IT’S BEEN A LITTLE MORE than a year since I first introduced myself as the editor-in-chief of Popular Science—though those who’ve been following us for a while have seen my name sprinkled through our pages (both the paper and web varieties) for more than a decade. In that time, PopSci’s been through lots of changes: tweaks to the number and style of our issues; major investments in popsci.com and its design; the addition of videos, special interest publications, podcasts. All with the singular goal of keeping this 149-year-old brand and its mission thriving.
Today, we’re unveiling our biggest change in my tenure: Popular Science is now a fully digital magazine. If you’re already a subscriber, hop over to popsci.com/digital to read your first issue—a deep dive into the importance of calm at a time when life feels anything but. If you’re not a subscriber, head to popsci.com/subscribe to get in on the action.
Let me tell you what’s in store once you get there. In addition to a quarterly dose of our award-winning science journalism, these new digital subscriptions offer a deeper PopSci experience. Our desktop, smartphone, and tablet apps include an archive of 15-plus years of back issues (here are the instructions to get access). We’ve also redesigned and reimagined stories especially for mobile devices. And going digital means we have more tools to experiment with in the future, including integrated videos and audio. Case in point: The iOS and Android apps are text-to-speech enabled, so Siri or Google Assistant can now read stories to you.
We’ll continue to evolve and enhance those offerings with every issue, and we’re not stopping there.
You’ve probably noticed some other changes in the PopSci universe over the past few months. In March, we launched our second podcast, Ask Us Anything, a twice-weekly series that provides science-backed answers to questions both practical (“Can you overdose on weed?”) and outlandish (“What would happen if you fell into a black hole?”)—in 10 minutes or less.
On popsci.com, we’ve rolled out a clean new look, and are expanding coverage to stay even more on top of the fast-moving world of science and tech. We’re digging deeper into topics that touch everyday life, from safeguarding our privacy online to fact-checking the sustainability claims companies make. We’re also doubling down on the nitty-gritty science, unpacking concepts and experiments on the bleeding edge of discovery, like recent revelations about the mind-bending physics of subatomic particles. And we’re investing in a slate of hard-hitting features that explore the dynamic relationships between research, innovation, and everyday life.
The mediums may change, but even after all these evolutions and iterations, our core belief remains as fixed and focused as it was in 1872: Embracing science and tech means living in the realm of possibility.
