Chasing Earhart

Just when you thought it was safe to stop talking about Amelia Earhart! Recorded just two days after episode thirty-seven, Scott and Forrest re-join us to discuss the latest developments in the Amelia Earhart case including the theft and recovery of Amelia's Terraplane in Los Angeles, the International Women's Day Amelia Earhart Barbie, and the paper that swept the world by storm by Dr. Richard Jantz. Join us for an un-expected continued discussion with Scott & Forrest!

Scott & Forrest have been called the 'Click and Clack of esoterica' by their listeners. Their mission is to take a look at legendary strange and unusual events from throughout history and interview people who've had close encounters with the unexplained. It was Astonishing Legends that gave Chris his model in early 2014 for what would eventually become the Chasing Earhart podcast. A hugely popular podcast focusing on the mysterious and unexplained, Astonishing Legends continues to capture the imagination and excitement of fans all over the world that are fascinated with mystery and intrigue. On the 37th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Scott and Forrest join us via Zoom from Blanket Fortiana in Los Angeles, California, for our longest discussion yet, to discuss the robustness of the Amelia Earhart disappearance case and all of the aspects that make it Astonishing!

Andy Sherrell received his B.S. degree in Ocean Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and has over 15 years of experience in the oceanographic community. As a former employee of Oceaneering International, Inc., he has worked on numerous deep-sea search and salvage operations to depths of 20,000ft. His experience includes locating and recovering downed aircraft and various other lost items for both the commercial and military industries. Andy’s work has included being first on the scene to begin searching for an airplane’s ‘black box’ to working with film crews to find and document historic shipwrecks. He enjoys working as a mission planner, operator, technician, and engineer throughout all phases of these exciting operations. On the 36th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Andy chats with us about deep sea exploration, the tools of the trade and the incredible work that the Waitt Institute has done in the search for Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan's Lockheed Electra.

“This is kind of like hidden history that I’m hoping to get out." Rob Ellos is the definition of a dedicated Amelia Earhart researcher, and he's put that dedication to good use. Over the years, Rob has become an Amelia Earhart presentation expert; giving his presentations to a variety of audiences; from kindergarten to retirees. Depending on the audience, Rob tailors his presentations by discussing Amelia's impact, legacy, and connection to children as well as the disappearance case and the Japanese capture hypothesis in unique and groundbreaking ways that leave a lasting impact on any audience that he presents to.  In the thirty-fifth episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Rob joins us via Zoom from his home in Minnesota to discuss the art of the Amelia Earhart presentation, the Japanese capture hypothesis and it's many key witnesses and artifacts and why he believes he knows what really happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan.

Rebecca Behrens lives and writes in New York City, where she also works as a copy editor. She is the author of When Audrey Met Alice, which BookPage called “a terrific work of blended realistic and historical fiction;” Summer of Lost and Found, which School Library Journal praised for its “deft writing;” and The Last Grand Adventure, which Kirkus recommends as “a quirky, heart-rending journey.”  On episode thirty-four of the Chasing Earhart podcast, and the eve of her novel's release, Rebecca joins us via Zoom to discuss "The Last Grand Adventure", and why she believes Amelia Earhart is a great fit for young adult novels.

For the first time in Chasing Earhart history, we release two episodes of the podcast on the same weekend! Episode thirty-three of the show is also a Chasing Earhart first as we welcome back project guests Dr. Tom King and Andrew McKenna of TIGHAR to recap the summer 2017 Niku expedition. Among the topics discussed are the unique twist of bringing forensic dogs to Niku, as well as Dr. Tom King's forthcoming second book, what's next for TIGHAR and the paper that everyone is talking about by Dr. Richard Jantz.

We have spoken to a lot of guests on this show in the first 31 episodes. We’ve spoken with researchers, authors, historians, and experts in aviation and aerospace. However, there is one area that has eluded us thus far. Family. While we have spoken to a lot to the extended families of Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan, and George Putnam we have never had the opportunity to have them as a Chasing Earhart project guest. Until now. Amy Kleppner is the daughter of Muriel Earhart and the niece of Amelia Earhart. She is an educator, writer, and adventurer. I suppose being an adventurer just runs in the family. On the 32nd episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Amy joins us via Zoom from her home in Vermont to discuss the impact and legacy of her mother Muriel and her aunt Amelia in one of the most special interviews that we've ever conducted.

Nicole Swinford is an author, writer, historian, videographer, and broadcaster – she is a Historyteller. Nicole's first book Amelia Earhart's Last Photo Shoot was published by The Paragon Agency in May 2015. Based on a never-before-seen film of Amelia's last photo shoot as she prepares to leave on her fatal World Flight, the book and film were featured on outlets such as Fox News Business and National Geographic, amongst others. This was followed up with Amelia Earhart's Last Flight to Hawaii in May 2016. Nicole's work also appears in The Digby Stuart War Memorial in which she writes the section "Women on the Digby Stuart Memorial." The book will be released in 2018 in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the end of the First World War. On episode thirty-one of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Nicole sits down with us via Zoom from London to discuss Amelia Earhart, her last photo shoot, the world flight and the reasons that Amelia Earhart may have been tied closer to the United States government than anyone ever thought possible.

