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PODCAST

The Pan Am Podcast

Pan Am Museum Foundation

Experience the legacy of the world’s most iconic airline, Pan American World Airways! This program brings Pan Am’s 64-year history to life through engaging storytelling and insightful interviews with a wide range of voices connected to Pan Am’s story. Historian Tom Betti created and hosted Seasons 1 through 5, a celebrated run of history and humanities storytelling that earned numerous Muse Creative and Vega Digital awards, and the podcast continues in Season 6 with new hosts and a new creative

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All Episodes

50:56

Episode 68: Pan Am Flight 73: 40 Years Later —...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/09/05

Send us Fan Mail A Special 40th Anniversary Commemorative Episode of the Pan Am Podcast On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was preparing to depart Karachi, Pakistan, when four armed terrorists stormed the aircraft, beginning a harrowing 16-hour siege that would forever change the lives of the passengers and crew aboard. Forty years later, the Pan Am Museum Foundation remembers the 20 people who lost their lives and honors the extraordinary courage of the young, India-based Pan Am flight a...

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24:33

Episode 67: A New Chapter Begins: Welcome Ken...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/07/11

Send us Fan Mail The Pan Am Podcast enters an exciting new chapter as we welcome Ken Andersen as the new host of the program. Since its launch, the Pan Am Podcast has become one of the Pan Am Museum Foundation's most successful educational initiatives, sharing the remarkable stories of the people, aircraft, destinations, and historic events that made Pan American World Airways one of the most influential companies of the twentieth century. With listeners in more than 170 countries, the podcas...

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99:40

Episode 66: A Farewell to Tom Betti

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/05/31

Send us Fan Mail In this final episode of Season Five, host and producer Tom Betti reflects on five years of preserving the stories of Pan Am, answers the question he has asked guests since the very first episode, and says farewell to the listeners who made this program what it became. After five years, 66 episodes, more than 95 hours of history and humanities content, and over 200,000 downloads in more than 180 countries, this is Tom's final episode. This special retrospective features six g...

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93:42

Episode 65: A Ticket Counter in London with Bill and...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/05/28

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we are joined by Admiral William O. Studeman, United States Navy, retired, and his wife Diane, former Pan Am stewardess and one of the most gracious ambassadors the airline ever had. Their connection to Pan Am runs deeper than most. Diane grew up in Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire, England. The navy and aviation were not just a backdrop to her childhood but its very fabric. She joined Pan Am as a stewardess in the early 1960s, at what many would argue was the cul...

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71:45

Episode 64: The Best Job We Ever Had with Florette...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/05/21

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we are joined by two women who gave the best years of their careers to Pan American World Airways, and who have remained close friends for more than four decades since the airline closed its doors. Florette H. Vassall was born in New York City, the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Panama. Aviation was a constant in her life from the very beginning. Her father was passionate about flight, and as a young girl, Florette watched Pan Am's famous flying boats c...

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99:44

Episode 63: Operation Babylift: Carried Home and the...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/04/19

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Tom Betti is joined by three special guests - Pan Am flight attendant Karen Walker Ryan and adoptees Carol Mason and Dr. Matt Steiner - to mark the 51st anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation ordered by U.S. President Gerald R. Ford of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of Saigon in 1975. But this episode is about more than history. It is about what happens to people after history moves through them. It is about memory, identity,...

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64:34

Episode 62: Pan Am and the Art of Storytelling with...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we are joined by Al Gilbert, known by his friends and family as Ace, a former Pan Am reservations employee and the author of Pan Am Stories: You Can't Make This Up. Al's career at Pan Am gave him a front-row seat to one of the most remarkable chapters in aviation history, and the stories he collected along the way are as funny, surprising, and human as the airline itself. After leaving Pan Am, Al channeled decades of memories and experiences into his book, a ...

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120:09

Episode 61: The Aviator and the Showman - Amelia...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/03/22

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we are joined by Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a bestselling author, journalist, and adjunct professor at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. A member of the Explorers Club, her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. She is the author of The Stowaway, the true story of a teenager who stowed away on a ship bound for Antarctica during the Jazz Age, and The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and t...

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125:04

Episode 60: Cheryl Boone Isaacs – A Journey from Pan...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2026/02/02

Send us a text In this episode, we are joined by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a former Pan Am stewardess from 1972 to 1974 who went on to build an extraordinary career in Hollywood. Her journey is a remarkable one that spans aviation, Hollywood, and film education. She began her professional career as a Pan Am stewardess from 1972 to 1974, an experience that gave her a global perspective and a deep appreciation for storytelling and human connection. After leaving Pan Am, Cheryl moved to San Fra...

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61:40

Episode 59: Tania Anderson, Flying for Pan Am, Film...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/12/03

Send us a text In this episode, we’re joined by Tania Anderson, who served as a Pan Am flight attendant from 1986 to 1991, navigating a pivotal era of transition, resilience, and global adventure for the world’s most iconic airline. Today, she still flies, carrying forward the spirit of Pan Am on international charter missions, and she is usually flying on a Boeing 747! But Tania’s story reaches far beyond her years in uniform. She is an avid lifelong learned traveler and is always maki...

