Travel in the “Mad Men” era: Stewardess work at the dawn of the Jet Age

“Stewardesses were instructed to not serve caffeinated beverages or alcohol during a hijacking, and were encouraged to use their femininity to manipulate the hijackers.” – Julia Cooke

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Julia talk about how Julia came to write a book about international airline stewardesses in the golden age of jet travel, and how commercial air travel as we know it came of age more than half a century ago (1:30); what Pan Am was, what made it special, and the role of stewardesses on the airline (11:00); the former Pan Am stewardesses that Julia interviewed, how she found them, and what she learned from them (18:30); how stewardesses foreshadowed and became a unique part of the feminist movement (26:00); how military flights, refugee flights, and hijackings were a common part of the Pan Am flight experience in the 1970s (30:00); and the research methods and surprises that came with writing Julia’s book (41:00).

Julia Cooke (@juliaccooke) has written for Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Playboy, The Village Voice, and The Atavist. She is the author of Come Fly The World and The Other Side of Paradise: Life in the New Cuba. More about her at https://www.juliacooke.com/

Notable Links:

• PanAm (airline)
• Eero Saarinen (architect)
• Paul Theroux (author)
• Italo Calvino (author)
• Second wave of feminism (social movement)
• The Power of Glamour, by Virginia Postrel (book)
• Internationalism (movement)
• Coffee, Tea, or Me? (fictitious 1967 memoir)
• The Skies Belong to Us, by Brendan I. Koerner (book)
• Barbara Romack (pro golfer)
• Flag carrier (type of airline company)
• Operation Babylift (1975 evacuation of children from Vietnam)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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