The Pan Am Podcast

• Episode 55: Yvonne Conde, Operation Pedro Pan and the Untold Exodus of 14,048 Cuban Children

  Send us a textIn 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 their parents for a better future in America in the early 1960s. Yvonne will also share her stories of working for Pan Am during her 18 years in the air as a flight attendant. Her father, Pedro Conde, worked for Pan American in Havana from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Yvonne is a freelance writer based in New York City and has written for Latina Magazine, Crain’s, Smithsonian, and Hispanic Business Magazine and has been featured on the NewHour with Jim Lehrer and National Public Radio. Operation Pedro Pan facilitated the migration of Cuban children to the United States as a response to the Cuban Revolution and the subsequent fear among Cuban families that their parental rights would be revoked and their children would be indoctrinated into communism.Under the operation, more than 14,000 Cuban children, primarily between the ages of 6 and 18, were sent to the U.S. without their parents. The children were placed in foster homes, orphanages, and other institutions, with the intention of reuniting them with their families later. The operation ended during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 that put the United States and the Soviet Union on the brink of nuclear war. Support the show Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!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!

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• Episode 54: A Trip to Japan and Making Connections in the Air

  Send us a textIn 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 awarded the 2025 Platinum Muse Creative Award and the 2025 Platinum Vega Digital Award. To learn more, read Tom's interview with Muse staff about this incredible achievement: Tom Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan AmOn April 24, 2025, the Pan Am Museum, in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, hosted an event in Garden City, NY celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation, ordered by President Ford, of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of Saigon in 1975. In addition, on May 9, 2025 the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum hosted an event in Grand Rapids, MI to celebrate the anniversary. To mark the occasion, the three organizations produced a short documentary film by Dirk Braun that premiered at both events. You can view this film on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9pNjUZwXb4There’s also an officially branded Pan Am coffee available from Expedition Roasters Coffee Company that was recently released. There are two kinds available: Organic Guatemalan Single Origin which is more of a medium roast and Sumatra Single-Origin from Indonesia which is more of a dark roast. Here is the link to purchase Pan Am coffee:https://expeditionroasters.com/collections/pan-amSupport the show Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!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!

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• Episode 53: Pan Am Returns to the Skies with Gary Bartelings

  Send us a textIn 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 June 16, 2025 to June 28, 2025, Pan Am returns to the sky for an exclusive journey for 50 intrepid voyagers aboard a luxurious and modern private 757 aircraft with Pan Am livery! This exclusive trip, called Tracing the Transatlantic, will follow some of Pan Am’s original flying boat routes across the Atlantic Ocean with stops in New York, Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London and Foynes. For more information, visit criteriontravel.com/panam Founded in 2015, Bartelings was incorporated to provide discerning travel companies access to extensive expertise and knowledge to create incredible and exclusive trips for customers. Their aim is to create unique experiences throughout the world allowing guests to connect with other cultures, visit incredible sights –both natural and man-made– and to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world we all inhabit.Our guest Gary Bartelings grew up in the Netherlands. His original career plan was to study at the Hotel School, however, he changed his mind and wanted to broaden his education to tourism. Gary started his travel career in 1987 with Qantas Airways in Amsterdam after completing his education. During his career he has been involved in everything from telephone sales to aircraft dispatch, brochure production to contract negotiation, crisis management to tour managing, public speaking to PR relationships and so on.Having had the privilege to travel extensively around the world he believes there is no better way to connect people and cultures than through understanding, acceptance and respect. The best way to achieve that is to travel, to visit, to interact, to learn. Gary has a passion for travel in all it shapes and forms, he has explored Asia donning a backpack, drove a classic car through Southern India to raise money for charity and at the other end of the scale visited famous monuments of humanity traveling by private jet and each experience  strengthens his appreciation of the world we live in. Support the show Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!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!

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• Episode 52: George Takei Remembers Gene Roddenberry (Pan Am Pilot, 1945-1948)

  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 Roddenberry philosophy, memories of living in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, working in Hollywood as an actor, and how he became a pop culture icon. His latest book, Rhymes With Takei, will be released on June 17, 2025 and can be pre-ordered. In the early hours of June 19, 1947, Pan Am Clipper Eclipse, a Lockheed L-049 Constellation, crashed in the Syrian desert killing 15 people. Third Officer Gene Roddenberry was traveling as a passenger and became the senior officer after the flight crew was killed. He took charge of the crash site, organized and helped survivors, and sought help. After they were rescued, he decided he didn't want to fly anymore and resigned from Pan Am almost a year later on May 15, 1948 to pursue his dream of writing, particularly for the new medium of television. For more information on Roddenberry's life, we encourage you to read Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry by David Alexander. The audio clips of Roddenberry used in this episode are from a rare 1988 interview.Support the show Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!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!

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• Episode 51: Crossing the Atlantic in 1939 and Making History Once More

  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, Irish Coffee, and a Hollywood Star and Episode 8: A Lifetime of Romantic Adventure... From Flying Boats to Jumbo Jets after listening to this installment. On March 29, 1939, the Yankee Clipper made history and took off from Baltimore to Europe under the command of Captain Harold Gray. On this inspection flight, the clipper traveled to the Azores, Lisbon, Marseilles, Southampton, and Foynes and back. On June 17, 1939, Pan American arranged for a special flight for 16 members of the press departing from Port Washington on the Atlantic Clipper; a brilliant marketing and public relations strategy for the airline. This press flight is historically and culturally significant because the radio reporters on board reported live at an altitude of 10,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean to listeners all over the country tuned into their radio sets with great interest.The cost for a one-way ticket to Europe was $375 (that’s about $8,500 in 2024 money adjusted for inflation) or $675 roundtrip (which is over $15,000 today).There are no original Boeing 314 flying boats in existence today. However, the Foynes Flying Boat Museum in Foynes, Ireland ahs an impressive full-scale replica of the Yankee Clipper you can tour with every detail accurately recreated. The Records of Pan American World Airways Inc. are part of the Special Collections of the Richter Library of the University of Miami. Listen to the Mid Century Living podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Support the show Visit Us for more Pan Am History! Support the Podcast! Donate to the Museum! Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear! Become a Member! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!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!

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