The Case for Magazines

Magazines are back! Well, maybe not for everyone, but they are for me. I’m not even necessarily talking about your run-of-the-mill monthlies, although those are great too. I’ve had a Wired subscription for many years and since the pandemic I’ve picked up subscriptions to Conde Nast Traveller and The Atlantic too.

What I’m actually referring to are those that cover even more niche topics, are printed on archival-quality paper, have thoughtful graphic design, and are released a little less frequently.

It all started a few months ago, when the Instagram algorithm decided to feed me an ad with a dapper gentleman reading a large-format magazine with three beautiful martinis on the cover. Obviously a voice inside my head said “Go on…”

The algorithm being what it is, clicking through the ad led to more ads for other niche magazines, which led to more click-throughs, which led to even more ads and more clicks. I was slowly uncovering a whole world of interesting publications, with beautiful photos and typography. And most importantly, a definite human touch.

I didn’t want to commit to full subscriptions right away — especially since they’re not cheap — but I was delightfully surprised to find a few back issues on eBay. And because back issues of niche magazines aren’t exactly flying off the shelves, it was pretty easy to message the sellers directly and inquire about buying several at once, combining the shipping, and even talking them down on the price a bit. Score!

I’ll give some shout-outs to the ones that I’ve been reading:

Arena is focused on American innovation and covers successful companies, interesting start-ups, and future or obscure technology
The Flow Trip is a surf, nature, and lifestyle magazine, with a big emphasis on graphic design and nature photography
Nautilus is a science magazine covering stories from astronomy to zoology and everything in between
Frontier isn’t a magazine per se, but I found it via the same channels. The first issue is a self-published reference on cryptography with equal parts algorithm deep dives, mathematical equations, and cute drawings

“So why now though?” you may be asking. Fair question.

For starters, on any given day during the week, I’m looking at a computer monitor for most of my waking hours, almost as soon as I’m out of bed. It’s nice to end my workday not looking at a screen. It’s also a really nice way to start a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning: sit on the couch with a cup of coffee and a blanket or dog (or both!) and thumb through a nice magazine.

I’ve also been enjoying intentionally picking publications that aren’t in my field or directly relevant to my job. It’s been really nice to read interesting stories I probably wouldn’t normally seek out or hear about. Being online with work all day definitely gives me a feeling of tunnel vision, like my world is being continuously narrowed into a thin slice of existence.

Also, isn’t it just nice to own something? In an age of streaming, it’s becoming a quiet luxury to hold physical media in your hands. Flipping the pages, feeling the glossy paper, and seeing the light and colors reflect off the page is becoming a lost experience.

And I haven’t even mentioned AI yet! More and more online content is becoming tainted with slop and hallucinations and misinformation. I’m happy to pay real humans for good journalism and nice design. I find that reading these magazines actually sparks my own creativity and gives me ideas I wouldn’t otherwise have. I was reading a lot while I was overhauling my website and I feel like it was really helpful inspiration.

Print media may be labeled a “dying medium” but it doesn’t have to be. Vinyl has had a resurgence in the last decade or so, and even CDs (and cassette tapes!) are coming back from the dead. Maybe give magazines a chance again?