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Today’s essential reads

3 Tiny Behaviors That Make You the Calmest Person in the Room

A few small actions, grounded in the biology of behavior, can shift not only how you feel in stressful situations, but how others respond to you.

Is This the Electric Grid of the Future?

In Nebraska, a publicly owned utility deftly tackles the challenges of delivering on reliability, affordability, and sustainability.

Calif. Colleges’ ‘Ghost Students’ May Make Getting Financial Aid More Difficult

California community colleges are trying to crack down on financial aid fraud.

Nostalgic Foods and Scents Like Fresh-Cut Grass and Hamburgers Grilling Bring Comfort, Connection and Well-Being

Once thought to be an unhealthy experience, researchers now know that feelings of nostalgia can promote greater social connectedness and a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

Is Your Job Application Being Rejected by AI? We Asked 7 Big Companies.

Google, Salesforce, and McKinsey explain whether AI is used to reject your job application.

Fascinating stories

How to Think Better

Not all thinking takes place in your head.

How Measuring Time Shaped History

From Neolithic constructions to atomic clocks, how humans measure time reveals what we value most.

Want to Build Unbeatable Mental Toughness? Here Are 5 Surprisingly Effective Ways

Beating cancer made Yale Law grad Seun Adebiyi rethink his fast-paced life and become an entrepreneur.

How to Handle an Anxious Kid

If your child worries about everything, you can help—by first looking at yourself.

Division of Labor in Ants, Wasps, Bees — and Us

Social insects and humans share the trait of divvying up tasks, as do some fish. Researchers find that it emerges naturally, and it often doesn’t take a boss to keep things in order.

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The Best 1990s Rom-Coms Are Detective Stories in Disguise

Because what is love if not a complete mystery?

A Brief History of Unsolved Mysteries

Join us. Perhaps you can help solve a mystery—or at least dive into the mysteries behind ‘Unsolved Mysteries.’

Procrastination: It’s Pretty Much All in the Mind

To procrastinate or not: the answer may be down to differences in how our brains are wired, one study suggests.

Resolutions for a Life Worth Living: Attainable Aspirations Inspired by Great Humans

Life-tested wisdom on how to live from James Baldwin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Leo Tolstoy, Seneca, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, Viktor Frankl, Rachel Carson, and Hannah Arendt.

When It Comes to Upper-Corner Kitchen Cabinet Organization, a Pro Swears by This Tool

It works wonders on that annoyingly high shelf.

A Luxury Matchmaker Reveals How Realistic ‘Materialists’ Is

She broke down everything in the film starring Dakota Johnson, from unicorns to non-negotiables.

The Nature You See in Documentaries Is Beautiful and False

Nature documentaries mislead viewers into thinking that there are lots of untouched landscapes left. There aren’t.

How to Make Your Anxiety Work for You Instead of Against You

Anxiety is energy, and you can strike the right balance if you know what to look for.

The Computer Errors From Outer Space

Subatomic particles beyond our solar system could be the cause of glitches that afflict our computers. The risk is growing as microchip technology shrinks.

15 Science-Based Ways To Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

From diet and exercise to protecting against hearing loss and maintaining social connections, there are ways to improve our health and reduce dementia risk, experts say.