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Popular Science will no longer be available as a magazine after 151 years. Cathy Hebert, the communications director for PopSci owner Recurrent Ventures, stated to The Verge that the outlet needs to “evolve” beyond its magazine product, which published its first all-digital issue in 2021.
PopSci, which covers a wide range of stories related to science, technology, and nature, published its first issue in 1872. Over the years, changes occurred, with the magazine switching to a quarterly publication schedule in 2018 and doing away with physical copies after 2020.
In a post on LinkedIn, former PopSci editor Purbita Saha expressed frustration about the magazine’s discontinuation, noting the abruptness of the decision. Recent weeks have seen significant layoffs affecting journalists in the science field, with National Geographic and other publications making cuts.
Cathy Hebert explained to The Verge that PopSci’s content strategy must evolve beyond the digital magazine product, emphasizing investment in new formats. The layoffs earlier this month affected several employees, including editorial staff members and workers on the publication’s commerce team.
PopSci laid off several employees earlier this month, leaving around five editorial staff members
Besides discontinuing its magazine format, PopSci laid off several employees earlier this month, leaving around five editorial staff members and a few workers on the publication’s commerce team, as reported by Axios. The digital media group Recurrent Ventures acquired PopSci in 2021 and named its third CEO in three years just one week before the layoffs hit.
PopSci will continue to offer articles on its website, along with its PopSci Plus subscription, which offers access to exclusive content and the magazine’s archive. However, its discontinuation marks the end of an era, and the other cuts across the science journalism field won’t make it easier to stay up to date on the state of our climate or dive into fascinating stories that you might not otherwise come across without the media outlets that bring them to our attention.