One of my very favorite parts of the rebrand for this show has been the flood of new voices that we’ve been able to bring into the ongoing conversation regarding the life, legacy and disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Over the years, a lot of attention has been paid to AE’s upbringing in Atchison, Kansas - and for good reason. Every year, thousands and thousands of visitors flock to the beautiful Earhart home positioned on the Missouri River that served as home base during Amelia’s early years. If Atchison helped form Amelia, the girl, then 76 Brooks Street in West Medford Massachusetts, helped form Amelia the legend. And that is where tonight’s guest enters the chase.  For over 15 years now, Margie Arnold has been studying the life and legacy of Amelia Earhart with a recent particular interest in the home AE was living in, when her life and aviation history changed forever. Tonight, we shine the spotlight on a period of Amelia’s life that will shape how you’ll see her, in more ways than one.  You’re all about to take part in a master class on the legacy of Amelia Earhart in one of the most passionate debuts this show has ever seen.  Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. This is Margie Arnold. LINKS

“It is interesting to note that because of Earhart and Noonan’s particular course, they did cross local midnight on their flight path causing the local date to move forward one day and, for several hours, the pair was alive on July 3rd – one day after they officially disappeared.” Over the last few months of recording this show, I’ve started hearing from dozens of people either by email or by phone that have all been asking me to check out a blog that’s flown under the radar of constant Earhart sites I scour on a regular basis. Old school pilots, navigators, HAM radio operators, people with extensive military and government backgrounds have all emailed, called, and praised her work and her approach. Now tonight, she’s finally arrived. Her name is Liz Smith. Remember that name. Because after tonight, you’ll never forget it. Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. This is Liz Smith. LINKS

You know, anytime I get the chance to sit down and record another conversation for this show, I consider it an honor. I try to never forget why I’m doing this. The reasons are very important to me.  In all the conversations we’ve had for this show, we’ve only ever had one of Amelia’s family members as a guest - that was back in 2018 when Amy Kleppner - daughter of Muriel Earhart Morrissey and the niece of Amelia Earhart appeared on the show to talk about the incredible lives of both Amelia and her sister Muriel. Tonight, I’m proud to say that another of Amelia’s family has finally arrived.  Bram Kleppner is Amelia Earhart’s great nephew and he’s also become the spokesperson for the Earhart family’s position when it comes to everything from Amelia’s legacy to the many disappearance theories that often crop up in the news - most recently, the potential discovery of the world’s most famous missing aircraft by Tony Romeo and Deep Sea Vision.  One of the most asked questions I get is for me to speculate on how AE’s family might feel about a given story, idea or piece of information. Well, why hear it from me? I’ve got a better idea. This is Bram Kleppner.  LINKS

About 2 years ago, my book Rabbit Hole: The Vanishing of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan was released, and I could only think of one place to launch it - Atchison Kansas, during the Amelia Earhart festival. It remains as one of my very favorite moments of this entire crazy ride. I knew then, that a deep ocean search was about to take place somewhere off the coast of Howland island - a destination that has now become both ground zero for crash and sink, and this investigation as a whole. While we were there, we met tonight’s guest.  Two weeks ago, Deep Sea Vision, and its CEO Tony Romeo produced a sonar image of what appears to be a mysterious object 16,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific - and that image has the entire planet talking.  Tonight, in a conversation that will rattle this story to its core, Tony makes his Chasing Earhart debut to discuss crash and sink, the legacy of Amelia Earhart and a piece of evidence that could spell the beginning of the end for this story and stop the chase, forever.  The wait is over. The time is now. Welcome back to the Chasing Earhart podcast. This is Tony Romeo.  LINKS

Of all the people I’ve met during my experience running the Chasing Earhart project, there is one person that you may be surprised to know has never been on this show, despite how close we’ve become over the years. We’re about to right that wrong, right now.  In 2019, when I reached out to her, she had no iron in this fire, and very little knowledge on just how big this story had become. But she dove head first into it anyway, working alongside me on a project that would become the foundational season for our show, Vanished. Listeners of that show will be very familiar with who’s about to enter the chat. And if you’ve never heard her before, get ready. Because Jennifer Taylor is about to hit you - HARD.  Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. This is Jen Taylor. LINKS

Several years ago, during the first season of Vanished, I met a historian and researcher out of the UK that immediately caught my interest. Tonight, you’ll see why. We’ve got a very kindred  fascination and love for the Earhart story, and some of the behind the scenes work he’s been quietly doing is the exact representation of what historical research should look like.  Chris Hare is a digger. And tonight, we’re all about to get a lesson on how a modern day researcher investigates a monster of a case. Here’s a little tease. It begins, like all things with, how you see it.  Tonight, we’re across the pond in the UK. And we’re bringing the bombshells. This is Chris Hare.  LINKS 

SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING

Jill Meyers is a public speaker, mentor, aerospace engineer and so much more. You can learn more about her and tonight's conversation at: LINKS & SHOW NOTES

For years, I’ve been discussing a dream expedition that would bring some of this case's brightest minds together in a collaboration that could rewrite history forever.  Sometimes, when you’re investigating a scene like the one unfolding in Buka, you get lucky enough to pull an ace. And boy have we ever got one for you tonight.  Dick Spink is one of my very favorite people in all the Earhart story. He’s a real life Indiana Jones - a now retired high school teacher that has spent his time out of the classroom, running investigative trips all over the Marshall Islands. He’s one of the most connected people in this entire story, the face of History’s Lost Evidence, among many others, and one of the loudest voices in the room when it comes to the Japanese Capture Hypothesis.  But what you don’t know is, since they originally met in 2018, Dick Spink and Bill Snavely have been talking.  We’ve been name dropping his involvement for months. Now, tonight, he makes it Official. This, is Dick Spink. LINKS 

SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING

If you know me, you know how much I adore the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison Kansas. It’s a place that’s special to me for many reasons. Back in 2017, my wife and I brought our production for the Chasing Earhart documentary there, and we were welcomed with open arms. So much so, that we were allowed to shoot over 20 interview segments there over the course of that year’s Amelia Earhart Festival. At the time, the museum was in the shadow of its recently retired director and caretaker Lousie Foudary, for whom tonight’s conversation is lovingly dedicated. Six years later, I have the honor of sitting down with Executive Director for the museum Heather Roesch, who in my opinion, is doing a wonderful job of carrying the legacies of not one woman, but two.  Tonight is a conversation 6 years in the making. This is Heather Roesch of the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.  LINKS

You know what’s really wild?  You never know when to stop pursuing something. When it seems hopeless - sometimes, you get a hand from a source you never dreamed possible. The following audio is only possible because of the folks over at Pratt & Whitney’s Dependable Engines Association who were kind enough to invite project guest Bill Snavely to discuss the latest discoveries out at Buka - and a mysterious crash site that’s become the center of the Amelia Earhart Investigation.  You’ve been asking me for years. Now, in a very special episode of the show, all that was discovered during Buka 2 is finally revealed.  This is myself and Bill Snavely in a conversation with Pratt & Whitney’s Dependable Engines Association. LINKS