2020 will probably be remembered as the year of COVID. But perhaps more importantly, to our collective futures, it's the year that saw the emergence of the scientist as an accepted, necessary player in public policymaking. Probably not since Sputnik and the space race have scientists and science been so visible in the halls of power.

Our guest in this week's New Thinking for a New World podcast, has long worked at the intersection of science, politics, and policy. Dr. Ali Nouri, a molecular biologist, is the President of the Federation of American Scientists.