Former Obama Science Adviser John Holdren on the White House Science Office and Trump's Science Policy

Yesterday, ScienceInsider reported on developments at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology (OSTP), which under President Donald Trump is now dramatically smaller than it was under former President Barack Obama and without a leader. Today, we talk with physicist John Holdren, who for 8 years was Obama’s top aide on science and technology issues. He also led OSTP, becoming the office’s longest-serving director since the office was created by Congress in 1976.

Holdren is now back at Harvard University, where he is a professor of environmental policy in both the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He says he is troubled by what has happened to his office, and to science policy, under Trump. Holdren spoke with ScienceInsider about those concerns and about the role OSTP plays in supporting the president's agenda. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity....