Science Policy IRL
Our new podcast series, Science Policy IRL, explores what science policy is and how it gets done. “Science” is often caricatured as a lone person in a lab, but the work of science is supported by a community of people who engineer its funding, goals, coordination, and dissemination. They include people in legislative offices, federal agencies, national labs, universities, the National Academies, industry, and think tanks—not to mention interest groups and lobbyists. In this series, we will explore the work of science policy by speaking to people who have built careers in it.
December 09, 2025
Bhavya Lal Charts a Future for Humans in Space
Bhavya Lal, a leader in space policy, shares the unexpected trajectory of her career. She discusses how policy and governance became her passion, how she went from writing reports to leading programs at NASA, and the big questions that drive her work.
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June 17, 2025
Neil Chilson Helps Turn Knowledge Into Benefits for Humanity
Neil Chilson, head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute, discusses what it’s like to work at a policy think tank, the questions about artificial intelligence that motivate his work, and why he is optimistic about our technological future.
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May 20, 2025
Kelvin Droegemeier Articulates a Vision for American Science
Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2019–2021, shares what it’s like to work on science policy at the state and federal levels, discusses what he sees as the pressing science policy issues of our time, and reflects on his leadership roles in academia and government.
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April 22, 2025
Taylor Spicer Empowers Scientists and Engineers to Engage Locally
Taylor Spicer, executive director of Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally, shares how her organization helps scientists and engineers get involved in local policy.
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September 24, 2024
Lav Varshney Connects AI Research, Executive Policy, and Public Service
In this installment of Science Policy IRL, host Jason Lloyd goes behind the scenes of the White House Fellowship program with Lav Varshney, associate professor of engineering, computer science, and… Read More
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July 23, 2024
Rashada Alexander Prepares the Next Generation of Science Policy Leaders
Since 1973, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship (STPF) has brought thousands of scientists and engineers into the policy world. The fellowship is a… Read More
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June 18, 2024
Brent Blevins Makes Mars Policy in Congress
In this installment of Science Policy IRL, Lisa Margonelli goes behind the scenes of congressional policymaking with Brent Blevins. Blevins is a senior congressional staffer and staff director of the… Read More
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May 21, 2024
Kei Koizumi Advises the President
In this installment of Science Policy IRL, Kei Koizumi takes us inside the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP. As the principal deputy director for policy at… Read More
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April 16, 2024
Amanda Arnold Sees the Innovation Ecosystem from a Unique Perch
In this installment of Science Policy IRL, we explore another sector of science policy: private industry. Amanda Arnold is the vice president of governmental affairs and policy at Valneva, a private… Read More
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March 12, 2024
Walter Valdivia Researches for the White House
The Science Policy IRL series pulls back the curtain on who does what in science policy and how they shaped their career path. In previous episodes we’ve looked at the cosmology of… Read More