American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA
5/1/202652 min
Just after Donald Trump's first term began, he announced that he was considering eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency — the agency that helps Americans amid unthinkable disasters. And just a month ago, Trump repeated his disdain for FEMA, declaring that he’s poised to make some big changes.
On this week’s On the Media, we present the first installment in a four-part series called American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA. In this episode, OTM co-host Micah Loewinger tells the origin story of FEMA — which initially focused less on disaster relief and more on plans to save the government from nuclear attack. The agency’s secrecy inspired wild conspiracy theories and paranoia among far-right groups, including the fear that FEMA is building camps to detain citizens and stifle political dissent. The episode culminates with a never-before-told story of a plot to stalk FEMA’s top brass in the nineties.
Further reading:
- Sound of Impact, by Adam Shaw
- Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself--While the Rest of Us Die, by Garrett M. Graff
- "FEMA and Disaster – a Look at What Worked and What Didn’t From a FEMA Insider," by Leo Bosner
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMicah Loewinger· Host0:00
Hey, it's Micah. The new series about FEMA that you're about to hear over the next four episodes of On the Media is the culmination of months of reporting and research from me and the team here. We traveled to North Carolina to meet experts and hurricane survivors. We developed original sources to bring you never before told stories and context that help explain the crisis unfolding at one of America's least understood agencies. None of this would be possible without the support of our listeners. When Congress eliminated federal funding for public media last year, it made listener support an even more important part of the equation for us. To support our show and this kind of ambitious reporting, go to onthemedia.org/donate. That's onthemedia.org/donate. Plus, when you donate, you can get our brand new On the Media jumbo tote bag. It's been a while since we've had a tote bag here at On the Media, which is kind of crazy considering we're, you know, a public radio show. So we're bringing it back, and our new one is bigger than your average run-of-the-mill tote bag. It has On the Media printed on the side, it looks sweet, and you can fit a bunch of stuff in there. So please, make a donation at onthemedia.org/donate to give right now. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our program. On to the show.
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