Our American Stories
Episodes
What Happened When Buck O’Neil Missed the Hall of Fame by One Vote
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 2021, former Negro Leagues baseball player Buck O'Neil was finally inducted into the National Baseball Hal...
Before Billy Graham, There Was Billy Sunday
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before he became evangelist Billy Sunday, William Ashley Sunday played professional baseball in the major lea...
Paul Revere’s Ride: The Poem That Made a Legend
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, on April 18, 1775, a Boston silversmith set out on horseback with a warning that would travel from town to to...
George Washington: The Definitive Story of America’s First President
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, most of us meet George Washington through half-remembered legends: the cherry tree story, his face on the dol...
The SR-71 Blackbird Disaster at 78,000 Feet: How One Pilot Fell from Space and Survived
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when an SR-71 Blackbird disintegrated midair at over 2,000 mph, pilot Bill Weaver was ejected at a speed and ...
From Wall Street Workaholic to Foster Care Reformer: Paul Blavin's Mission
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, what happens to children when they age out of foster care? For many, it means stepping into adulthood alone, ...
The South Vietnamese Pilot Who Stole a Plane to Save His Family
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, as Saigon fell during Operation Frequent Wind and thousands tried to escape, one South Vietnamese pilot refus...
The Kindness of Strangers: A Group Home’s Night Out Ends With a Surprise
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, a group home’s night out turned unforgettable when two strangers stepped in with a silent gift. Laurie ...
The Story of America: Marbury v. Madison and the Power of the Court [Ep. 17]
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Constitution created a Supreme Court, but it did not spell out how powerful that Court would be. In the e...
Inside Atlanta’s Breman Museum: Jewish Life in the American South
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Breman Museum was created to preserve Jewish heritage in the American South, with a focus on Jewish commu...
From Homelessness to Handcrafted Furniture: J.J. Jones’ Story
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before J.J. Jones became known in Oxford for building custom furniture, he was a father trying to survive wit...
Thomas Jefferson: Brilliant, Flawed, but Still Deeply American
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas Jefferson stood at the center of the American founding, writing the Declaration of Independence and la...
The Inspiring Story of Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Auntie Anne’s became one of the most popular fast-casual restaurant chains, Anne Beiler was a wo...
St. Louie Louie: The Rise and Fall of a Pool Hall Legend
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in pool halls across St. Louis, there was a player people spoke about in hushed tones. They called him S...
A Presidential-Sized Comeback: The Story of Ulysses S. Grant
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before he led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was a man who seemed to be going n...
The Streets Were My Father: A Chicago Gang Member’s Road to Redemption
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Carlos Colon spent his early years searching for a father figure and found it in the streets of Chicago. Gang...
Big Nose Kate, and the Untold Story of the West’s Most Misunderstood Lady
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, known to history as Big Nose Kate, Mary Katherine Horony was more than a footnote in Doc Holliday’s lif...
Burger King vs. Burger King: The Lawsuit That Changed Fast Food Forever
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Burger King most people know became a nationwide fast food chain with thousands of locations, a ma...
The True Story of How Curious George Escaped the Nazis
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Curious George became one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature, his creators ...
What the “Quiet Cowboy” Taught Me About Silent Service
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, J.D. Wininger, owner of the Cross-Dubya Ranch in Northeast Texas and a listener of Our American Stories,...
The Goat Man: How Ches McCartney Traveled America to Lead People to God
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, for nearly fifty years, Ches McCartney, known as the Goat Man, traveled across America with a team of goats a...
What Would Happen If You Gave a Homeless Man $100,000?
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, on a city street in California, a man who had nothing discovered something unimaginable: a briefcase filled w...
Who Was the Oldest Man at D-Day? The Untold Story of Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, as the son of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. had large shoes to fill, and he did. Despite a privi...
Who Invented the Barcode and How It Changed the World
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, you may see them everywhere today, but the UPC barcode didn’t become commonplace until well into the 19...
