Our American Stories

WWII Airman’s Body Moved Three Times Before His Family Found Peace

17 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, after World War II airman Danny Wilson fell overseas, his body was buried in France alongside thousands of Am...

Frank Capra: The American Dream Personified

17 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, few filmmakers embody the American Dream as vividly as Frank Capra. Born in Sicily in 1897, he carried the me...

What Amelia Earhart's Coat Reveals About the Woman Behind the Legend

17 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, nearly ninety years after Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific, the fascination surrounding her life h...

A Journey Up the River With Dad

17 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a teenager, Lindsay Gallant embarked on a wilderness journey with her father, paddling deep into the remot...

How Henry Ford Created the Modern World

17 Jun 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...

What My Father Taught Me on the Job Site

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, every summer, Dennis Peterson and his brother went to work with their father, a self-employed brick mason. As...

Uncle Nearest: The Former Slave Who Taught Jack Daniel How to Make Whiskey

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 2016, entrepreneur Fawn Weaver was struggling through one of the most difficult seasons of her life. A dis...

How Patrick Henry Saved America from Its First Civil War

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Civil War, in 1799, the United States was facing one of the greatest political crises in its ...

Brian Wilson: My Friend Behind the Beach Boys

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Brian Wilson passed away in 2025, the world lost one of the most important and influential musicians in ...

The Summer I Got Fired From an Ice Cream Shop

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, a first job is a rite of passage for many. For Leslie Leyland Fields, it was something more. Hired by a quirk...

The Story of America: The Frenchman Who Wrote About America Better Than Any American [Ep. 23]

15 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, In 1831, a young French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the United States, ostensibly to s...

How Two Civil Rights Lawyers Ended Red-Light Camera Tickets

15 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when red-light cameras began appearing across Missouri, many drivers saw them as little more than an annoyanc...

How the Wright Brothers Beat the World to the Sky

15 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before they made history, the Wright brothers were just two mechanics with a theory. Their shop in Dayton kep...

How My Dad's Cancer Saved Our Relationship

15 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Willy Lensch's father was diagnosed with cancer, the news brought fear, uncertainty, and the prospect of...

How One Gross Invention Added Decades to Human Life

12 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before modern sanitation, cities were filthy, drinking water was often contaminated, and diseases like choler...

My Grandfather Was the Best Storyteller I Ever Knew

12 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before television and smartphones, there were front porches, and there were storytellers. For Dennis Peterson...

The Surprising History of Air Conditioning and the Man Behind It

12 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before air conditioning, summer shaped how people worked, where they lived, and which cities could survive in...

I Thought I Knew My Father Until I Read His World War II Diary

12 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Sally Grove was growing up, she thought she knew her father. He was a soft-spoken Maryland family man wh...

Why the U.S. and Britain Nearly Went to War Over a Pig

11 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1859, a pig wandered onto the wrong farm and sparked an international standoff. The United States and Grea...

Twenty Years After My Sister's Murder, I Wrote to Her Killer

11 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Jeanne Bishop's pregnant sister, Nancy, and her brother-in-law, Richard, were murdered in their own home...

The Story of America: Theodore Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency [Ep. 41]

11 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, born into wealth, privilege, and chronic illness, Theodore Roosevelt seemed an unlikely candidate to become o...

How Maurice Sendak Redrew Childhood in “Where the Wild Things Are”

11 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Maurice Sendak had a rare ability to look at childhood without sentimentality. He understood its private fear...

How a Childhood Fascination With Paper Airplanes Became a World Record Career

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, most children eventually outgrow paper airplanes. John Collins never did. What began as a childhood fascinati...

Five Brothers Went Off to Fight World War II

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when World War II called, the Wilson family of Iowa answered. One by one, five brothers left home to serve th...

The Truth About Michael Jackson’s Changing Skin Color

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Jackson’s career made him one of the most recognizable and most scrutinized people on the plane...

