How many journalism majors did you encounter in undergrad who knew how to apply second derivatives to Physics problems? (I've given up on pop science articles - podcasts with experts interviewing experts has a much higher signal to noise ratio)
I wouldn't expect a journalist to apply second derivatives, but I would expect them to talk to physicists and accurately report what the physicists say. Of course, I have no real physics or astronomy education beyond high school, but I can recognize a textbook one-line description of Hubble's law and know that something's off when it's being attributed to a guy in 1998.
I have quite low expectations of journalists when it comes to anything technical or that requires expertise, but I do generally think highly of the Atlantic and think they are generally a lot better than average at it. I'm a disappointed in this one though.