The Pan Am Podcast

• Episode 59: Tania Anderson, Flying for Pan Am, Film Extra, & Life Adventurer

  Send us a textIn this episode, we’re joined by Tania Anderson, who served as a Pan Am flight attendant from 1986 to 1991, navigating a pivotal era of transition, resilience, and global adventure for the world’s most iconic airline. Today, she still flies, carrying forward the spirit of Pan Am on international charter missions, and she is usually flying on a Boeing 747!But Tania’s story reaches far beyond her years in uniform. She is an avid lifelong learned traveler and is always making connections and seeking adventure. Tania has been a Hollywood film extra on productions such as the films Catch Me if You Can and War of the Worlds, as well as, the television series The West Wing.She is the author of the powerful memoir On Butterflies’ Wings, a deeply personal journey through loss, renewal, and the healing power of human connection.In her book, Tania intertwines her Pan Am experiences with the transformative events that shaped her life, offering readers a story that is both uplifting and profoundly human.We’ll talk about Tania’s time with Pan Am, the soul of the airline’s culture, the moments in the sky that changed her, and the experiences—some beautiful, some heartbreaking—that ultimately became the heart of her book, On Butterflies’ Wings. Her book reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, there is grace, strength, and, as she writes, the chance to rise—just like a butterfly.Click here to purchase On Butterflies' Wings: An Anthology of International Escapades.She also has an exciting new project in the works for 2026 as the host of an international radio show called “The Global Gratitude Show with Tania Anderson” that will be beamed to more than 150 countries from Brushwood Media. 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 58: Top Gun Screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. and Kate Ginley: Mastering the Craft of Screenwriting

  Send us a textIn this episode, we’re joined by screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. and his student, up and coming screenwriter Kate Ginley, who is writing a screenplay about Pan Am and Tenerife.Jack is now a professor and Chair of the Writing for Screen and Television Division at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, also known as USC. But you probably already know of him from the most iconic aviation films ever made — the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, which he co-wrote with his longtime screenwriting partner, Jim Cash. Starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, Top Gun didn’t just redefine aviation movies — it became a cultural phenomenon. It inspired generations of aviators, reignited pride in flight, and set the gold standard for how aviation could be portrayed on screen.The film was also a popular hit during its run as a featured movie of Pan Am’s Theatre in the Air. Beyond the breathtaking aerial footage, Top Gun is a brilliant study in the craft of screenwriting — how character, emotion, and story structure come together to create cinematic magic.After Top Gun, Jack Epps, Jr.  and Jim Cash went on to write a series of major Hollywood hits, including Legal Eagles, The Secret of My Success, Dick Tracy, and Turner & Hooch. Today, Jack brings that same storytelling mastery to his students at USC — shaping the next generation of screenwriters and filmmakers.In our conversation, we’ll talk about Jack’s remarkable career, his insights into the art and discipline of screenwriting, the enduring legacy of Top Gun, and how Kate is carrying that storytelling spirit forward in her new screenplay about Pan Am and the tragedy at Tenerife.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 57: Steve Ford (son of President Ford), Adoptee Thuy Williams and the Legacy of Operation Babylift

  Send us a textIn this episode we are joined by two special guests, Steve Ford (the youngest son of President and Mrs. Ford) and adoptee Thuy Williams to mark the 50th anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation ordered by U.S. President Gerald R. Ford of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of Saigon in 1975. The Pan Am Museum, in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, commissioned filmmaker Dirk Braun to create the documentary short film, Operation Babylift: 50 Years Later: 1975-2025, A Celebration of the Human Spirit.Steve Ford has enjoyed a remarkable acting career spanning over 40 years, with appearances in more than 800 hours of film and television productions. He has worked on over 25 films and numerous guest-lead roles in television. Early in his career, Steve spent six years playing Andy Richards on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. His film and TV credits include Transformers, Black Hawk Down, Contact, Armageddon, Starship Troopers, Eraser, Heat, When Harry Met Sally, J.A.G., Columbo, Murder She Wrote, Happy Days, along with many others.Steve is the third and youngest son of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. He currently serves on the Board of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. Adoptee Thuy Williams was born in Ho Chi Minh City in 1970. When she became an adult, she wanted to serve the country that gave her a second chance by joining the U.S. Army as a tank mechanic. After serving for eight years, Thuy returned to her adoptive hometown of Portland, Oregon and started her own business, a construction and roofing company called Acme High Performance. She is also a missionary with One Challenge and a coach of soccer, track, and lacrosse…spending her time traveling the world, using sports to bridge the gap with traumatized people in refugee camps in third-world countries and helps these kids process trauma by using sports as a way to create friendships and smiles. Thuy is on the board the nonprofit Breaking Boundaries, which takes kids from the US to do community service projects in third-world countries. Like Steve Ford, Thuy is also motivational speaker encouraging people to make a difference in their communities that leaves a lasting legacy for generations to come. 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 56: From the CIA to the Pan Am Board Room and Changing the World Through Music

  Send us a textIn this episode we are joined by Donald Devito who worked for the Pan Am board of directors from the early 1960s until the end of the airline. Also, joining us is his son, Dr. Donald DeVito, a renowned musical educator. The senior DeVito will share stories working for the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1950s and being hired by Pan Am in the early 1960s to work for the corporate board of directors and founder Juan T. Trippe. He was on a first name basis with Mr. Trippe and coordinated the materials and presentations for board members such as aviation legend Charles Lindbergh and banker James Rockefeller, among others. His hiring by Pan Am was tied to his cryptography training in the U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency where he served in the 1950s during the Cold War in Rangoon, the Philippines and Libya. Don’s son, the junior Dr. Donald DeVito, will share his memories of traveling around the world as a Pan Am kid and how that shaped his career in education. Dr. Don is a music educator at the Rawlings Elementary Center for Fine Arts since 2018 and is an adjunct instructor in the University of Florida Online Masters in Music Education program. From 2001 to 2018 he was the music director and special education teacher at the Sidney Lanier Center, a public school in Gainesville, Florida, for students with disabilities between 3 and 22. The music programs are global in scope and linked online with universities and music programs internationally through research, cooperative music making, and professional music education organizations.  Dr. DeVito was named the 2011 National Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children.The elder Mr. DeVito, his sons, and their families live in Florida. They even have a rescue horse that lives on their farm affectionally named "Clipper" in honor of Pan Am! 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 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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