New Scientist Avis 

I used to love New Scientist but with a new editor it has gone downhill fast. Hard science is no more, now it's a fact-free political activist magazine full of paid-for adverts masquerading as journalism.

It has non-binary contributors who insist on being called "them", it has a cooking blog and the back of the issue always features a lame interview pulled straight from the back of a teenage pop mag. It's like a soccer mom's fever dream of what a science magazine should look like!

The never ending references to "micro aggressions", "privilege" and "victimhood" are clear indicators that it's being written by people with only rudimentary grasp of world history and human psychology. My guess is old journalists have been fired and replaced with cheaper activist hacks who graduated from b***s*** degrees like "gender studies". It's the only explanation for a dramatic drop in quality.

I won't be renewing my subscription until they re-hire proper scientists.

Seems to have forgotten what science is, and just publishes PC/Woke slanted articles, never missing an opportunity the make a dig at Brexit supporters, Trump supports or Trump himself. The articles make wild assertions and have the tone that these are facts rather than a single researchers opinion.

When I first started reading the New Scientist it used to take me several hours to read it, now around 15 mins as I ignore the wokery. It's gone downhill very much faster since the new editor took over, with silly projects best suited for a pre-teen magazine.

I'm glad I read it via the library RB-Digital service and don't have to pay...

Fantastic offer for new customers. It would be rude not to subscribe!

I started reading New Scientist in 1979 when it was 35p. It is now £5.95. To reflect the reduction of the value of money since 1979 it should be priced around £1.75. Notwithstanding subscription discounts, I am not sure that the quality has increased enough to justify the current price.

Nice to have a source of the latest theory’s about all the things that nobody understands.

Very enjoyable magazine... I've read it for years, so £10 for 10 weeks seems extraordinary, though I'm guessing this is a one off which will change after 10 weeks so I will need to see if the cost after that is affordable. I hope so.

Great to have this online now often bought paper version. Good to have lqtest science news that you can rely on without any political slant

I recently resubscribed after a few years’ gap and was looking forward to reconnecting with my regular trustworthy and entertaining science fix. What a disappointment - what has happened to this magazine? The science news is thin, the features often unauthoritative, the comment often specious, and the humour neither sharp nor funny. On top of that, every issue features a reprinted feature from an old edition (which i could presumably read a back number on the app if i wished) and another feature excerpted from a New Scientist book. It’s sad to see such a wonderful publication reduced to this.

I placed an order for a subscription by mistake. I then emailed AND called to exercise my right of cancellation for a refund within 14 days. On the phone, I was told that they had to escalate it and I would receive an email regarding the refund however I have not received anything. After multiple emails and phone calls, it seems very difficult to get anything done with this company.

UPDATE
Finally received refund today so I am happy with the conclusion.

Consistently excellent content
I always enjoy reading the magazine, due to the breadth and quality of the information. Access to the archive on the website is also very useful.

Fine, no problems

I wish to purchase the recently published New Scientist book 'The nature of reality'. I have made several attempts to contact them about this but to no avail. Why on earth don't they have a customer-service e-mail address?

I am so disappointed. I loved your magazine but i am very angry since I've read an article of Graham Lawton about misleading science (may 6th 2020) with hydroxychloroquine as lonely exemple. Now I'm asking : Is NS impartial ? Can I believe it ?
Other subject : 4 weeks to receive the magazine is too long. So I think I'll quit at the end of my annual subscription.
With regrets

A great bench mark in a world of theatrical statistics and political spin -well done to you all! 👍👷

I read every issue, cover to cover, except the physics news which is beyond me. New Scientist is always thought provoking and I enjoy being part of the community of readers.

I thought I'd ordered the print version+ app, but have received none since renewal.
I cannot get the information telling me whether you have stopped printing it or not. I'd much prefer it to the app.

The videos are constantly buffering, have been horribly organised (there is no search function) and best of all are often recorded in loud malls with echoing background noise. Seriously, what are you thinking?

After 20 years I decided to stop my subscription. The scientific content isn’t of high quality anymore, it makes boring reading, and I already read most of it free from various newsletters. Sad.

I attempted to buy a subscription to New Scientist as a gift for my father. I used the gift subscription option on their website, which instantly diverted me to their standard subscription signup page. This was a bit of a red flag because a typical gift subscription page would usually allow you to enter your own details alongside those of the recipient.

That wasn't possible, so I entered my own details for billing purposes, assuming that I'd be able to activate the subscription on a different email address.

I was right. You can activate the subscription on another email address, but a couple of days after my father did this, the account was blocked. The New Scientist staff advised they'd blocked the account because they couldn't link it to a subscription. Sigh. Over the next six weeks, my father and I emailed back and forth with the New Scientist trying to explain the issue to them and get it fixed.

As I see it, this was clearly caused by a concerning flaw in their processes, but at no point did I feel like the customer service team really comprehended this. Actually, they weren't willing to address or respond to any of my questions or queries. It seemed a little like I was emailing an automated system. After 6 weeks, we were informed that the issue was resolved. However, my father still cannot log in or activate the account.

He received a physical copy of New Scientist in the post though - which is odd because I only purchased a digital subscription! Given that six weeks were wasted, I asked if the subscription could be restarted, but I never received a response as to whether this had happened or not. I don't have the will to spend half my life trying to fully resolve this, so I guess my poor old man will just have to make do with whatever comes through the post.

This is the most appalling customer service experience I've ever had. I don't typically write reviews but I felt incensed enough by this fiasco to do so. Reading some of the other reviews here, I'm now concerned the next battle will come when they bill me for a renewal without my knowledge or consent. I will never touch this magazine again and would implore anyone reading this to avoid wasting your time, energy and finances.

The quality of the articles has gone way down in the past year or so and now the cost of my annual subscription has gone up by 20% (whilst UK inflation is currently 0.8%). Time to cancel and look elsewhere I think!