When the Culture Wars Came for NASA

<p>The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful ever made, has revolutionized the way we see the universe. The name was chosen for James E. Webb, a NASA administrator during the 1960s. But when doubts about his background emerged, the telescope’s name turned into a fight over homophobia.</p><p>Michael Powell, a national reporter for The Times, tells the story of Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist whose quest to end the controversy with indisputable facts only made it worse.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-powell?smid=pc-thedaily">Michael Powell</a>, a national reporter covering free speech and intellectual debate for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Dr. Oluseyi tried to refute the accusations against Mr. Webb,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/us/james-webb-telescope-gay-rights.html"> only to find himself the target of attacks</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>