The Plane Truth

Ian and Tonya are joined by MSNBCs popular travel columnist James Wysong AKA A. Frank Steward, who shares some irreverent tales about what REALLY goes on in the skies. Then - Michael Shapiro, author of A Sense of Place and The Internet Travel Planner, shares his travel experiences and offers advice on how travelers can use the internet.

Episode Segments:

Travel Columnist James Wysong James Wysong spent 20 years as a flight attendant, and is considered one of Americas leading airline humorists. In the first part of his conversation with Ian and Tonya, James dispels some myths about the airplane lavatory, and comments on the TSA.
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James Wysongs True Travel Tales James shares some funny stories from his travels, including a streaking Uncle Sam, a couple of naughty Easter Bunnies, some inappropriate Halloween costumes, and some flight attendant tales. Plus advice on how to make the most out of your flight.
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Travel Columnist Michael Shapiro Writer & Editor Michael Shapiro tells the story behind his book A Sense of Place and the message he wants the book to convey. He also discusses the value of authentic travel, and the momentum of the slow travel movement.
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The Internet as a Travel Tool Michael has some basic tips for using the internet as a travel tool, and has some lesser known travel sites you should check out. Michael also talks about some of the rich experiences hes had during his travels.
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Links to Related Websites:

Order Flying High One of today's most popular travel columnists advises travelers on surviving the challenges of airports, security, planes, and fellow passengers. Includes dozens of stories about air travel that reveal the human side of what really goes on in the air. It’s packed with stories about the crazy, humorous, and sad events that happen to passengers and flight personnel alike. Readers laugh, grimace, and cry as this frank steward tells it like it really is.

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Michael Shapiro Michael Shapiro is a writer and editor. Shapiro has biked through Cuba for the Washington Post, celebrated Holy Week in Guatemala for the Dallas Morning News, and floated down the Mekong River on a Laotian cargo barge for an online travel magazine. His work also appears in the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times. Before turning to travel literature, Shapiro researched online travel and wrote two books about using the Net for travel. In 1994, he helped develop the first Web directory and magazine, Global Network Navigator, created by O'Reilly Media. Shapiro spent a year working for CNET, an online tech-news site, before embarking on a freelance career in 1998. He teaches annually at the Book Passage travel writers conference near San Francisco. Michael lives in Sonoma County, spending his free time cycling, river rafting, sea kayaking and volunteering for ETC, a group that takes disabled people on outdoor adventures. Click here to visit his website

James Wysong James Wysong, also known as A. Frank Steward has worked as a flight attendant with two major international carriers during the past fifteen years. The author of The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet and The Air Traveler’s Survival Guide, Frank holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from a London university and has had a wide variety of jobs spanning continents: jazz trumpet player, bartender, waiter, computer programmer, and writer for a newspaper. He continues to fly and write about “the people I meet at thirty-five thousand feet.” For the past ten years he has been happily married to Martha, who is also employed by the airlines, starting as a flight attendant and now a pilot but most importantly is able to get her own coffee. Click here to visit his website