Magazine subscription suggestions

July 19, 2023 9:34 AM

I am really enjoying a subscription I was given to The Sun magazine and I would like to subscribe to another magazine or two (physical copies). I especially like articles about topics I haven't really thought about - for example, in Wired magazine a while ago, I read an article about a man designing bowling balls. In The Sun, the most recent issue had an interview with a pop music expert. Short stories and other fiction are good too. I'm not interested in something political for this question. I'm a farmer so I am not looking for more plant-related info even though that is quite interesting. What other subscriptions would you recommend I look into? Thank you!
posted by Emmy Rae to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

The Atlantic and the New Yorker are the two gold standards here. I prefer the former, although I think I'm in the minority.

The Smithsonian magazine is almost always interesting in the way you're talking about - completely unexpected topics from one issue to the next.

The NYT magazine is usually pretty good, too.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:43 AM on July 19, 2023

Honestly, the New Yorker is the one that continually surprises me with articles about topics I'm sure I have no interest in...and then find absolutely fascinating. There's short fiction in every issue.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:47 AM on July 19, 2023

Harper's is another really good one.
posted by box at 9:56 AM on July 19, 2023

Science News comes biweekly, and has tons of cool science blurbs. Usually just one or two longer articles per issue. I like it a lot better than the vast majority of popular science magazines.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:01 AM on July 19, 2023

The New Yorker is great, of course, but in terms of magazines that really benefit from getting the print edition instead of reading online (i.e. beautiful photography and/or design), I would consider National Geographic or The Believer. (Smithsonian may be in this category too.)
posted by staggernation at 10:07 AM on July 19, 2023

Harper's and Monocle are two physical magazines I've enjoyed. Harper's definitely has more creative writing content; Monocle is kind of about business, but it usually has some interesting design-related content.
posted by neushoorn at 10:58 AM on July 19, 2023

Wired does put out a print magazine so you can subscribe to that. I signed up for a free AramcoWorld subscription a couple of years ago and find that every issue is worth reading even if the whole thing is a PR scheme for Saudi Arabia's oil company.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:50 AM on July 19, 2023

Seconding The Believer!
posted by feistycakes at 11:52 AM on July 19, 2023

I really enjoy Nautilus magazine. They have fascinating articles across a range of subjects and 6 print editions a year. I hope you check them out!
posted by ichimunki at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2023

I’ve been a subscriber directly or through my dad since the late ‘60s to Analog.
posted by billsaysthis at 9:47 PM on July 19, 2023