Sarah Durn

Associate Editor

About

Sarah Durn edits Popular Science‘s longer, feature stories. She runs PopSci‘s ‘Ask Us Anything‘ column and contributes to the magazine’s science and history coverage. In 2025, Sarah launched two new history series at PopSci, ‘That Time When‘ and ‘The History of Every Thing.’ Sarah also hosts Popular Science‘s new ‘Ask Us Anything’ podcast, available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

She is the bestselling author of The Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy, published by Rockridge Press in May 2020, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian, WIRED, among others.

Previously, Sarah worked on staff as a writer and editor at Atlas Obscura and was a regular contributor to Gizmodo and Culture Trip.

Highlights

“How to Start and Keep a Journal,” The New York Times

More from Sarah Durn

Metal detectorist finds Viking Age gold coin that might upend history

A colorized historical photograph captures a group of railroad workers posing with a large steam locomotive on a wooden trestle bridge. The workers, a diverse group including several men in rough work clothes and hats, are clustered around the front of the black engine, which features a prominent cone-shaped smokestack. The trestle bridge curves through a dense evergreen forest with a rocky hillside in the background, illustrating the challenging terrain of early American railroad construction.

7 captivating photos of train travel’s first century

A Bengal cat licks the forehead of a young white boy in a striped shirt. The boy has dirty blonde hair and smiles. The cat sits on a table and there's a grey drape pulled to one side of a window behind them.

Why do cats lick you? An expert explains.

An elevated, long-range photograph of the Rano Raraku volcanic crater on Easter Island, showing several moai statues partially buried in the grassy hillside. The massive stone heads and torsos are scattered across a sloped landscape that leads up to a rugged, rocky cliff face with visible excavation sites. Some areas of the background rock feature unnatural blue markings, likely from digital editing or site markers.

3D map of Easter Island takes you places visitors aren’t allowed

A trail camera still shows a gray wolf standing on a dark, rocky shore near the edge of calm water, pulling a crab trap out of the water using a rope attached to a red and white buoy. The background consists of dark water reflecting a dense forest.

Wolf uses tool in stunning video

A dark, grainy infrared or night-vision security camera image shows a mouse or rat on a ledge or windowsill, grappling with and biting a flying bat. The bat is visible on the left, upside down in mid-air with its wings spread, as the rodent lunges at it. The entire scene is dominated by shades of white and gray against a dark background.

Caught on camera: Rats hunting bats mid-flight

A panoramic, dark, and eerie photograph of a dense forest shrouded in thick fog or mist. The trees are tall and silhouetted, with a single, dark, cloaked figure standing in a patch of brighter light at the center of the path, creating a spooky and mysterious atmosphere.

What Americans fear most in 2025

A celebratory outdoor scene shows a man giving a thumbs-up while standing next to a massive, pale orange pumpkin at a weigh-off event. Two young children are sitting happily atop the pumpkin. A digital scale displaying "2346" is visible in the background, along with banners for the "Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off," under a bright blue sky.

Behold, the pumpkin king: A 2,346 pound gourd

Several starfish hang out on a cream-colored piece of discarded metal under the sea.

Sunken WWII bombs make a surprising home for sea life

An arid archaeological site with a large, excavated rectangular foundation in the foreground, partially dug into a dirt mound. The site is surrounded by dry, barren land and hills in the distance. A few people are visible, providing a sense of scale, and the background shows a valley with green trees and a clear, hazy sky.

Lost mural reveals ancient Silk Road fire ritual

A blurred photo shows a smiling woman with dark hair, wearing a purple shirt, holding a large, ancient-looking wooden tool with a stone head, possibly an ax or hammer. She is wearing white gloves and standing in a laboratory setting with scientific equipment and storage shelves visible in the background.

Stone Age women were buried with as many tools as men

A high-energy concert photo of Taylor Swift on stage in a shimmering, multicolored bodysuit with a matching microphone. She is looking to her right with her mouth slightly open, a surprised expression on her face. The stage is brightly lit, and in the background, a massive crowd of people fills the stadium stands.

Taylor Swift concerts do cause small earthquakes

A wide-eyed, wet cat being held during a bath, with its fur slicked down and an anxious expression on its face.

Ask Us Anything

Why do cats hate water? An expert explains.

Billy Joel in the 1970s wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap, aviator sunglasses, a leather jacket, jeans, and worn-out tennis shoes. He’s napping casually on an airplane with retro orange seats and warm-toned walls ranging from orange to yellow. The seat in front of him has been folded over so he can stretch up with his legs up on the folded seat. Behind him, a passenger with glasses is reading, while another passenger in front is smoking a cigarette.

15 fascinating photos of flying through the decades

new york city skyline

In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart? Here’s the timeline.

a woman and a patent

The forgotten story of the woman who invented the dishwasher

Model Muriel Maxwell in white sunglasses putting on lipstick, wearing red-white-and-blue turban, andv holding a red-and-white striped bag *** Local Caption ***

The evolution of sunglasses from science to style (and back again)