On the Media Presents American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA
Join On the Media’s Micah Loewinger and Eloise Blondiau in conversation with reporter Nancy Solomon for a deep dive into their reporting for OTM’s latest series - American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA.
After years of reporting on far-right militias, OTM co-host Micah Loewinger knew that extremist groups often showed up after natural disasters to recruit, fundraise, and spit-shine their public image. But it wasn’t clear why they hated FEMA so much. After digging around in right-wing media archives, it became clear that the anti-FEMA lore went back decades.
The four-part investigation examines how the agency tasked with saving America became so distrusted, despised, and defunded and, looking to the future, how the agency will be reshaped during the Trump administration.
On June 24th at 7pm, reporter Nancy Solomon will speak to Micah Loewinger and his series collaborator, OTM Senior Producer Eloise Blondiau, about the making of American Emergency, and they will be joined on stage by former FEMA official MaryAnn Tierney who will offer her expertise on the agency she worked at for more than a decade.
Micah Loewinger is co-host of WNYC’s On the Media, a nationally-syndicated public radio show that can be heard on over 400 stations across the country. He began working at On the Media in 2016, first as a producer and then On the Media’s first staff reporter.
His investigation into Zello, a walkie-talkie app used for recruitment and organizing by far-right militia groups in the lead up to January 6th, won the John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting and was featured on 60 Minutes. His story about a Ukrainian Twitch streamer's escape from war was a finalist for Third Coast's Best News Feature. His piece on a Syrian refugee camp in a Swedish Wild West theme park was a finalist for a Livingston Award. His series on the collapse of digital media was a finalist for a Mirror Award for Best Commentary.
Eloise Blondiau is Senior Producer at On the Media. For OTM, she has reported stories on the rise of historical fiction and the origins of America's white Jesus. Eloise was previously a producer on the podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church.
Nancy Solomon is a reporter who has lived in and covered New Jersey since 2001. She is a former reporter at WNYC/New York Public Radio and the host and producer of the podcast "Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery." Solomon has worked in public radio since 1995, at KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, and then as a freelancer for NPR. She has won two Peabody Awards.
MaryAnn Tierney spent 15 years with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 3. MaryAnn served in a variety of roles across FEMA including as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator (2025), Acting Deputy Administrator (2021), Acting Regional Administrator for Region 2 (2013), and Associate Administrator for Mission Support (2017). In addition to her permanent position, she is a qualified Federal Coordinating Officer (Type 1) and led one of FEMA’s five National Incident Management Assistance Teams. She deployed to several Presidentially declared disasters to support survivors and communities and has served in senior coordinating roles for the Department of Homeland Security and National Security Council including as Acting Deputy Secretary in January 2025. MaryAnn has also worked in emergency management in New York City and Philadelphia.
She has a BA from American University, a MPA from New York University, and has completed the three primary professional military education courses for General and Flag officers. MaryAnn received the DHS Secretary’s Outstanding Service Medal in 2021, the Presidential Rank Award, Distinguished Rank in 2022, and the DHS Secretary's Meritorious Service Silver Medal in 2023.
MaryAnn lives in South Philly; is an avid runner; and aspires to one day have a cooking show like Ina Garten.
