The Popular Science Publishing Company was acquired in 1967 by the Los Angeles–based
Times Mirror Company. In 2000, Times Mirror merged with the Chicago-based
Tribune Company, which then sold the Times Mirror magazines to
Time Inc. (then a subsidiary of
Time Warner) the following year. On January 25, 2007, Time Warner sold this magazine, along with 17 other special interest magazines, to
Bonnier Magazine Group. In January 2016,
Popular Science switched to bi-monthly publication after 144 years of monthly publication. In April 2016 it was announced that editor-in-chief Cliff Ransom would be leaving the magazine. In August 2016, Joe Brown was named
Popular Science's new editor-in-chief. In September 2018, it was announced that
Popular Science would become a quarterly publication. During his tenure,
Popular Science diversified its readership base, was nominated for several National Magazine Awards, winning for The Tiny Issue in 2019, and named to
AdWeek's Hot List in 2019. Brown stepped down in February 2020. In March 2020, executive editor Corinne Iozzio was named editor-in-chief. During her tenure, the brand moved from a print to a digital-only publication, produced extensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrated its 150-year anniversary, and relaunched its "Brilliant 10" franchise. Iozzio and her team won a 2022 National Magazine Award for its "Heat" issue. The issue, an in-depth look at the stark realities and ingenuity of a warming world, was the second win in the Single-Topic Issue category but the first in its new digital-only format. In August 2022, after more than a decade at
Popular Science and two-and-a-half years leading the brand, Iozzio announced that she would step down as editor-in-chief in October of that year. On October 6, 2020, the Bonnier Group sold
Popular Science and six other special interest magazines, including the well-known titles
Popular Photography,
Outdoor Life, and
Field & Stream, to North Equity LLC. While North Equity is a venture equity firm that primarily invests in digital media brands, David Ritchie, CEO of the Bonnier Corp, said Bonnier believes, "North Equity is best-positioned to continue to invest in and grow these iconic legacy brands." In June 2021, North Equity introduced Recurrent Ventures as the new parent company to its digital media portfolio. From April 27, 2021, the
Popular Science publication was changed to a fully digital format and is no longer in physical print. Its digital subscription offering,
PopSci+ is inclusive of exclusive digital content and the magazine. In January 2023, Annie Colbert was named the new editor-in-chief. She joined the brand after spending more than 10 years at
Mashable.
Radio Popular Science Radio was a partnership between
Popular Science and Entertainment Radio Network which ran through 2016.
Tablet On March 27, 2011,
Popular Science magazine sold the 10,000th subscription to its iPad edition, nearly six weeks after accepting Apple's terms for selling subs on its tablet.
Podcasts In 2018,
Popular Science launched two podcasts,
Last Week in Tech and
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week,
Last Week in Tech was later replaced by
Techathlon. Weirdest Thing proved to be the brand's breakout hit. After just one episode, Apple Podcasts included "Weirdest Thing" on their weekly "New & Noteworthy" list, and over the years it has hosted a number of live events.
Popular Science+ In early 2010, Bonnier partnered with London-based design firm BERG to create
Mag+, a magazine publishing platform for tablets. In April 2010,
Popular Science+, the first title on the Mag+ platform, launched in the
iTunes Store the same day the iPad launched. The app contains all the content in the print version as well as added content and digital-only extras. Bonnier has since launched several more titles on the Mag+ platform, including
Popular Photography+ and
Transworld Snowboarding+.
Australian Popular Science On September 24, 2008, Australian publishing company Australian Media Properties (part of the WW Media Group) launched a local version of
Popular Science. It is a monthly magazine, like its American counterpart, and uses content from the American version of the magazine as well as local material. Australian Media Properties also launched www.popsci.com.au at the same time, a localised version of the
Popular Science website.
Popular Science Predictions Exchange In July 2007, Popular Science launched the
Popular Science Predictions EXchange (PPX). People were able to place virtual bets on what the next
innovations in
technology, the environment, and science would be. Bets have included whether Facebook would have an
initial public offering by 2008, when a
touchscreen iPod would be launched, and whether
Dongtan, China's
eco-city, would be inhabited by 2010. The PPX shut down in 2009.
Television: Future Of... '''''Popular Science's Future Of...''''' show premiered on August 10, 2009, on the Science Channel. The show was concerned with the future of technology and science in a particular topic area that varies from week to week. As of December 2009, a new episode was premiering every Monday.
Futurism In July 2021,
Popular Science parent company Recurrent Ventures announced it would be acquiring
Futurism, a technology and culture
news website, from
Singularity University. That year,
Futurism interviewed the head of
NASA and reported on the
COVID-19 lab leak theory, as well as the release of 500 million gene-hacked mosquitoes in
Florida. and
Big Book of Maker Skills. The brand has also published ''The Total Inventor's Manual
and The Future Then'', which was published in conjunction with the brand's 145th anniversary.
Other languages In June 2014,
Popular Science Italia was launched in Italy by Kekoa Publishing. Directed by
Francesco Maria Avitto, the magazine is available in print and digital version. In April 2017,
Popular Science was launched in Arabic by United Arab Emirates-based publisher Haykal Media. The magazine is available in print bimonthly, and through a daily updated portal. ==Publishers==