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, pilots, journalists, historians, authors, fashionistas, and aviation enthusiasts! Hosted by historian Tom Betti, the program has won the following awards: Gold 2024 & 2023 Muse Creative Awards; Gold 2024 Vega Digital Award; Silver 2023 Vega Digital Award; Gold Award from the 2023 Hear Now Palooza of the National Audio Theater Festivals; Silver 2022 Muse Creative Award; Arcturus 2022 Vega Digital Award (Podcast); 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.
The Pan Am Podcast
Episode 29: AIDS Epidemic of the 1980s, Remembering Those We Lost
In this episode we will be discussing the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and begins with a report from ABC News on the evening of December 17, 1982.
Five veteran Pan Am employees (David Hinson, Phillip Keene, Linda Freire, Becky Sprecher, and Linda Reynolds) join us to share their experience during this time period and memories of their friends and co-workers that were lost to this terrible disease.
This provides a unique and intimate look at how an American corporation, Pan Am American World Airways, navigated the uncertainty of the AIDS crisis and how affected employees were treated.
Some companies during the 1980s did not support their employees during their illness with HIV/AIDS and those people lost their jobs and healthcare. Pan Am was not among them and the airline did everything it could to support their employees during this difficult time.
December 1st has been designated World AIDS Day since 1988 and is dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS in the world and mourning those who have died of the disease.
As of 2021, AIDS has claimed the lives of over 40 million people worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s. An estimated 37 million people are living with HIV today, however, it is important to point out that through the advancement of science, HIV is a manageable disease today with anti-viral medications and most with the disease that are on these medications should be able to have normal lifespans with little complications.
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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!
