The Right Stuff for Texas? An Interview with Terry Virts on Science-Based Leadership

Summary

In this episode of Infectious Dose, I’m joined by Terry Virts—a retired NASA astronaut, U.S. Air Force colonel, and current candidate for Congress in Texas—for a wide-ranging conversation about science, risk, and leadership.

Terry’s career has been defined by environments where ignoring evidence has immediate and often catastrophic consequences—from flying fighter jets and commanding the International Space Station to studying the failures behind the Challenger and Columbia disasters. In this conversation, we explore what happens when that same evidence-based mindset is missing from public policy.

We talk about the politicization of public health during COVID, vaccine misinformation, measles outbreaks, and why herd immunity matters—not just for individuals, but for protecting the most vulnerable. We also discuss the dismantling of scientific institutions, the erosion of trust in expertise, and how decisions that sideline data ripple outward into healthcare access, emergency preparedness, and economic stability.

The episode closes with a unique crossover moment between spaceflight and biosafety, comparing astronaut spacesuits and BSL-4 lab suits to illustrate a shared lesson: safety doesn’t come from bravado or belief—it comes from respecting reality and building systems that work when things go wrong.

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Full Transcript:

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Episode Outline

The Right Stuff for Texas: An Interview with Terry Virts on Science-Based Leadership

Why This Conversation

• Why Terry reached out to talk about leadership and science

• The shared premise: evidence matters in policy decisions

• Framing the episode as a discussion about consequences, not party labels

A Career Built on Respecting Reality

• Terry’s background as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and NASA astronaut

• Lessons from aviation and spaceflight: checklists, redundancy, and systems thinking

• What Challenger and Columbia taught us about ignoring expert warnings

When Leadership Abandons Science

• How sidelining expertise shows up in public health, climate, and infrastructure

• The cost of treating science as optional rather than foundational

• Why “belief” is not a substitute for evidence when lives are at stake

Public Health Isn’t Abstract

• COVID as a case study in misinformation and leadership failure

• Vaccine science, risk communication, and trust

• Measles resurgence and why herd immunity protects more than individuals

• How policy decisions ripple into hospitals, schools, and families

Misinformation, Institutions, and Trust

• The erosion of scientific institutions and public confidence

• Why dismantling surveillance and expertise creates long-term vulnerability

• The difference between questioning science and rejecting it

Risk, Safety, and Systems That Work

• Comparing astronaut spacesuits and BSL-4 lab suits

• Why safety comes from layered systems, not bravado

• What high-risk professions get right about preparation and accountability

Leadership, Responsibility, and Texas

• Why science-based leadership matters at the state and local level

• Public health, emergency preparedness, and community impact in Texas

• What it means to govern in reality

Closing Reflections

• Why science doesn’t care about politics

• The real-world consequences of ignoring evidence

• Encouraging informed civic engagement and critical thinking

Terry's campaign website is: https://www.terryvirts.com/

Follow Terry on social media: @AstroTerry on Insta/Twitter/Bluesky and astro_terry on Threads

Follow Heather on social media: @pathogenscribe on Insta/Twitter/Bluesky/Threads

Thanks for checking out this episode! Until next week, stay healthy, stay informed, and spread knowledge not diseases.