Five Stories That Captivated Pocket Readers This Week: May 7, 2021
Pocket Collections · 2 minTaking U.F.O.s seriously, the real secret of Nordic happiness, and more.
Entertainment
Curated by our editorsStories to fuel your mind
16 Podcasters on the Hardest Episodes They Have Ever Produced
Vulture · 43 minWhether the result of a soft-spoken source, a producer’s profound paranoia, or a debilitating case of food poisoning.
Why it’s nearly impossible to buy an original Bob Ross painting
thehustle.co · 8 minThe famed TV artist was one of history’s most prolific painters. But you’re not likely to find his work on the open market.
100 Best Sitcoms of All Time
Rolling Stone · 3 minFrom family stories to band-of-misfits hangouts, classic rom-coms to workplace mockumentaries, cringe comedies to antihero showcases, and some shows that defy definition, these are the hundred series that have made us laugh, think, occasionally cry, and laugh all over again.
Secrets and Wives
Truly*Adventurous · 51 minA single working mom begins a whirlwind romance with a man named Martin Lewis, then discovers that Martin Lewis doesn’t exist. This true story picks up right where Scorsese’s ‘GoodFellas’ left off.
Popular with Pocket readersStories from across the web
Why Don’t Some TV Shows Sound the Way They Used To?
The New York Times · 7 minLicensing issues have gutted the soundtracks of many beloved series on streaming services, resulting in bewildering music cues and missing theme songs.
Justine Bateman's Aging Face and Why She Doesn't Think It Needs 'Fixing'
Time · 5 min"I hated the idea that half the population was perhaps spending the entire second half of their lives ashamed and apologetic that their faces had aged naturally."
The truth about Gandalf
Polygon · 14 minA look at the origin, powers, death, and rebirth of a mysterious-but-beloved character.
The Life in The Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
The Atlantic · 5 minThe most famous dysfunctional family of 1990s television enjoyed, by today’s standards, an almost dreamily secure existence.
It looks like a saxophone but plays 512 notes — many you’ve never heard before
expmag.com · 6 minHow a jazz musician created the Infinitone to challenge Western musical ideas.
Justice League: The Shocking, Exhilarating, Heartbreaking True Story of #TheSnyderCut
Vanity Fair · 24 minA demoralizing battle with Warner Bros. A devastating personal tragedy. A fan base he couldn’t control. Zack Snyder tells V.F. why he quit Justice League, and why he’s returned to complete a cut that’s reached near-mythical status.
Bong Joon Ho’s Favorite Movies: 35 Films the Director Wants You to See
IndieWire · 2 min[Editor’s note: This gallery was originally published in February 2020 timed to Bong’s historic Oscar wins for “Parasite.” It has since been updated with new selections.
Everybody Hates Millennials: Gen Z and the TikTok Generation Wars
The Walrus · 9 minThe video-based platform may not have created generational animosity, but it’s happy to fan the flames.
The Redemption of Justin Bieber
GQ · 25 minHe made every mistake a child star can make, including the ones that nearly destroyed him. Now—fortified by God, marriage, and a new album, Justice—Justin Bieber is putting his life back together, one positive, deliberate step at a time.
Inside the Dirty Business of Hit Songwriting
Variety · 14 min“The money grab is worse than ever, it’s gotten out of control.”
Who Really Created the Marvel Universe?
The New Yorker · 17 minStan Lee presided over a world of superheroes, but his collaborators and readers sustained his vision—and his characters outlasted it.
A philosophy of sound
Aeon · 16 minFrom the Big Bang to a heartbeat in utero, sounds are a scaffold for thought when logic and imagery elude us.
The Show That Changed Television Forever
The Atlantic · 20 minAdapted from Rock Me on the Water, HarperCollins Publishers, 2021. When CBS first placed All in the Family on the air, on January 12, 1971, it irrevocably transformed television. After a shaky first season in which it struggled to find an audience, the show prospered, rising to become No.
How Did Frasier Afford His Apartment?
GQ · 6 minThe Eames chair! The view! One woman’s demented investigation into a fictional apartment on a TV show that went off the air over 15 years ago.
Genre Is Disappearing. What Comes Next?
The New Yorker · 15 minAs record stores close and streaming algorithms dominate, the identities that music fandom supplies are in flux.
How TikTok Chooses Which Songs Go Viral
Bloomberg · 7 minThe app’s hits seem to emerge organically, but the success of artists like Megan Thee Stallion reveals a highly managed curation process.