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70:52

Episode 58: Top Gun Screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. and...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/10/26

Send us a text In this episode, we’re joined by screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. and his student, up and coming screenwriter Kate Ginley, who is writing a screenplay about Pan Am and Tenerife. Jack is now a professor and Chair of the Writing for Screen and Television Division at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, also known as USC. But you probably already know of him from the most iconic aviation films ever made — the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, which he co-wrot...

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83:19

Episode 57: Steve Ford (son of President Ford),...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/09/12

Send us a text In this episode we are joined by two special guests, Steve Ford (the youngest son of President and Mrs. Ford) and adoptee Thuy Williams to mark the 50th anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation ordered by U.S. President Gerald R. Ford of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of Saigon in 1975. The Pan Am Museum, in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, commissioned filmmake...

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63:26

Episode 56: From the CIA to the Pan Am Board Room and...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/08/11

Send us a text In this episode we are joined by Donald Devito who worked for the Pan Am board of directors from the early 1960s until the end of the airline. Also, joining us is his son, Dr. Donald DeVito, a renowned musical educator. The senior DeVito will share stories working for the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1950s and being hired by Pan Am in the early 1960s to work for the corporate board of directors and founder Juan T. Trippe. He was on a first name basis with Mr. Trippe...

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70:38

Episode 55: Yvonne Conde, Operation Pedro Pan and the...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/06/30

Send us a text In this episode we explore Operation Pedro Pan, the clandestine operation of the U.S. Government, the Catholic Church and Pan American World Airways to relocate over 14,000 children out of Cuba to the United States between 1960 and 1962. Our guest for this episode is Pan Am veteran Yvonne Conde who wrote the book Operation Pedro Pan: The Untold Exodus of 14,048 Cuban Children. She will share many personal insights on being one of the many children that were sent away by t...

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76:39

Episode 54: A Trip to Japan and Making Connections in...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/05/29

Send us a text In this episode, Host Tom Betti shares insights on his recent trip to Japan where he met Charlie, a purser with United Airlines, on his inbound flight to Tokyo and on his outbound flight from Osaka met United flight attendants Leslie and Lynn who both worked for Pan Am from 1977 to 1986 until the Pacific Division was sold to United. Tom also shares some personal travel stories and gives many updates about this program and the Pan Am Museum! The Pan Am Podcast was recently...

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67:21

Episode 53: Pan Am Returns to the Skies with Gary...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/03/21

Send us a text In this episode we are joined by Gary Bartelings, a supporter of the Pan Am Museum and founder and managing director of Bartelings, a company dedicated to unique travel experiences by private jet. We also welcome back to the program our good friend Becky Sprecher. She has been a frequent guest and contributor to this podcast. Becky brings great history to this episode about the flying boats of 1930s and the insight into Pan Am’s legendary passenger service. From Jun...

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79:11

Episode 52: George Takei Remembers Gene Roddenberry...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2025/01/07

Send us a textIn this episode we learn about the life of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, who was a pilot for Pan Am from 1945 to 1948. Then we will be joined by a very special guest, George Takei, a legendary actor, NY Times Best Selling author, and activist. He knew “Star Trek” creator and Pan Am pilot Gene Roddenberry well for over 25 years playing Mr. Sulu in the 1966 television show “Star Trek” and six subsequent feature films. George will share his personal insights into the Rodden...

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109:40

Episode 51: Crossing the Atlantic in 1939 and Making...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2024/11/30

Send us a textIn this episode we explore the first transatlantic passenger flights of Pan Am’s Boeing 314 flying boats in the late 1930s and we welcome back to the program Pan Am flight attendant and author Becky Sprecher who will share her insights -and family history– of these flying clippers!Becky was our guest in Episode 7: Flying the Line and Episode 29 AIDS Epidemic of the 1980s, Remembering Those We Lost. To learn more about Pan Am’s flying boats, listen to Episode 3: Flying Boats, Iri...

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76:40

Episode 50: Kathleen Clair, Juan T. Trippe's...

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2024/09/07

Send us a textIn this episode we explore the life of Kathleen Clair, executive assistant to Pan Am founder and chairman Juan T. Trippe for over 32 years from 1948 to 1980. We will also hear a personal and private memories of Mr. Trippe and Kathleen. We are joined by two special guests that knew Kathleen well: Wendy Trippe Barr, the granddaughter of Juan and Betty Trippe and John Luetich, a board member of the Pan Am Museum Foundation, Museum Curator, and the son of Mary Luetich who worke...

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81:37

Episode 49: Edith Head, A Hollywood Legend

The Pan Am Podcast ·

2024/07/21

Send us a Text Message.In this episode we explore the life of legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head who designed uniforms for Pan American World Airways introduced in 1975 and used until the early 1980s. Then we will be joined by actor Susan Claassen who plays the Hollywood legend in her one-woman production called A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD. In her storied career in Hollywood, Edith Head won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, makin...

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