The Race That Sealed Secretariat's Legacy: The Story of the 1973 Belmont Stakes

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, no horse had claimed the Triple Crown in 25 years until Secretariat lined up at the Belmont. What happened ne...

The Boy Behind “La Bamba”: The Story of Ritchie Valens

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1950s, a shy teenager from Southern California seemed destined for stardom. As Ritchie Valens roc...

Thomas Paine and the Pamphlet That Sparked the American Revolution

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, few writers have ever changed the course of history the way Thomas Paine did. His pamphlet Common Sense ...

Reconciling Dad the Farmer and Dad the WWII Pilot

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up, Joy Neal Kidney knew her father as an Iowa farmer, a simple, kind man in overalls who drove tract...

Bear Bryant Taught Him to Win, the Packers Taught Him to Believe

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Rich Wingo’s football journey began under legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, whose...

Pilsner: The Czech Beer That Conquered America

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, today, nearly every major American lager traces its roots back to a revolutionary beer first brewed in 1842 i...

Inside Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers’ Rise and Fall on The Tonight Show

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers defined late-night television. Carson ruled The Tonight Show as...

My Life Is Broken Into "BD & AD": Before Dad & After Dad

08 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bruce Paddock remembers his life in two chapters: BD and AD, Before Dad and After Dad. When his father died y...

Jimmy Stewart Left Hollywood Stardom to Bomb Nazi Germany

08 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jimmy Stewart walked away...

The Story of America: The Rise of Andrew Jackson and the Common Man [Ep. 22]

08 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, the election of 1828 marked a political revolution in America. Andrew Jackson, a hard-driving frontiersman wh...

Abandoned at Birth in Korea: One Woman’s Adoption Story

08 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, at only hours old, Jackie Darby was abandoned in a garbage dump in Seoul, Korea, where rats were already biti...

The Story of America: The Rise of the Progressives [Ep. 40]

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, the 1896 election made one thing clear: William Jennings Bryan and the Populists had tapped into a growing se...

The Best Time I Spent with My Dad Was Guarding Him in Prison

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, at seven years old, Randy Liberty visited his absent father behind bars at the Maine State Prison, whose impo...

Dale Robertson Was Wounded in WWII Before Finding Fame in Hollywood

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before he became a familiar face in westerns like Tales of Wells Fargo and Iron Horse, Dale Ro...

When America Believed Bat People Lived on the Moon: The Great Moon Hoax

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, decades before Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds shocked the nation, a New York newspaper conv...

A Student Complained About a 92. The Real Problem Was Something Else.

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, when one of his graduate students challenged a 92 on an assignment, Paul Kotz was frustrated. The student que...

The Story of America: William Jennings Bryan and the “Cross of Gold” [Ep. 39]

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, as industrial America surged forward in the late 19th century, millions of farmers and working Americans felt...

She Served Her Time. Her Record Still Wouldn’t Let Her Move On.

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, a late-night mistake changed Gwen Boyd-Willis’s life in 2005. After serving her time, she did everythin...

The Baseball Found on One of America’s Bloodiest Battlefields

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before baseball became America’s pastime, soldiers carried the game with them into war. On the bat...

Before “Gunsmoke,” James Arness Fought and Bled in World War II

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before becoming television’s legendary Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, James Arness was a towerin...

Elijah Lovejoy: The First Martyr of America’s Abolition Movement

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, minister, newspaper editor, and abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy believed the Bible demanded opposition to slavery...

Colin Powell Through the Eyes of His Son, Michael Description:

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, on November 5, 2021, a funeral service was held for Colin Powell at Washington National Cathedral. Powell die...

Michael Vick Was the NFL’s Biggest Star. Then He Lost Everything.

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick entered the NFL as the No. 1 overall draft pick and quickly b...

The Radical Decision That Changed Ian Rowe’s Life: Staying Put

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ian Rowe grew up in a Jamaican immigrant family that believed deeply in education, hard work, and the promise...

Nile Kinnick: The Gridiron Hero Reagan Thought Could Be President

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Nile Kinnick transformed a struggling Iowa Hawkeyes football program through sheer grit, leadership, and one ...

