Contemporary Mathematical Columns in Magazines In good old days, Scientific American was host to some legendary mathematical (and computer science) oriented columns that inspired generations of scientists and engineers. Douglas Hofstadter, Martin Gardner, A. K. Dewdney... just to name a few.
Where are the contemporary (XXI century) equivalent of these masterpieces? Which magazines can I point out to a layman and get him learning group theory? Hacking on Core Wars? Figuring out some Quine in LISP?

P.S. There are a lot of good websites for dissemination and self-study, but I feel there is some difference between those old SA columns, and what I find nowadays. For the lack of better words, allow me to make an analogy between an iPad and a Raspberry Pi; while the former appeals to the masses, the later gives you the opportunity to tinker. It's the difference between an ephemeral (if somewhat polished) entertainment (or good read), and the life-lasting recreational experience of hacking.
Heck, I've learned more on AI from 1990 Dewdney's "The Magic Machine", then most MOOCs out there.
 A: I try to keep abreast of recreational math at mathpuzzle.com. And I try to link to anything worthy of linking to.  I used to be one of the people writing columns for maa.org, and they were popular, but when I started working for Numb3rs, I didn't have as much time for columns.
A: New Scientist occasionally publishes math news; I believe they have an article in the latest edition wherein mathematical modeling techniques are being used to some success to predict social unrest. Most of these articles have a distinctly applied math bend, but they generally do a good job at capturing the essence of the theory (if somewhat sensationalized). I should also add that New Scientist does include a weekly math puzzle.
For a more modern format, TED does have lecturers that talk about multidisciplinary work in applied mathematics and statistics. Searching for "math" on their website leads to a number of talks about Math education; although these talks lack in mathematical substance, they tend to try to present pedagogical strategies that are more applicable to non-math types -- perhaps exactly what you need to get a non-math inclined individual to revisit his/her opinions on the subject.
Unfortunately, most cutting edge work in math right now requires exceptionally deep understanding, and is very, very difficult to generalize to a broad, under-informed audience. As such, applications of math, where the topic can be made accessible to different fields and areas of understanding, have better representation in the mainstream.
A: The Mathematical Intelligencer generally has some good content accessible to the laity. 
A: There are some good columns at the MAA (Mathematical Association of America) website. (Websites are the 21st century equivalent of magazines.)
A: Plus Magazine: http://plus.maths.org/ and, slightly more statistically leaning http://www.significancemagazine.org/view/index.html 
A: The Public Awareness Office of the American Mathematical Society sponsors a web based "Feature Column." The archive for this series of expository columns is available here: http://www.ams.org/samplings/feature-column/fcarc-index
A: We also have MTG Publications in Our Country.
