There are many topics that get a lot of press, some that are the focus of many academic papers but have not escaped into the popular press, and others that are covered in both. It is important to be able to approach these things with skepticism. Some of the ones in academic literature are so hard to read that even though they might be interesting, it would be hard for anyone outside of academia to understand. Some (like homomorphic encryption), have escaped into popular media, but without the true understanding of how inefficient they might be.