About this episode
To understand how FEMA became so distrusted, we look at its response to Hurricane Katrina – and how it stained the agency’s reputation forever.
[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger presents the second part of our investigation American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA. This week, we look at the event that shaped FEMA’s reputation perhaps more than any other: Hurricane Katrina, one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history. Experts had warned about this kind of storm for years, but when it hit the agency only had one staffer on the ground–a PR guy named Marty Bahamonde. We also hear from Superdome survivor Chavon Allen, who was celebrating her 19th birthday when the hurricane made landfall.
Further reading / watching:
- “We’re missing the economic fallout of the Iran war — just like we did with Covid,” by Bryan Walsh
- Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security, by Christopher Cooper and Robert Block
- Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time on Hulu
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