The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight

Behind the cocktails and movie stars, stewardesses’ jobs depended on staying under strict weight limits. When Patt Gibbs is suspended for gaining a few pounds, a company doctor hands her diet pills with potentially dangerous consequences. As women push their bodies to extremes, Patt begins to fight back and discovers how costly defiance can be.

You heard archive from the documentary The Rise of Labor from the CIA collections of the U.S. National Archives.

The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/
You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.



SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS
United States
Mental Health
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – call or text 988, or chat online - https://988lifeline.org/
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) – education, support groups, and helpline: 1-800-950-6264 - https://www.nami.org/
Eating Disorders
NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) – helpline chat, screening tool, and resources - https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
United Kingdom
Mental Health
Samaritans – 24/7 phone support at 116 123 - https://www.samaritans.org/
Mind – mental health information and support - https://www.mind.org.uk/
Eating Disorders & Body Image
BEAT Eating Disorders – helpline, online chat, and resources - https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
Australia
Mental Health
Lifeline Australia – 24/7 crisis support: 13 11 14 - https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Beyond Blue – mental health support and helpline: 1300 22 4636 - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Eating Disorders & Body Image
Butterfly Foundation – helpline + online chat for eating disorders: 1800 33 4673 - https://butterfly.org.au/
Canada
Mental Health
Talk Suicide Canada – call or text 988 (nationwide) - https://988.ca/
Crisis Services Canada – nationwide crisis support network - https://thelifelinecanada.ca/
Eating Disorders
NEDIC (National Eating Disorder Information Centre) – helpline and online chat https://nedic.ca/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the golden age of flying, air travel looked glamorous, but for the women working onboard, it was tightly controlled. Nell McShane Wulfhart takes us inside American Airlines’ “Charm Farm” where young stewardesses, like Patt Gibbs, were trained to be thin, obedient, and perfectly groomed. But everything changes after Patt impulsively attends a union meeting.

The archive you heard was the 1967 commercial “Presenting the Losers” by Eastern Air Lines.

The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts.
For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/

You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.



SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS
United States
Mental Health
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – call or text 988, or chat online - https://988lifeline.org/
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) – education, support groups, and helpline: 1-800-950-6264 - https://www.nami.org/
United Kingdom
Mental Health
Samaritans – 24/7 phone support at 116 123 - https://www.samaritans.org/
Mind – mental health information and support - https://www.mind.org.uk/
Australia
Mental Health
Lifeline Australia – 24/7 crisis support: 13 11 14 - https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Beyond Blue – mental health support and helpline: 1300 22 4636 - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Canada
Mental Health
Talk Suicide Canada – call or text 988 (nationwide) - https://988.ca/
Crisis Services Canada – nationwide crisis support network - https://thelifelinecanada.ca/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the golden age of air travel, flying was sold as glamorous, luxurious, and effortlessly chic. But for the young women working the aisles at 30,000 feet, the reality was very different. The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight tells the story of the stewardesses who refused to be grounded. From secret meetings to landmark discrimination cases to high-stakes union votes, these women challenged America’s biggest airlines and the sexism baked into the industry itself. A powerful sisterhood began to form across cabin aisles and crew lounges. They weren’t just fighting for better contracts. They were fighting for control of their own lives.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:
When Nadya Tolokonnikova saw her country Russia change under President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime, she knew she had to do something.
She started the iconic ski-mask-wearing art protest collective Pussy Riot. On February 21st, 2012, they performed their anti-Putin protest song, Punk Prayer, in a Moscow church, launching Nadya into overnight activist fame… and a prison labour camp.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:
Germany. Spring 1945. The writing is on the wall for the Nazis. And thousands of women are marching along dirt roads. If they stop walking, they’ll be shot. Their route is lined with piles of corpses. It’s a death march.
Among these women are The Nine. Nine young women, all members of the French resistance, who have formed an extraordinary bond of friendship and support in the concentration camp in which they’ve been held. Their unofficial leader is 25-year-old Hélène Podliasky. And she’s about to suggest something incredible: The Nine are going to escape.
Hélène’s story is told by her great niece, the writer Gwen Strauss.
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit novel.audio
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.