Pathfinder

Pathfinder #0029, with Tess Hatch and Rachael Zisk

Pathfinder Ep. 0029 cover art, featuring Rachael Zisk and Tess Hatch

We’re doing things a little differently this week. Ryan’s taking a step back from his podcast-hosting duties so you can get to know another member of the Payload media machine.

Actually, we’re doing things very differently. Today’s episode isn’t a Payload-on-Payload interview. Instead, we brought in a guest host.  

The interviewer: Tess Hatch is a former aerospace engineer and current partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, where she invests in all things deep tech with a particular focus on the space industry. She’s backed industry-leading space companies like Spire Global ($SPIR) and Rocket Lab ($RKLB). Today, Tess is coming for Ryan’s job at the helm of Pathfinder.

The interviewee: Payload’s own Rachael Zisk. Rachael joined the Payload team as our fourth employee in the early days of the daily newsletter and has been working to shape our coverage of the space industry ever since. She’s also the author of Parallax, Payload’s weekly newsletter covering all things space science.

A sneak peek…

This week’s episode runs the gamut from the inner workings of Payload to musings on the future of the space industry. Here’s some of what you can expect from today’s episode:

  • Rachael’s roots in storytelling 
  • The duck boat photographer to science writer pipeline
  • Joining Payload as employee #4
  • The highs and lows of the daily newsletter biz
  • Two key ways to determine the success of a Payload story
  • The orbital debris dilemma…and is it an existential problem in space?
  • Predictions and hot takes for the coming year of spaceflight

…plus who Rachael would bring to space, the rocket she would take, and what her next Payload deep dive might cover.

Where to listen 

🔊 Apple 

📺 YouTube 

🎧 Spotify

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