<p>I wish to subscribe to some magazines, but there’s so many choices out there so, do you guys have any favorite recommendations?</p>
<p>I want nothing along the lines of Cosmo, Seventeen, etc. I’m looking for analysis, critical thinking, well-known journalists. I want something that includes a brief analysis of politics/current events (to remain a informed citizen), but at the same time have some articles about some interesting topics (analysis of some cultural phenomenon, just random interesting information that will get you thinking and relaxed at the same time.)</p>
<p>Also, any funny witty relaxing magazine recommendation are also appreciated.</p>
<p>List you favorites and maybe a SHORT description.</p>
<p>The New Yorker: <a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/[/url]”>The New Yorker;
Interesting articles on a variety of subjects, funny and unusual short pieces (‘The Talk of the Town’) and wonderful cartoons.</p>
<p>I agree with The Economist. It tends to be quite good on most issues, and it’s well respected. It does not focus on US issues, and as Eli said it can be dry.</p>
<p>Also, if you really want a “brief analysis” of politics, pick up The Week (<a href=“http://theweekmagazine.com)%5B/url%5D”>http://theweekmagazine.com)</a>. It covers everything that happened in the given week, drawing on quotations from a variety of articles about a particular topic. (e.g. talking about the impact of Borat, it’ll draw from The NY Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Time). It also includes tiny blurbs from tabloids and “only in America”-style stories.</p>
<p>In addition to the big elephant of The Economist, try Wired for news about hip techno-stuff, and Vanity Fair (who knew?) for long, well-written articles about a variety of topics. Plus, lots of fashion shots!</p>
<p>Well musical taste is really variable and I certainly don’t like pop music, but the articles are fun to read, it’s not as though popular music is something to be taken seriously</p>
<p>Smithsonian is my favorite magazine. It’s the only one where I end up reading it cover to cover. It’s great if you like learning about history.</p>
<p>Unless you are a professional scientist, I would recommend Scientic American over Science or Nature. Those two are hard core. Scientific American by contrast is very informative but is aimed at the non-specialist.</p>
<p>I’d suggest you go to the public library (or bookstore) & look at a few issues of the various magazines you’re considering subscribing to BEFORE you decide to spend money on them. You can also use airline miles (if you have any) for subscriptions at no dollar charge, just frequent flier miles (we’ve done that to use up the miles before they expired).
My S (engineering student) likes Scientific American. He also likes the Wall Street Journal, but we don’t subscribe because we’re swamped enough with the local papers.
We take Time, US News & World Reports and Newsweek. None of them have sufficient depth for my S’s taste, but it was “free” with our miles. The magazines mentioned by all the other posters are all interesting & have more depth, but take a look at a few issues to see which appeal to YOU.</p>
<p>This is not exactly what you asked for, but:
My favorite magazines:
New York Review of Books
The New Yorker
The Atlantic (apparently the favorite, by consensus . . .)
The Economist (thought a bit stody/Tory/tonedeaf, for my taste)
The New Republic (and please, lord, save us from Marty Peretz).
And, The Washington Monthly</p>
<p>*The Sunday New York Times (especially the magazine and the Week in Review).
*The Week
*The Atlantic Monthly
*if you really like science, Science News, which comes out weekly and covers science for the well-educated layperson. Scientific American covers less stuff in more detail. (Definitely one to check out at the library before subscribing.)</p>
<p>I get the Wall Street Journal online edition and find it invaluable. Anytime I want to know the arguments on the left and the right on any issue, all I have to do is compare the WSJ and the NYTimes. The financial information is also useful. I would argue that the WSJ is the most influential newspaper in the country at this point; to a surprising extent, they set the agenda for discussion among what I think of as “the power elite.” (It took about a year of regular reading before I realized that WSJ editorials appear to grab the attention of Congress; whether that will change with the new Congress will be interesting to watch.)</p>
<p>Just seconding what others have said–the New Yorker and the NY Times. </p>
<p>You can sign up for a daily email with the paper, and the each day you can scroll through the headlines and click to read what you want to read online. I get the paper Sunday edition for the pleasure of reading through it but just get the daily emails because I don’t have the time to read it daily. Also agree about Science, and The Economist although I must confess I never make it through much of the Economist.</p>
<p>patient, my school we get free newspapers every day from stands set up around the school and dorms and the ny times is among them. it’s actually pretty sweet.</p>