The Story of America: The Most Divided Election in American History [Ep. 16]
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1800, the United States faced one of the most uncertain moments in its early history. Tensions that had be...
The True Story of Eric Liddell: Faith, Running, and Chariots of Fire
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire introduced many people to Eric Liddell, the Scottis...
Why the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Made Abraham Lincoln a National Figure—Despite Losing
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas met in a series of public exchanges that later became known a...
Tom Golisano and Paychex: How Small Business Payroll Became Big Business
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Paychex, small businesses had limited options for handling payroll. Many owners managed it themselves,...
I Grew Up Detached from My Jewish History. Then I Went to Buchenwald
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dana Mitch grew up knowing pieces of her family’s Holocaust story, but they never quite felt like her o...
Facing Hyman G. Rickover: Inside the Toughest Interview in the Navy
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, for decades, Hyman G. Rickover helped build the U.S. nuclear fleet and earned a reputation as the father of t...
How a Simple Jam Session Became Rock’s Greatest Supergroup
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Traveling Wilburys formed almost by accident. When George Harrison needed a B-side, he called Bob Dylan, ...
How the Great Vowel Shift Created Modern English
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late Middle Ages, English began to change in a way people could hear as much as read. Speakers across ...
Why Texas Became a Country Before It Became a State
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the annexation of Texas and long before it entered the Union, Texas stood as its own country. The...
Samson and the Jewish Roots of American Rebellion
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Samson appears in the Book of Judges as a man set apart from birth and given extraordinary strength. Known fo...
Thomas Edison vs. Hiram Maxim: Who Invented the Lightbulb?
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Hiram Stevens Maxim is best known as the inventor of the Maxim machine gun, one of the first fully automatic ...
The Story Behind 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when 10cc set out to record “I’m Not in Love,” they were working from an idea that ran agai...
Burt Young, the Actor Behind Paulie in Rocky, Tells His Story
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Burt Young grew up in Queens, the son of a working-class family, and spent his early years far from the world...
Forgiving My Worthless Father
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Leslie Leyland Fields grew up with a father who could not give his children the care or attention they needed...
The Day California Beat France at Its Own Game: The Judgment of Paris
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1976, a British wine merchant named Steven Spurrier organized a small wine tasting in Paris that most assu...
Lesson Learned: Clean Hog Manure Off Your Boots Before Going to School
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Pastor Scott Jones, a regular contributor to Our American Stories and the author of Growing Up...
Robert E. Lee: America's Most Controversial General
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert E. Lee remains one of the most debated figures in American history, remembered as a leading general of...
The Sweetheart of American Snacks: The Little Debbie Story
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Little Debbie snacks became a staple in grocery stores, there was a young couple trying to recove...
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas: Inside the Signs That Built the Strip
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Las Vegas built its identity on spectacle, and few places capture that history quite like the Neon Museum. Tu...
Jay Van Andel and the Family Lessons Behind the Amway Founder’s Success
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jay Van Andel, co-founder of Amway, built one of the most successful businesses in American history. But at h...
Balloonfest ’86: The World Record That Went Wrong
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in September 1986, Cleveland set out to break a world record with Balloonfest ’86, a mass balloon relea...
Joseph Warren: The Forgotten Patriot Who Fell at Bunker Hill
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Joseph Warren was already at the center of the resistance ...
The First Black Naval Aviator: Jesse Brown
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jesse Brown had already made history as the first Black pilot in U.S. naval aviation. His service in the Kore...
Anorexia Recovery, Faith, and the Road to Motherhood
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, eating disorder recovery rarely moves in a straight line, and Randi Wilson’s story makes that clear. Af...
The Story of America: Washington’s Final Message to a Divided Nation [Ep. 15]
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, as George Washington prepared to step down as president in 1796, the United States was already showing signs ...
