from those who've been married for a quarter-century or more.
Fascinating stories
A Step-by-Step Guide to Organizing Your Kitchen Pantry
Domino · 3 minFirst up, the deep clean.
Mindfulness Hurts. That’s Why It Works.
The Atlantic · 6 minFacing the painful parts of life head-on is the only way to feel at home with yourself.
How to Write Software With Mathematical Perfection
Quanta Magazine · 8 minLeslie Lamport revolutionized how computers talk to each other. Now he’s working on how engineers talk to their machines.
The Anti-Instagram App Promising to Make Us Feel Good
The Cut · 7 minBeReal wants to capitalize on our desire for authenticity on social media.
Stop Cooking with Coconut Oil
Outside · 4 minCoconut oil's health benefits are overblown, at best. Here are five healthy alternatives.
Haiti’s Lost Billions
The New York Times · 10 minThe staggering sum Haiti paid for its independence cemented its path to poverty.
How Kenny Loggins Became The King of '80s Movie Soundtracks
Mental Floss · 7 minMost musicians would be content to shape the sound of pop in one decade—like how shook up the ’50s or owned the ’60s. But not Kenny Loggins.
Human Ancestors Were Nearly All Vegetarians
Scientific American · 18 minPaleolithic diets have become all the rage, but are they getting our ancestral diet all wrong?
The Case for Sabbaticals
The Atlantic · 7 minPeople need a regular opportunity to subtract work from their life and see what remains.
Inside Putin’s Propaganda Machine
The New Yorker · 16 minCurrent and former employees describe Russian state television as an army, one with a few generals and many foot soldiers who never question their orders.
6 Stops on the Hunt for the Holy Grail
Atlas Obscura · 7 minTracing history’s most elusive holy relic will lead you to these real places.
How Wordle brought us back together
expmag.com · 15 minSpelling Bee, too, and Words With Friends. Who knew online word games would get us talking to each other again?
10 Works of Literary Fantasy You Should Read
Literary Hub · 5 minEven if you're a genre snob (but also, if you're a genre snob, stop).
‘The King and His Husband’: The Gay History of British Royals
The Washington Post · 7 minQueen Elizabeth's cousin wed in the first same-sex royal wedding—but he is far from the first gay British royal, according to historians.
The Unsuccessful WWII Plot to Fight the Japanese With Radioactive Foxes
Smithsonian Magazine · 8 minAn outlandish idea codenamed ‘Operation Fantasia’ aimed to demoralize the Axis power by mimicking legendary spirits.