Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872, carrying articles published for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science won American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 (for General Excellence) and 2004 (for Best Magazine Section).[1] The magazine's tag line is The Future Now.
From 1935 to 1949, the magazine sponsored a series of short documentary films, produced by Jerry Fairbanks and released by Paramount Pictures.[2]
On 25 January 2007, Time Warner sold this title, along with seventeen other special interest magazines, to Bonnier Magazine Group.[3]
The online magazine provided a lively 'debate' with its comments section by readers on new articles. On 24 September 2013, the magazine apologetically closed its comments section following claims a section of commentators were trolling and spamming the magazine on topics ranging from evolution to global warming, skewing readers perception of science. Online content director Suzanne LaBarre stated:
'A politically motivated, decades-long war on expertise has eroded the popular consensus on a wide variety of scientifically validated topics. Everything, from evolution to the origins of climate change, is mistakenly up for grabs again. Scientific certainty is just another thing for two people to "debate" on television. And because comments sections tend to be a grotesque reflection of the media culture surrounding them, the cynical work of undermining bedrock scientific doctrine is now being done beneath our own stories, within a website devoted to championing science'. — Suzanne LaBarre, Popular Science[4]