The live shows focus on breaking multimedia stories performed on stage by writers, radio producers, photographers, filmmakers, and musicians.

[3] Pop-Up Magazine was founded in San Francisco in 2009[4] by Douglas McGray, Lauren Smith, Derek Fagerstrom,[5] Evan Ratliff, and Maili Holiman.

"[2] The first Pop-Up Magazine show took place in 2009 at the 360-seat Brava Theater in San Francisco's Mission District.

Pop-Up Magazine went on its first national tour in 2015, with stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City[7] The show toured again in the spring of 2016, before a live audience of 10,000 people, in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland.

[8] Pop-Up Magazine held its farewell tour in 2023, with stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.