Welcome to Centralia, Pennsylvania, a town with just a few residents and a wild history. Long ago, it was a bustling coal mining town, but everything changed in 1962 when a fire broke out underground. That fire still burns today and will probably continue for 250 years. 

Erika and Amelia are joined this week by David DeKok, author of Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire. He shares his theory about how the fire started and what it's like to visit Centralia today.

Find more kid-friendly Centralia history here. 

And don't forget to check out the Fish Doorbell and assist the lock keeper of Utrecht in The Netherlands in helping the fish move through the lock.

Get ready for an adventure into one of history’s greatest mysteries! In this episode, hosts Amelia and Erika take to the skies to explore the incredible life—and puzzling disappearance—of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart. Who was she? What made her such a fearless trailblazer? And what might have happened on her final flight?

Joining the show is special guest Sterling Falk from the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison, Kansas, who shares fascinating facts, behind-the-scenes stories, and kid-friendly insights about Earhart’s legacy. 

Packed with curiosity, history, and a dash of mystery, this episode invites young listeners to think like explorers, ask big questions, and imagine what it takes to chase your dreams—even when the journey gets tough.

Special thanks this week to the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. Also worth visiting in Atchison: the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, where Amelia herself once lived and the Atchison Area Visitor and Information Center, where we learned the town's rich history outside of aviation.

If you want to read more about Amelia Earhart, here are some books we think you'll enjoy:

The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray

Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History (young readers edition) by Heith O'Brien

Who Was Amelia Earhart? by Kate Boehm Jerome

20 Hours, 40 Minutes, Our Flight in the Friendship by Amelia Earhart

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1997, Anne McGinty was commissioned to compose a piece for the Montoursville High School band in memory of three band members who had died in the crash of TWA 800. It should have been just another job.

"'Tis a Gift" shared by licensing agreement with Neil A. Kjos Music Company.

Executive producer and host: Erika Grotto

Sound design and editing: Matt Grotto

Theme music courtesy of Champagne Sunday

Visit us on Instagram @survivedbypodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pamela Wood reflects on what it was like to report on a shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, after five employees were murdered in the newsroom.

Executive producer and host: Erika Grotto

Sound design and editing: Matt Grotto

Theme music courtesy of Champagne Sunday

Visit us on Instagram @survivedbypodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heidi Snow Cinader was 24 when her fiance, Michel Breistroff, died in the crash of TWA 800. As she sought to rebuild the future she'd planned for herself, she found the most comfort talking with people who had gone through similar losses. Through her efforts, ACCESS--AirCraft Casualty Emotional Support Services--came to pass. Now, her daughter Sadie has learned from her example and also uses a traumatic event in her past to help others.

Links:

http://accesshelp.org/

https://www.instagram.com/comfortkitsforkids/?hl=en

https://alysmonkeys.org/

Executive producer and host: Erika Grotto

Sound design and editing: Matt Grotto

Theme music courtesy of Champagne Sunday

Visit us on Instagram @survivedbypodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols built and planted a truck bomb outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City with the goal of inciting a revolution against the federal government. Instead, the nation united behind a city reeling from loss. And a phone call from one first lady to another began a movement that would continue for decades.

Executive producer and host: Erika Grotto

Sound design and editing: Matt Grotto

Theme music courtesy of Champagne Sunday

"Teddy Bears Picnic" from Library of Congress Jukebox collection

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On July 17, 1996, TWA 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. There were no survivors. Among the 230 on board were 16 French Club students and 5 chaperones from Montoursville High School in Pennsylvania. The town would never be the same.

In the aftermath of the crash, flowers, gifts and notes poured in from all over the world. One item, a stuffed bear sent from Oklahoma City, was just beginning its journey.

Read more:

EXPLOSION ABOARD T.W.A. FLIGHT 800: THE FRENCH CLUB;A Pennsylvania Town Asks, 'Why Us?'

Terror on Flight 800

CBS This Morning open 7-18-96

Executive producer and host: Erika Grotto

Sound design and editing: Matt Grotto

Theme music courtesy of Champagne Sunday

Visit us on Instagram @survivedbypodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.