Chasing Earhart

The said it couldn't be done. They were wrong. "Chasing Earhart: The Discussion Panel" was a resounding success! From those in attendance to the over 21,000 of you that watched it online via YouTube live, you were part of the largest discussion panel on the life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart of all time. Now relive that day in episode fifty-two of the Chasing Earhart podcast! Season two of the podcast continues with the podcast version of this historic panel. Join panelists Gary LaPook, Doug Westfall, Bill Snavely, Larry Inman, Sammie Morris, Chris Williamson, Lisa Cotham, Kate Jerome, Ann Holtgren Pellegreno, Shaesta Waiz, Dr. Tom King, Astronaut Abby, Scott Philbrook, Jessica Cox, Forrest Burgess & Dick Spink as moderated by Dr. Joshua Wolf. Relive all of the discussion as we discuss Amelia's impact, legacy and disappearance in front of a live crowd during the 2018 Amelia Earhart festival in Atchison Kansas!

What really happened to Amelia Earhart? Since Earhart and her navigator disappeared during their around-the-world flight attempt in 1937, the world has searched in vain for an answer to this question. The culmination of thirteen years of research into this tantalizing mystery, The Earhart Enigma: Retracing Amelia's Last Flight brings to life Earhart's final days in an attempt to reconstruct what exactly took place. Offering candid assessments of prevailing theories about Earhart's fate, author Dave Horner marshals evidence from a variety of sources, proving that Earhart was neither lost at sea nor wrecked on Nikumaroro. Integrating information garnered from numerous interviews, Pacific Islander folklore, and US and Japanese military documents, Horner argues instead that Earhart ventured north of her intended destination in search of a place to land her Lockheed Electra. Blending drama, mystery and shocking revelations with the steady balance of an objective investigator, Horner's findings provide a definitive answer to this fascinating riddle. ​Tonight, season two of the Chasing Earhart podcast kicks off with our 51st episode; Dave calls in to discuss his book "The Earhart Enigma" the legacy of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan and why he believes that the "Earhart Enigma" has captured the imagination of the world for 81 years.

Just seven days out from "Chasing Earhart: The Discussion Panel" Chris Williamson sits down with Kaye McIntyre to discuss next weeks' landmark event, the Amelia Earhart disappearance case and his personal thoughts on the Chasing Earhart project thus far.

A special announcement from Chris Williamson & Chasing Earhart.

“Hopefully I can motivate kids to go out and try new things. Here I am at sixty-three, in a single engine aircraft, flying around the world. You can go out and do something amazing, too.” -Brian Lloyd ​Brian Lloyd is the first solo aviator to complete the historic Earhart equatorial route. Spirit has endured fierce winds, blasting sandstorms, and severe tropical weather along the equator. It has not been an easy flight, due to the long flight hours and complex logistics. On July 14th, Spirit’s engine failed momentarily at 21,000 feet over the Pacific ocean, forcing Brian Lloyd to land in New Zealand for repairs. Everywhere he went, he invited ground crew and friends to sign the airplane with a marker pen. It became a mission of outreach and goodwill. The plane’s fuselage and wings are now covered in signatures that bear witness to the huge network of support that it takes to fly around the world. At the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison Kansas, Lloyd was awarded the medal from the Ninety-Nines, the famous international organization of women pilots founded in 1929, of which Amelia Earhart was its first president. Several world records were set by Brian Lloyd and Spirit on this flight: First solo flight of the Historic Earhart Equatorial Route and first male pilot to fly the Historic Earhart Equatorial Route in a propeller aircraft. ​Tonight on this special 50th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Brian joins us via Zoom to break down and discuss his historic world flight, Project Amelia and why Amelia Earhart continues to have a lasting impact on aviation, and aviators all over the world. ​ ​

Sarah Stewart Taylor is a fiction writer and journalist who lives with her family on a farm in Vermont. Her non-fiction has been published in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and many other publications. She is the author of the Sweeney St. George mystery series, from St. Martin’s Minotaur. The first book in the series, O’ Artful Death, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. As S. S. Taylor, Sarah writes The Expeditioners series of adventure novels for middle grade readers. Tonight on the 48th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Sarah joins us via Zoom from her home in Vermont to break down and discuss her Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel "Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean" Amelia's impact and legacy and why she believes that the younger generation continue to be inspired by Amelia's courage.

Michele Albion was raised in Maine and was a history nerd from a very young age. Her first job, at fourteen, was as a docent at a 1754 fort in Augusta called Fort Western. She later worked at the Maine State Museum and attended college at the University of Maine. While earning her Master’s Degree in Museum Studies at The George Washington University, she worked in the curatorial department of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 1992, Albion was hired as Curator at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida. She became fascinated with how very active Thomas and Mina Edison were in their Florida community. After moving to New Hampshire she wrote The Florida Life of Thomas Edison, which was published in 2008. Her second, The Quotable Edison, was released in February 2011. Her third book, The Quotable Henry Ford won the Henry Ford Heritage Association Book Award at sesquicentennial of Henry Ford’s birth. The Quotable Eleanor Roosevelt released in September 2013. Tonight on the 47th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Michele joins us via Zoom to break down and discuss The Quotable Amelia Earhart, and the very compelling way that Michele chose to tell Amelia's story through the words of the legend herself.

Von Hardesty is a former curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He has written widely on aerospace history. His books include Great Aviators and Epic Flights; Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero; Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency; and Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race. On the 46th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Von joins us via Zoom to discuss Amelia Earhart's impact and legacy and the role that the Smithsonian plays in keeping that legacy alive 80 years after she disappeared.

