There is a school of thought (particularly prevalent in the UK) which says that 'educated' people must be able to discuss literature and politics (and maybe business, wine, food, sport etc). Equally however, it is considered quite cool (or certainly not shocking) to claim almost total ignorance of science. 'Popular science' is frequently a contradiction in terms.

Of course, issues like climate change, the Internet, genetic engineering, and health issues have started to make basic scientific understanding a 'must' but the level of discussion among even 'well-educated' people is pretty embarrassingly poor.

Macmillan Science has published some great books trying to address this. The latest is Ten Questions Science Can't Answer (Yet) by Michael Hanlon.

Books like this make a difference but in addition I'd like to point you to News at Nature. Without any dumbing down, this site allows non-scientists to discover what's happening at the cutting edge of research. It is really the most authoritative and accessible source of scientific news and fulfils the first part of Nature's two-pronged mission 'to place before the general public the grand results of Scientific Work and Scientific Discovery; and to urge the claims of Science to a more general recognition in Education and in Daily Life'. This comes from the first page of the first issue in 1869. A more recent mission statement can be found here although an editorial about it has started a bit of a flurry in the blogosphere (which incorrectly is commenting about an amended version of the 1869 statement - oh what fun we have):

First, to serve scientists through prompt publication of significant advances in any branch of science, and to provide a forum for the reporting and discussion of news and issues concerning science. Second, to ensure that the results of science are rapidly disseminated to the public throughout the world, in a fashion that conveys their significance for knowledge, culture and daily life.