David S. Ferriero was confirmed as 10th Archivist of the United States on November 6, 2009. Early in 2010, he committed the National Archives and Records Administration to the principles of Open Government—transparency, participation, and collaboration. To better position NARA to fulfill these goals, Mr. Ferriero initiated an agency transformation in 2010. The transformation restructured the organization and set goals to further our mission, meet the needs of those who rely on us and find new, creative ways to approach the agency's work. Openness and access drive NARA's actions in a variety of ways. The agency has embraced a number of social media tools—Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, Tumblr, and others—to reach a wider and broader audience. NARA uses this digital engagement as a two-way street. Early in his tenure, Mr. Ferriero celebrated the contributions of "citizen archivists," and he encourages public participation in identifying historical Federal records and sharing knowledge about them. In the 30th episode of the Chasing Earhart podcast, David sits down with us from Washington DC, to discuss the role the Archives play in FOIA (The Freedom of Information Act) citizen archiving and how he believes transparency is vital in the role the National Archives play for making historical information available to the American public.

Many hypothetical explanations of the disappearance and demise of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan and the Lockheed Electra aircraft with which she hoped to circumnavigate the globe have been proposed. This is another, very similar to some others, but different in that it answers one important question; how did the radio broadcasts from the Phoenix Islands originate without more evidence of the Electra crash on the islands of the region? How could the fliers and aircraft completely disappear? On episode twenty-nine of the podcast, we sit down with radar expert and project guest Tom Maxwell to discuss Amelia and Fred’s world flight, what he believes happened on the morning of July 2nd and whether or not Orona island has been hiding the holy grail of aviation for the past 80 years.

"It's impossible, but if it were possible, how could it be done?" ​With that question, Rockwell Collins engineer Tom Vinson threw his hat into the Amelia Earhart disappearance case. Working with Nauticos and alongside his fellow Rockwell Collins engineers, Tom has been responsible for some of the most groundbreaking engineering work that the Amelia Earhart disappearance case has ever seen. In episode twenty - eight of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Tom sits down with us and reflects on his work with Rockwell Collins, Nauticos, and Amelia Earhart's legacy. Giving perhaps the most emotional and impactful answer to the question "Why does the world still care about Amelia Earhart?" Tom's expertise, passion, and words will touch you in a way that few people have.

Jessica Cox is the Master of Adaptation. She believes that having the skill of adaptability is the most significant stepping stone to success and champions the mindset of infinite adaptability to break down perceived barriers! Described as a speaker “no one will ever forget," Jessica shows audiences around the globe how success is built on a culture that embraces challenges. She teaches organizations how to develop the skill of adaptability in an evolving world. Born without arms, Jessica is fascinated by the limitless ways the human body can adjust to a variety of circumstances. Jessica has utilized dormant physical traits to adapt and use her feet the way people use their hands. As she learned to conquer physical barriers, she developed mental skills that allowed her to go on to achieve the seemingly impossible. Jessica is best known for becoming the first armless pilot in aviation history. Her achievement earned her a Guinness World Record medal and has been a trending topic on Facebook and featured on tv programs like Fox and Friends, Ellen, Inside Edition, Oprah Winfrey Network, CNN, CBS Evening News, and the BBC. In Episode twenty - seven of the Chasing Earhart podcast, we chat with Jessica about how Amelia Earhart provided an example that helped allow Jessica to overcome obstacles, shatter glass ceilings and disarm her limits. SHOWNOTES www.jessicacox.com www.rightfooted.com

Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inner Circle, The Book of Fate, and nine other bestselling thrillers including The Tenth Justice, The First Counsel, The Millionaires and The President’s Shadow. In addition to his fiction, Brad is one of the only authors to ever have books on the bestseller list for Non-Fiction (History Decoded), Advice (Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter), Children’s Books (I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln) and even comic books (Justice League of America), for which he won the prestigious Eisner Award. He is also the host of Brad Meltzer’s Lost History on H2 and Brad Meltzer’s Decoded on the History Channel. The Hollywood Reporter recently put him on their list of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. For sure, it’s tough to find anyone being so successful in so many different mediums of the popular culture. But why does Brad thrive in all these different professions? His belief that ordinary people change the world. It is that core belief that runs through every one of his projects. In episode twenty - six of the Chasing Earhart podcast, Brad joins us from his book tour for "I Am Harriet Tubman" to talk with us about why he chose Amelia to kick off his hugely popular children’s series and to give us his thoughts on why the world is so fascinated by both Amelia’s life and her disappearance.

We all have pivotal moments in our lives. A moment that plants the seeds for the person that we'll become. For Amelia Earhart, that moment came when she was a little girl in Atchison, Kansas. For episode twenty-five of the Chasing Earhart podcast, we sit down with educator, author and project guest Mark Weakland to discuss "When Amelia Earhart Built a Roller Coaster." We'll discuss this single event way back from Amelia's childhood that set in motion the events that would create the biggest icon in aviation history.

For those who are in the know, and perhaps more importantly for those that aren’t, Amelia Earhart has one talent on her resume that is not widely known or circulated. Poet. Using the art of poetry to often express her most intimate thoughts, Amelia Earhart would reach generations with her words as much as her flying. On episode 24 of the Chasing Earhart podcast, we sit down with poet and author Heidi Greco to Discuss her book “Flightpaths: The Lost Journals of Amelia Earhart”. Using poetry to give us an intimate and extraordinary look at the woman herself, Heidi discusses Amelia’s life, disappearance and most intimate thoughts through a collection of poems aimed at giving the reader a brand-new way to look at Amelia the woman. The poems in this collection, presented as if written by Earhart herself, consider some of the many theories that attempt to explain her disappearance. Through logbook entries, recollections and letters, the work explores some of the various flightpaths she may have taken through the eyes and words of the woman herself.