Jay Faerber is a critically-acclaimed writer of comic books and television. He has co-created and written such titles as Elsewhere, Copperhead, Noble Causes, Dynamo 5, and Near Death at Image Comics, and has worked on such iconic titles as Green Lantern, X-Men, and Superman. He has also written for the TV series Zoo, Ringer and Star-Crossed, and the animated series Avengers Assemble. On the 45th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Jay joins us via Zoom to break down and discuss his critically-acclaimed and wildly popular Elsewhere Series starring Amelia Earhart. In this conversation, we discuss why Amelia was a perfect fit to be the star of this story, and get Jay's thoughts on Amelia's legacy and impact on pop culture in the 21st century.

After finding a previously-unknown 1932 film of Amelia Earhart at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, project guest Bill Zuk began a long odyssey across Canada, which has taken him to the places in Canada where Amelia had visited or lived. From serving in the First World War as a Nurse's Assistant in Toronto to using Newfoundland as the "jumping-off" point on her two transatlantic flights, over seven other instances of Amelia's visits to Canada have been identified, including a tuna fishing expedition in 1934 with her sister Muriel. On July 2, 1937, imagine the world's most famous woman, setting out on a groundbreaking circumnavigation of the globe, and suddenly disappearing. Amelia Earhart and her navigator were lost over the South Pacific yet, today, over 80 years later, the search for Amelia Earhart continues, with historians and researchers trying to probe the mysteries of this fascinating icon. Tonight on the 44th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast learn about her early life, the many connections to Canada and why Amelia's star has never faded, in a conversation with Bill Zuk, historian, author and filmmaker.

Candace Fleming awarded herself the Newbery Medal in fifth grade after scraping the gold sticker off the class copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond and pasting it onto her first novel—a ten-page, ten-chapter mystery called Who Done It? She’s been collecting awards (her own, not Elizabeth George Speare’s) ever since. Today, Candace is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize honored The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Russian Empire; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; and the beloved Boxes for Katje. On the 43rd episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Candace joins us via Zoom to discuss her book "Amelia Lost: The Life & Disappearance of Amelia Earhart" Amelia's impact and legacy and why the title "Amelia Lost" doesn't mean what you think it means.

After 145 days, 22 countries visited across five continents, and 32 outreach events inspiring more than 3,000 young girls and boys, Shaesta Waiz completed her global solo flight on October 4, 2017, returning to Daytona Beach International Airport to mark the completion of this historic circumnavigation for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and aviation education. At the age of 30, Shaesta is the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft. On the 42nd episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Shaesta joins us via Zoom to discuss her career thus far as an aviatrix, the role Amelia Earhart plays in the lives of women all over the world, the formation and ongoing work that Dreams Soar is engaging in on behalf of STEM and her unexpected role as an ambassador of hope for people all over the world.

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer of aviation, flying all over the world, breaking records and becoming a voice for women along the way. Among many of the questions often asked regarding Amelia's career is "How could she afford it?" How did Amelia raise the money needed to finance her groundbreaking flying career? It's a question that many have asked and few have answered. Until now. Tonight on the forty-first episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, we sit down with author and project guest Barbara Schultz to discuss her book "Endorsed by Earhart: How Amelia Financed her Flying" to discuss the many creative ways that Amelia and her husband George Putnam used to finance her flying during the golden age of aviation. From being the face of countless products to having her own fashion and luggage lines as well as a growing public speaking career, Amelia Earhart invented ways to finance her passion while showcasing her other many talents to the world.

What is the most important aspect when it comes to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan? Is it confirmation bias? How about skepticism? Is it important to be skeptical of any information that is put out there when investigating a hypothesis? How about when it comes to your own? Tonight, on the 40th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, we sit down with project guest Brian Dunning of Skeptoid to discuss the Amelia Earhart case, why the world continues to be so invested in her and Fred Noonan's fate, confirmation bias and the importance of being skeptical of your own work as well as others.

One year ago, almost to the day of this recording I sent an email to Dr. Richard Jantz of the University of Tennessee. At the time of our initial conversation, Dr. Jantz was mid-way through his anthropological research and analysis of a set of bones originally found in 1941 on then Gardner island now known as Nikumaroro Island. Originally, examined by Dr. D.W. Hoodless, and determined to be male the bones were lost and to this day have yet to be located. Fast forward to 2018, and Dr. Jantz’ comprehensive analysis of the original Hoodless report; it is Dr. Jantz who has determined that in his opinion Dr. Hoodless had it all wrong and the bones that were originally examined many years ago were in fact that of woman. A woman that Dr. Jantz believes is none other than Amelia Earhart. Tonight, on the 39th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast Dr. Jantz joins us via Zoom from his office in Tennessee do discuss and break down his paper "Amelia Earhart and the Nikumaroro Bones: A 1941 Analysis versus Modern Quantitative Techniques" in a worldwide exclusive interview. To quote from the abstract of Dr. Jantz’ paper "To address the question of whether the Nikumaroro bones match estimates of Amelia Earhart’s bone lengths, I compare Earhart’s bone lengths with the Nikumaroro bones using Mahalanobis distance. This analysis reveals that Earhart is more similar to the Nikumaroro bones than 99% of individuals in a large reference sample. This strongly supports the conclusion that the Nikumaroro bones belonged to Amelia Earhart." Is this case closed? Is the mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan solved once and for all? You be the judge.