He Believed His Father Was Dead Until One Phone Call
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Ron Brown grew up in Chicago and lost contact with his father at a young age. Over time, the absence became p...
She Made Sure No One Was Buried Without Honor
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, at a funeral home in Iowa, a number of urns had gone unclaimed for years, with no clear path back to family. ...
Jackie Robinson Didn’t Just Change Baseball. He Changed America
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jackie Robinson didn’t plan to make history. He only wanted to play ball. But in a country that had bar...
Robert Smalls Stole a Confederate Ship and Sailed His Family to Freedom
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in May 1862, Robert Smalls carried out a daring escape from slavery in Charleston Harbor. Forced to work aboa...
What a Grandmother’s Hands Can Tell Us About Family
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dennis Peterson, our regular contributor from South Carolina, reflects on his grandmother and the role grandp...
Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog, and the Rise of the Muppets
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Muppets became a part of American television, Jim Henson was experimenting with a camera and ...
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the Story Behind America’s Most Famous Speech
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in November 1863, Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, just months after one of the bloodiest...
The Woman Who Refused to Let Her Children See Defeat
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Devon Westhill became the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ...
April 14, 1865: A Police Chief Witnesses Lincoln’s Assassination
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, the week of April 1865 brought both the end of the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. At For...
How RMS Titanic Became the First Real-Time Maritime Disaster
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, after RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, two young men spent the next 160 minutes sending ...
I Was Bored in Grad School, So I Joined the Navy and Went to Vietnam
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, while sitting in grad school, Hank Brown decided he’d had enough and signed up for the Navy. Within day...
What a Young Soldier Promised God After a Vietnam Mine Took His Legs
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during the Vietnam War, then 20-year-old Jon Hovde was nearly killed when his vehicle struck an anti-tank min...
The Forgotten Plot to Steal Abraham Lincoln’s Body
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, most people know how Abraham Lincoln died. The assassination in 1865, carried out by John Wilkes Booth, is on...
Butch Cassidy Before the Legend: The Real Story of the Wild West Outlaw
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when people hear the name Butch Cassidy, they usually think of Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance ...
The Officer Known as the Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Kevin Briggs’ job is talking people off a ledge, or more specifically, the Golden Gate Bridge’s l...
Monocacy: The Forgotten Union Loss That Saved Washington, D.C.
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in July 1864, the Battle of Monocacy became one of the most important Civil War battles that many Americans h...
How The Pilgrim’s Progress Became One of the Most Read Books in History
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, while in prison for preaching without a license, John Bunyan wrote what would become one of the most influent...
The Story of Thomas Fitzpatrick, Mountain Man and Frontier Diplomat
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1800s, as the American frontier pushed west, a small group of trappers and traders began moving ...
Abraham Lincoln’s Last Happy Days Before the Assassination
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in April 1865, just days after the Civil War ended, Abraham Lincoln experienced what many described as one of...
Jelly Roll, a Tennessee Governor, and the Power of Redemption
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before he was known as a country music artist, Jelly Roll had a record that included multiple arrests and tim...
An Australian’s First Taste of Buffalo Wings
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Colin Bettles, an Our American Stories listener from Australia, had never heard of buffalo wings un...
Nala Ray’s Transformation from OnlyFans Success to a Life of Faith
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Nala Ray was an early success story on OnlyFans, building a large following and earning significant income as...
Liquor and the Law: How a Tennessee Wine Case Reached the Supreme Court
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Doug and Mary Ketchum moved to Tennessee to open a liquor store, only to run into a state residency law that ...
Brian Wilson and Good Vibrations: The Song That Redefined Pop
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brian Wilson didn’t record “Good Vibrations” the way most songs were made at the time. He b...
Richard Gatling and the Gun Meant to End All Wars
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during the American Civil War, inventor Richard Gatling set out to solve a problem he believed defined modern...
America’s First Celebrity: Literary Legend, Washington Irving
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early years of the United States, Washington Irving became one of the first writers to achieve both na...
