# Scientific American magazine

6 Hacker News commenters recommended Scientific American magazine and 20 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for science writing that readers remember fondly from childhood; critics say it declined sharply after recent editorial changes, with politicized coverage and paywalls.

## Why people recommend it

- Fond memories from childhood reading (2 comments): "I distinctly recall enjoying Scientific American for years as a young child" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50240298)) "they were pure intellectual magic to me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46042736))
- Defended against criticism of articles (2 comments): "It was basically a woke hit piece accusing him of scientific racism and white supremacy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239681)) "That's a pretty good hill to die on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50258979))

## What people warn about

- Politics and sensationalism replaced science (4 comments): "Helmuth fundamentally altered the magazine's course by pushing politics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239955)) "Spewing politcal hate is not the best way to win friends it seems." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239701)) "it's been sensationalist trash for quite a while" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48688661))
- Quality declined over decades (4 comments): "Scientific American hasn't been the magazine it was for decades" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48684354)) "Sad to see what Scientific American has become." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48214784)) "they abandoned their readers who genuinely wanted to learn" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239758))
- Fired writers, editors, science reporters (2 comments): "They have started out by firing writers and editors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48698910)) "science reporting was the first to get axed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244740))
- Readers feel abandoned (2 comments): "they abandoned their readers who genuinely wanted to learn" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239758)) "It will become obvious why Scientific American no longer has readers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239302))

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Scientific American magazine", https://hackerapproved.com/p/scientific-american/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).