With this episode, we approach the 4th principle of science & technology policy, the 4th fundamental idea of Vannevar Bush. The principle is simple: in funding research the government has the right to alter the organization of the recipient and yet,

It’s one thing to have principles to guide the US Government in its dealing with science and technology. It’s another thing to follow them and something more to see them work. This week George K. Thiruvathukal talks about how the National Science Found...

A good friend always says that solo acts don’t work, that a board is always smarter than a a CEO. In podcasts, the rule seems to be that the collective adds interests. Over the past year, we have created a staff to illustrate the main points of the pod...

The Third principle of governments and science. It is the most familiar and the least understood. Vannevar Bush argued that governments should do research by contract, not by building independent labs. We will look at that idea and ask how well it work...

What do we expect to learn about innovation from a government? Why did we take the podcast to Washington? And why did we take an office next to the Capitol Power Plant, other than the obvious benefits that the rents are cheaper than the tonier stuff an...

We know the answer to this question. You know the answer to it. You wouldn’t be looking at this page if you didn’t. The only questions are “How will the staff get themselves out of this mess?” and “How embarrassing will it be for them?

If you have a first principle then you have a second. This one concerns the leadership of Science Policy. We don’t require the leaders to be scientists. That would constrict our options and muddy a key idea.

The first principle of science policy concerns money, though it has ramifications that are not as obvious as they might first seem. To explore the ramifications of science policy, we talk with Peggy Kidwell of the National Museum off American History a...

This episode is a little different from our regular episodes with our regular cast. It is a short essay on Vannevar Bush, an essay about the origins of the fundamental ideas that guide how the U. S. Government deals with scientific research and scienti...

The podcast moves to our Washington offices in order to explore technology policy and how the Federal government can possibly be considered agile & innovative. Evelyn packs the office. Rohit adjusts the systems,