Senator Andrew Zwicker - "Our Physicist Senator: A Passion for Fusion, Fairness, Freedom, and a Better Future"

What an honor it was to host my state senator Andrew Zwicker for this episode. Knowing how jam-packed the senator’s schedule is (I see him attending community eventsand visiting constituents non-stop!) I was amazed that he found time for our conversation.

I had always been proud to say my congressman was a rocket scientist, back when Rush Holt was the U.S. House Representative from New Jersey. And I can still brag on my local legislator because Andrew, too, is a physicist/rocket scientist! Not only is he our State Senator, but he’s also Head of Science Education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (I love it when my legislators are smarter than I am!)

We talk about the exciting world of fusion, the decades of research invested in it and its potential to solve our energy problems, (albeit not necessarily in the near term). And of course, we talk about politics.

I wondered how Andrew made the shift from science to politics, and the issues he’s passionate about. Being in a very purple district, he uses data and facts (what are those?) to find common ground with constituents from both ends of the political spectrum. From protecting our communities from federal overreach to defending the “right to read”, we had a lot to talk about! Not to mention grape “Pop Rocks”!

I came away feeling optimistic about the positive impact of state and local politics on people’s lives, and how good works on the local level will be our salvation in these crazy times!

Please join us!