What do a baseball enthusiast, a craft beer podcast host, and a space journalist have in common? A role at Payload! Today's Pathfinder podcast features a very special guest: Payload’s very own Managing Editor, Jacqueline Feldscher.

Fresh out of college, Jacqueline aspired to become a sports reporter, but D.C. soon drew her into the worlds of policy, national security, and, fortuitously for us, space. After stints at renowned media organizations such as Politico and Defense One, she felt the irresistible pull of the startup world. Answering that call, she took the leap and joined Payload as a Senior Reporter to only quickly be promoted to Managing Editor.

A sneak peek…

Jacqueline joins Mo today to discuss a variety of key policy trends that will shape the space industry over the next few years including:

The Upcoming Presidential Election
Space Debris Regulation
Commercial Spaceflight Regulations
The Artemis Accords
The Future of Space Command HQ

Be sure to check out more of Jacqueline’s work by signing up for her weekly newsletter, Polaris.

• Chapters •

00:00 - Introduction

00:34 - Who is Jacqueline and what do you do at Payload?

02:20 - What drove your interest in journalism?

03:38 - From sports to government & national security

06:14 - Your background prior to Payload

08:57 - Why go from established media to a fledgling startup?

10:24 - Insight into your craft

12:50 - Role of media in the space industry

14:22 - What is Polaris?

16:14 - Trends shaping space policy

18:36 - Debris removal regulation roadblocks

22:57 - Artemis Accords, more bark than bite?

26:00 - What happens if SpaceX lands on Mars?

28:15 - Commercial spaceflight moratorium

31:48 - 2024 Presidential Elections

37:08 - Do you think the battle for Huntsville is over?

38:22 - Aliens?!

39:27 - Investigative journalism in the industry

41:20 - Challenges transitioning from a senior writer to an editor of a publication?

43:14 - Favorite space topic to cover?

44:23 - Views on the Kessler Syndrome

45:35 - What do you enjoy most about Payload?

46:24 - Who's the bigger baby?

46:56 - Jacqueline's beer podcast

48:34 - Advice for aspiring space journalists

• Show notes •

Sign up for Polaris! — https://polaris.payloadspace.com/

Jacqueline's socials — https://twitter.com/zeno_power

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Space Policy Trends, with Jacqueline Feldscher (Payload)

Valley of Depth