The MeidasTouch Podcast — “Former NOAA Leader Monica Medina Issues Major Warning”

Date: October 12, 2025
Guest: Monica Medina, Former Assistant Secretary of State & Former Principal Deputy Under Secretary at NOAA

Episode Overview

This episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, hosted by Ben Meiselas, centers on the alarming impact of the Trump administration’s Project 2025 plan on critical federal infrastructure, with a special focus on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Monica Medina, a high-ranking former NOAA and State Department leader, joins to deliver an urgent warning about the systematic dismantling of America’s weather and environmental services. The conversation spans international repercussions, the human toll, the importance of science-driven government, and the deep dangers posed by politicization and disinformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Project 2025 and the Dismantling of NOAA

• [00:40–05:14]
  • Ben introduces the Republican Project 2025 plan, describing it as a “detailed plan for how to dismantle our federal infrastructure,” specifically citing the targeting of NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
    • “Here we are right now. Trump’s ripped apart the NOAA, he’s ripping apart FEMA, he’s ripping apart all of these critical agencies...” — Ben [02:37]
  • The stakes: weather forecasting and disaster response cutbacks translate into real human costs, often ignored by mainstream media.

2. The Critical Role of NOAA in National Security & Daily Life

• [05:14–07:02] Monica Medina’s Opening, Why NOAA Matters
  • Medina emphasizes NOAA’s vital function in providing up-to-the-minute weather data that keeps Americans safe, supports the economy, makes transportation and farming possible, and helps set fair insurance rates.
    • “What the Trump administration is doing is absolutely gutting one of the nation’s best little engines of progress and one of the government’s most effective tools at keeping our country and Americans every day safe...” — Monica Medina [05:18]
  • She paints a vivid picture of NOAA’s workforce: 10,000 employees embedded nationwide, “not bureaucrats sitting in some tower,” but dedicated public servants.

3. Global Impacts: America Ceding Leadership

• [07:02–10:15] Loss of International Leadership & Cooperation
  • American forecasting depends on a global exchange of data; cutting NOAA not only weakens domestic preparedness but leaves the US dependent on European and other foreign services.
    • “We will be more and more dependent on... European satellites and their forecasts, but we aren’t paying for them and we’re not cooperating and we’re not providing them data. So, we’re kind of letting down the rest of the world...” — Monica Medina [08:03]
  • Medina warns that this creates an opening for China to eclipse US capabilities, mirroring their approaches in other high-tech sectors.
    • “We have always had a better weather forecasting capability than the Chinese, but the minute we start to degrade ours, they’re going to continue to invest... This is going to be just another place where we lose our edge.” — Monica Medina [09:13]

4. Human Toll: Staff Cuts, Politicization, and Real-World Tragedies

• [10:15–16:49] The Stories Behind the Services
  • Medina recounts the real-life effects of staff shortages, including the absence of pivotal “meteorologists in charge” during recent deadly storms in Texas, which contributed to lapses in emergency communication and local response.
    • “We lose the connective tissue that is a key part of our social fabric, our safety net, the way that we respond to these disasters as a community.” — Monica Medina [12:54]
  • The surge in climate-driven disasters makes these cuts especially reckless.
    • “The very time when we should be increasing our investment and doing more to understand these bigger forces in the weather that are around us, we are cutting back and putting ourselves in a much more vulnerable position...” — Monica Medina [15:48]
  • Staff demoralization and high turnover accelerate the crisis, and “private weather services all depend on the government’s forecast in order to make their beautiful, you know, forecast that you get on your phone every day.” [16:42]

5. Constitutional Duty, Disinformation, and Erosion of Public Trust

• [16:49–21:14] Wider Consequences
  • Ben reminds listeners that Congressional duty to “advance the sciences” is part of America’s founding DNA, now being abandoned.
  • Medina’s deepest concern is disinformation, the deliberate spread of climate change denial, and the politicization of weather itself.
    • “What worries me the most is actually the disinformation... the fact that they say climate change is a hoax... It erodes the public’s confidence in those very forecasts that have never been politicized before, that have always just been based on the science and our data.” — Monica Medina [18:43]
  • She highlights dangerous conspiracies, like claims from members of Congress that the government targets specific areas with harmful weather, calling this “insane” and “just not true.”
  • The result is “an erosion in confidence in science, in government that to me, is tragic and will take a long time to rebuild.” [20:50]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Project 2025’s Threat:
  “It’s tragic. A government agency like NOAA... are just recklessly and chaotically cutting the agency. And it’s just tragic because we will have a hard time putting it all back together again.” — Monica Medina [06:18]

• Loss of Global Leadership:
  “The minute we start to degrade ours, they’re going to continue to invest... This is going to be just another place where we lose our edge.” — Monica Medina [09:13]

• The Human Element:
  “We lose the connective tissue that is a key part of our social fabric, our safety net...” — Monica Medina [12:54]

• Science as a Constitutional Mandate:
  “It is to advance the sciences. It was put there literally... this was recognized as how important it was then. And now it seems like we’ve taken a giant 250 year step backwards.” — Ben Meiselas [16:49]

• Disinformation as Existential Risk:
  “That’s what worries me the most, because it erodes the public’s confidence in those very forecasts that have never been politicized before, that have always just been based on the science and our data...” — Monica Medina [18:47] “The idea that now people are putting out disinformation about our ability to modify the weather in order to make people afraid and to discount or ignore the good warnings that they get... that is the essential function of government, which is to keep people safe from harm that they can’t really deal with as individuals.” — Monica Medina [19:44]

Important Timestamps

• Project 2025 Introduction & Context: [00:40–02:05]
• Opening: Why is NOAA Being Cut and What’s at Stake? [05:14–07:02]
• Global Implications of NOAA Reduction [07:02–10:15]
• Real-World Impact of Personnel Cuts & Recent Storms [11:31–16:49]
• Constitutional Duty & Medina’s Closing Warning [16:49–21:14]

Tone & Language

The host and guest are direct, urgent, and passionate, punctuating warnings with data, vivid stories, and sharp critique of politicization and apathy. Despite the gravity, the conversation features clear, accessible language aimed at mobilizing listeners into awareness and action.

Conclusion & Call to Action

Monica Medina closes with a strong call to recognize and resist the erosion of science, government trust, and America’s safety net, urging support for science-based policy and greater civic engagement. Ben thanks Monica, plugging her podcast “Scientista,” and underscores the need to “promote science and promote everything you’re doing.” [21:14]

Recommended for listeners wanting a comprehensive, real-world, and expert breakdown of the stakes facing America’s environmental and weather infrastructure under current political pressures, this episode underscores why defending science and global cooperation is an American—not partisan—imperative.