Episode 41: NOAA Before Trump — America’s Gold Standard in Forecasting

Surviving Trump: With Democracy On Life Support

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What happens when the system built to warn us begins to fail? In this episode, Bella Goode unpacks NOAA's vital role in weather forecasting, public safety, and climate readiness and response. Once considered the global gold standard, NOAA has saved lives through precision, speed, and scientific leadership. But when politics, budget cuts, and coordination breakdowns take hold, even world-class systems falter. This episode offers a clear look at what NOAA is, how it worked, and what’s at stake when it doesn’t. The future of disaster response depends on keeping science in charge.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

• Why NOAA is more than weather: its critical role in disaster response, public safety, and climate adaptation
• The coordinated divisions that track storms, monitor oceans, and guide disaster response
• How NOAA became the global gold standard for weather forecasting and public safety
• The breakthrough technologies that set global forecasting benchmarks, from Doppler radar to the National Water Model
• Case studies: Hurricane Harvey and the 2020 Midwest derecho as proof the system works when supported
• How compounding strain leaves agencies’ unable to turn accurate forecasts into rapid, life-saving action

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

• NOAA
• FEMA
• National Weather Service
• National Hurricane Center
• NOAA Research
• NOAA Fisheries
• Space Weather Prediction Center
• Hurricane Weather Research Forecast Model
• NASA
• Weather-Ready Nation

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Host: Bella Goode

Bella is a former Republican turned democracy advocate raised by middle class parents in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Syracuse University and the University of Pennsylvania with a masters of business administration from Wharton and a Masters Degree in Positive Psychology.

Career wise, Bella spent 20 years with American Express in New York and 20 years as an entrepreneur. She started and sold a fitness business that grew to 180 locations worldwide.

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