In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life, fame, and disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the aviator whose story is far more complicated than the bronze-statue version suggests. Born in Kansas in 1897, Earhart grew up climbing trees, hunting rats with a rifle, and pushing physical limits long before she became famous. Her first impression of airplanes was unimpressed boredom, but after World War I nursing work, a severe case of Spanish flu, and a 10-minute passenger flight in California, she became determined to fly. Chronic sinus damage made altitude painful, yet she still pursued aviation with extraordinary physical endurance.

Earhart’s fame began with a contradiction. In 1928, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air, but she admitted she had been “just baggage” while Wilmer Stultz actually piloted the plane. Instead of  ...