Casey Dreier — Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society

<p>🚀 In this episode: Ashton Zeth sits down with Casey Dreier — Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society — joins us to dig into why the search for life should be the guiding star of U.S. space policy. Casey breaks down how advocacy actually works in Washington, how NASA’s science budget is hanging in the balance, and what space lovers can do right now to help protect the future of exploration.We cover:🌌 Search for life as policy: Why astrobiology and exploration aren’t just cool science — they are the most enduring driver of public and political support for NASA.⚖️ Politics &amp; NASA leadership: What it means that Jared Isaacman may bring energy and big expectations to the NASA Administrator role, and the real dynamics of confirmation and bipartisan support.🧠 People pleasing and political strategy: How leaders navigate both sides of the aisle — including big personalities and unexpected allies.📉 NASA Science under threat: From proposals to cut nearly half of NASA’s science funding to grassroots advocacy, we talk real numbers and real stakes. The Planetary Society’s Save NASA Science campaign has mobilized hundreds of advocates and worked with dozens of partner organizations to bring space science defenders to Capitol Hill.Planetary Society : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmJGSmpOck5Hdm9QdzZQWTg3VTQ2dE9FM0F5QXxBQ3Jtc0trOFZIOGtFZng2YjJJM3B1YXdjMThKbVBRRDlWY0dscnExVURMQlMyTmI3Q3FEMWdOQzFLLTNkMENkclY1YVhhLWRrVkZHUkJyM3ltTV81UlZFODlnYXNKMUVOOEpYMTdDSzNybWZQeDh5ZmYtRVFOZw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetary.org%2F&amp;v=BGJpfOHF77I" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.planetary.org/</a>📣 Planetary Society advocacy tools:</p><p>2025 Planetary Society Impact Report --</p><p>➡️ 🔗 <a href="https://www.planetary.org/about/our-impact/2025-impact-report" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.planetary.org/about/our-impact/2025-impact-report</a>➡️ 🔗 Save NASA Science Action Hub — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVdVbFVSbnVCaE00RW9KY3FuS3BEZDJCbHoyZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsbkIxT2thRlVJZ1I5YkZtSXpSbEh1QldKeHgzT19KQ2dTRTBnejM4ZEtmcU1UaFVZYTFNSzBOYzVvT0pBdU5fTWMzM0lBdEoxRWlWVUgzTnh1bGVpeFp0emlOR2MybDRqMGh6bmtTbEF3akxaWWotOA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetary.org%2Fsave-nasa-science&amp;v=BGJpfOHF77I" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.planetary.org/save-nasa-s...</a>➡️ 🔗 NASA Science Spending Tra