Elon Musk Is Remaking the US Space Program
On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Tim Fernholz on Elon Musk’s influence in the White House and, consequently, the US space program.

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On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us,Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.
Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.
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White House senior adviser and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025, in Washington, DC.
(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, I am joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.
Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.
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Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Public ire toward AI keeps growing as the data center boom continues to hit people’s pockets. Chris Person joins Paris Marx to discuss the soaring cost of consumer electronics, including why prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon, and how people can experiment with homespun cyberpunk tech.
Chris Person is a co-founder of Aftermath and makes Highlight Reel.
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