The Pan Am Podcast
Experience the legacy of the world’s most iconic airline, Pan American World Airways! This award-winning history and humanities program brings Pan Am’s 64-year history to life through engaging storytelling and insightful interviews from Pan Am employees, passengers, historians, authors, fashionistas, and aviation enthusiasts! Hosted by historian Tom Betti, the program has won the following awards: Platinum 2025, Gold 2024 & 2023, Silver 2022 - Muse Creative Awards; Platinum 2025, Gold 2024, Silver 2023, Arcturus 2022 - Vega Digital Awards; Gold Award from the 2023 Hear Now Palooza of the National Audio Theater Festivals; and Arcturus 2022 Vega Digital Award (Best Host). The Pan Am Podcast is brought to you by the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York and is sponsored by the generous personal support of Mr. Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres and President of the Pan Am Historical Foundation. The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and would appreciate your consideration of tax-deductible donations to support our work.
The Pan Am Podcast
Episode 7: Supersonic Transports, An Angry JFK, and Flying the Line
In this episode we will be exploring the 1960s race for the first supersonic passenger aircraft between the United States, the Soviet Union, and a British-French partnership.
Then we are joined by Becky Sprecher, a Pan Am flight attendant and co-author with Paula Helfrich of “Flying: A Novel,” a historical fiction book about Pan Am crews flying over the Pacific in the 1970s.
To purchase the book, “Flying: A Novel,” please visit the Museum’s online store: https://shop.thepanammuseum.org/products/flying-a-novel
To watch the late 1960s Boeing promotional film “You, Me, and the SST” mentioned in this episode, visit: https://youtu.be/730hKzBgu6c
Julia Cooke wrote a moving article about the incredible life of the late Paula Zoe Helfrich in Atavist Magazine: https://magazine.atavist.com/the-improbable-life-of-paula-zoe-helfrich/?fbclid=IwAR0P3krMF-nH_W1NiJOgCCewU2Z-wvrQ1tl9q-7UiL9Bx4K7K3DShmjLu-4
The mission of the Pan Am Museum Foundation is “to educate, celebrate,and inspire present and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways.”
Pan Am was a pioneer in air travel and still stands as one of the most iconic and innovative airlines in aviation history.
That legacy lives on at the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York, where you can explore the rich history of the aircrafts and individuals at the heart of the company known as The World’s Most Experienced Airline.
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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!