The Day I Glued My Finger to My Son’s Face
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during a quiet family visit, Brent Timmons, our regular contributor from Connecticut, found himself pulled ou...
The Story of Captain Kangaroo
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Bob Keeshan, a Marine, created Captain Kangaroo in 1955, at a time when television was still new an...
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" and the Tragedy Behind It
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas A. Dorsey helped bridge blues and church music, but his most famous hymn came from tragedy. In 1932, a...
How Henry Ford Created the Modern World
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he changed its place in American life. By making the car afford...
How Serving Coffee and Donuts in World War I Led To Women Gaining the Right to Vote
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, before World War I, the suffrage movement had been fighting for decades without success. The war changed that...
The Leadership Lesson That Built Aron Marquez’s $100M Business
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Aron Marquez’s story begins in the fields, working long hours and learning firsthand what hard work rea...
The Story of America: George Washington’s First Term and the First Test of the Constitution [Ep. 14]
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, the early United States faced deep uncertainty after the American Revolutionary War, and the Constitution had...
How an Ice Cream Man Cracked Press Your Luck and Won Big
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1984, a contestant named Michael Larson, an ice cream man from Ohio, stepped onto the set of Press Yo...
Sergeant Stubby: The Stray Dog Who Became a World War I Hero
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during World War I, one unlikely hero stood out among the soldiers, and he walked on four legs! Sergeant Stub...
The Welding Program Helping People Move Beyond Homelessness
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Reignite Hope began with a simple question about how to help people move forward when life has fallen apart. ...
The Incident at Exeter: America’s Most Credible UFO Sighting
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Iin September 1965, a quiet stretch of road in New Hampshire became the setting for what many still consider ...
The Brooklyn Bridge and the Family That Built It
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and quickly became one of the most remarkable engineering achievements in ...
How a World War II Veteran Changed My Life
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, after watching Saving Private Ryan, Jay Moore walked into a bookstore in Texas and struck up a conversation w...
What It Was Like to Stand in the Shadow of an Atomic Blast
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, from 1945 to 1992, the United States conducted more than a thousand nuclear weapons tests. Many took place in...
How a UCLA Student Helped Save a Lost Marx Brothers Film
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 1970s, a UCLA student named Steve Stoliar set out to track down a missing piece of Hollywood history. ...
In 1838, Two U.S. Congressmen Dueled with… Rifles!
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1838, a political argument in Congress crossed a line few thought possible. Maine Representa...
When Ben Franklin's Son Took the Loyalist Side in the Revolution
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during the American Revolution, few family divisions ran deeper than the one between Benjamin Franklin and hi...
How Billy Graham Became America's Pastor
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Billy Graham became one of the most influential Christian evangelists in American history, preaching to milli...
What One Young Woman Learned From Growing Up With Clubfoot
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Chloe Howard was born with a congenital clubfoot, a condition known medically as talipes equinovarus that aff...
The Story of America: How the Bill of Rights Was Added to the U.S. Constitution [Ep. 13]
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when the U.S. Constitution was drafted, it created a new national government but left many Americans uneasy. ...
Cecil Wax and the Night He Faced Death in the Battle of the Bulge
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Allied forces fought through one of the most dangerous stre...
The CEO Who Stripped His Jet to Say He Was Sorry
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when a major deal with Mercedes-Benz went wrong, Roger Penske didn’t send an email or a team of lawyers...
Steve Jobs, Apple, and the Pursuit of a Perfect Product
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Walter Isaacson began working on his biography of Steve Jobs, he quickly saw that Jobs approached Apple ...
Tyler Hamilton and the Truth Behind Lance Armstrong
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tyler Hamilton spent years competing at the highest level of professional cycling, including riding alongside...
After Losing His Fingers in a Fire, One Boy Faced the Impossible—with a Piano
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when John O’Leary was nine years old, a house fire left him with burns over 100 percent of his body. Do...