Chasing Earhart

We’ve all been on a pretty incredible run lately. This little rebrand idea for the show I had about a year ago, was only supposed to be a couple of new episodes. Never in a million years did I think we’d still be going with more debuts, returning guests and new revelations. The last year has been one of the most tumultuous years in the history of this  Earhart game and I’ve learned that in this story, the twists and turns are never over.

There are very few people whom I consider to be giants in this case. And tonight’s guest is certainly no exception. He’s got dual master’s degrees in marine science and ocean engineering with a year of his education coming courtesy of Purdue University, interestingly enough and he’s used those degrees to go on to create perhaps the most impressive resume ocean exploration has ever seen. 

He worked with Jacque Cousteau on the search for the world famous Calypso, and was the operations manager for Bob Ballard’s historic Titanic discovery. And in 1999, he was also instrumental in the discovery of the Dakar - an Israeli submarine that had been missing without explanation for decades. Incidentally, that was the same year that Dana Timmer led the first deep ocean expedition in an attempt to locate Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan’s lost Electra which at that time, had been missing for 62 years. When they say it can’t be done - when they say it’s impossible, Tom Dettweiler says, “well, we’ll just see about that.” 

6 years after his debut on the show, he returns to us now to discuss the status of the white hot deep ocean search for Earhart & Noonan, the state of the case as a whole and to give us all a much needed dose of his legendary eternal optimism. And we could all use some of that right now. Fresh back from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, this….is Tom Dettweiler.

The longer this rebrand goes, the more I continue to be surprised. Years ago, I reached out to a man that was a part of my original 25. He’s perhaps the most well known name in the entire Earhart case. Some people also consider him to be a bit of a polarizing figure. When I reached out, I was a nobody - I had no contacts, no experience except my own handful of years in pre-research and I had no expectations about receiving a response. To my surprise, he reached right back out and we began a dialogue.

We’ve had our differences over the years, but to his credit, and my surprise, he’s now returned to the show after a 6 year hiatus to discuss the case for the castaway hypothesis, and his new book that is being discussed as his swan song to the Amelia Earhart story. This is a sentence I thought I’d never utter on this show again.

Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. From TIGHAR HQ in Oxford PA, this is Ric Gillespie.

One More Good Flight: The Amelia Earhart Tragedy @ Amazon

Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance @ Amazon

Have We Really Found Amelia Earhart's Bones? @ The Guardian

Did Amelia Earhart land on Gardner Island? TIGHAR explains hypothesis in-depth | LiveNOW from FOX @ YouTube

Finding Amelia with Hard Facts and Sound Science - Ric Gillespie at NEAM @ YouTube

Post Loss Radio: A Conversation with Ric Gillespie @ Chasing Earhart

Over 15 years ago now, I sat down to make a list of dream participants for what would become the Chasing Earhart project. I came up with a list of 25 names and on that list was a man who’s been associated with the search for Amelia Earhart since the first deep ocean expedition for her took place in 1999. In fact, he’s the man who led that search almost 25 years ago. In that time, every search that's included the pacific ocean near Howland, has come calling - requesting consultation on their efforts in the potential discovery of the holy grail of aviation. He’s a pilot, navigator, sailor and adventurer. And he’s a giant in the story of the search for two missing aviators, lost to history.

Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. From Mission Bay San Diego, this is Dana Timmer.

An Exploration Team Believes They Found Amelia Earhart’s Missing Plane. Here’s Why @ Amelia Earhart's Official Website

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea @ Amazon

In 2014, as this project was in pre-research, the world was fixated on an around the world flight that dominated the media and much of the aviation related conversation that year. Chief among the many reasons why was the pilot - a woman who shares a namesake with the biggest aviation icon to ever fly the skies. 

On July 11th, 2014 Amelia Rose Earhart completed her world flight without incident and touched down on the same runway in Oakland, Ca where her namesake departed 77 years earlier. 

In many ways, Amelia Mary Earhart got her second chance and returned home that day. It’s been 10 years since that historic world flight, and tonight an absolute force for aviation enters the conversation with a literal one in a million perspective. A woman that shares so many parallels, you’ll swear you’re hearing from a modern day counterpart for the biggest aviation icon of all time.

Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. This is Amelia Rose Earhart.

Learn to Love the Turbulence: “Flight lessons” on Becoming the Pilot in Command of Your Own Journey @ Amazon Signed Copies Here

2024 Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award Revealed @ Atchison Globe

Amelia Rose Earhart’s Flight Around the World and Into History @ Observer.com

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.

Amelia Earhart got her flying start in Medford @ ItemLive

Amelia Earhart and the mayor of Medford @ Universal Hub

Around Quincy, aviator Amelia Earhart was just 'Miss Amelia' @ The State Journal Register 

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.

Marine Robotics Company Hopes It Has Solved Amelia Earhart Mystery @ AirOnline

Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved by Elgen & Marie Long @ Amazon

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. 

"Amelia Earhart's relative says new sonar images could be aviator's vanished plane" @ Business Insider

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. 

Is This Amelia Earhart’s Long-Lost Plane? @ The Wall Street Journal

Ocean exploration company's possible proof of Amelia Earhart's wrecked plane nearly vanished: report @ Fox News

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.

Is This Amelia Earhart’s Long-Lost Plane? @ The Wall Street Journal

Tantalizing Theories About the Earhart Disappearance @ History

Expedition Amelia @ Disney Plus 

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. 

Letter from P. V. H. Weems to Amelia Earhart Offering Navigational Instruction @ The Smithsonian

The Chater Report @ TIGHAR's Website 

Kelly Johnson @ Linda Hall Library 

Professor Dame Sue Black @ St. John's College Oxford 

Earhart and the French Connection @ Mike Campbell's Blog