Earlier today, April 14, former President Barack Obama posted a 12-minute address in which he endorsed Joe Biden for president. No surprise there. And most of the address was about politics. Some of it, though, was about policy. You can’t completely decouple politics and policy, of course. But here are three short clips from Obama that I thought were appropriate for a science venue to share:

“The vast inequalities created by the new economy are easier to see now, but they existed long before this pandemic hit. Health professionals, teachers, delivery drivers, grocery clerks, cleaners—the people who truly make our economy run—they’ve always been essential. And for years, too many of the people who do the essential work of this country have been underpaid, financially stressed and given too little support.”

“We have to return the U.S. to the Paris Agreement and lead the world in reducing the pollution that causes climate change. But science tells us we have to go much further—that it’s time to for us to accelerate progress on bold, new green initiatives that make our economy a clean energy innovator, save us money and secure our children’s future.”

“Pandemics have a way of cutting through a lot of noise and spin to remind us of what is real and what is important. This crisis has reminded us that ... facts and science matter.”

—Steve Mirsky

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]