Welcome to the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio.

My name is Casey Dreyer. I am the

chief of space policy here at the Planetary Society. I have a very nice, I think, end of year

episode here for us all. I am joined by my colleague, Jack Carelli, the director of government relations here at the

Planetary Society. And we are here to talk about something that is pretty relevant to us at this

point in time, which is a book from 1997 called Space Flight and the Myth of Presidential

Leadership, edited by Roger Launius and Howard McCurdy, two stalwart space policy

historians that we have heard on this show and we've talked about on the show.

But it's a book that's been very much in my mind as we approach the second Trump administration.

And I think it is, despite its age, has some interesting things to say, but also reveals a

certain change in approach and ideas of the role of presidential leadership since it was

published in the late 90s. Before we get to that, Jack, hello, thank you for joining me this month.

Hi, Casey. It's great to be here. You have just come back from a lot of

travel, doing a lot of work representing us. We've been busy since the election, preparing for

the incoming Congress and incoming administration. Jack, is there anything you want to tell listeners

to this show, maybe even members of the Planetary Society, about ways they can participate

sometime next year about if you have thoughts or commitments to space exploration in this country,

if you live in the U.S., what could they possibly do?

So I will say it is a very exciting time to be part of this journey of space exploration and scientific discovery

in our solar system and beyond. If this is something that is important to you, I highly,

highly, highly recommend you join us in Washington, D.C. for our day of action, March 24th,

2025. And the timing couldn't be better.

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