The Real Man Behind “I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning”

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Colonel David Hackworth was a soldier’s soldier. He fought in the Korean War, commanded troops in the V...

When a 3rd Grade Boy Learned His Father Was Missing in Vietnam

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, retired U.S. Navy Captain Mike McDaniel takes us back to the day he was a third-grade boy sitting on his bed ...

The LLC, Concrete, and the Index Fund: Fifty Things That Shaped the Modern Economy

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tim Harford, author of the bestselling book Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy, shares the ...

Was America’s First President Really George Washington?

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, George Washington is correctly remembered as America’s first real president, but under the na...

How Do You Eulogize a Daughter Who Never Lived?

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeremy Lott never got the chance to hear his daughter cry, watch her crawl, or hold her for the life he and h...

Vince Lombardi: The Coach, the Catholic, and the Man Behind the Legend

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Lombardi transformed the Green Bay Packers into a dynasty and helped turn football into a symbol of dis...

Before Big & Rich, John Rich Was Starting Over in Nashville

01 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, after leaving Lonestar, John Rich found himself back in Nashville trying to rebuild his country music ca...

Pastor of the Pilgrims, John Robinson: 100 Bible Verses That Made America

01 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, what role did the Bible play in shaping America? According to Robert J. Morgan, author of 100 Bible Vers...

Danny Elfman Never Planned to Become a Film Composer. Then Tim Burton Called

01 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Danny Elfman first became famous as the lead singer of Oingo Boingo before building a career as one of Hollyw...

I Sewed Through Fabric My Great-Grandmother Chose Before World War I

01 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Joy Neal Kidney shares the story of a handmade quilt that linked her to her great-grandmother, Laura Goff, a ...

How One Company Helped an Employee Find Her Calling

29 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, finding meaningful work is easier said than done. For our Opportunity America series, Kelly Robinso...

The Night 2 H-Bombs Fell on North Carolina (Told By the Man Who Dismantled Them)

29 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in January 1961, a B-52 Stratofortress crash near Goldsboro sent two massive hydrogen bombs falling to the gr...

The Boston Marathon Did Not Want Women Running in 1967. Kathrine Switzer Ran Anyway

29 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Boston Marathon had never officially allowed a woman to compete when Kathrine Switzer pinned on her bib n...

William Faulkner Turned His Mississippi Hometown Into Literary History

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, William Faulkner spent most of his life in Oxford, where he wrote novels focused on the people, conflicts, an...

How a Log Cabin Helped Spark the Great Awakening in Early America

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1700s, a small log cabin in Pennsylvania became the center of a growing religious movement in th...

From Montserrat to America: Patrice Onwuka’s Story of Opportunity

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Patrice Onwuka was born on the Caribbean island of Montserrat before her family immigrated legally to the Uni...

Brett Favre’s Tribute to His Father

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, NFL legend Brett Favre reflects on one of the most emotional games of his career. After the passing of his fa...

The USS Enterprise Coffee Disaster

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Americans drink millions of cups of coffee every day, and the United States Armed Forces have long depended o...

The Cuban Immigrant Behind the Famous Coors Light Silver Bullet Can

27 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, after fleeing Cuba as a young man during the rise of Fidel Castro, Marc Barrios arrived in America searching ...

The Olympic Marathon Where Drinking Water Was Banned

27 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, the 1904 Summer Olympics marathon in St. Louis looked nothing like the race we know today. Runners competed t...

Steve McQueen Escaped a Broken Childhood and Became Hollywood’s Biggest Star

27 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Steve McQueen became the “King of Cool,” he spent much of his childhood in trouble, bounci...

Why Memorial Day Matters: The Uncle Lee Habeeb Never Knew, Killed in WWII

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Lee Habeeb was born, his family joined the long list of American families forever changed by World War...

A Medal of Honor Recipient Through the Eyes of His Father

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Lee Brice turned the story into the hit song I Drive Your Truck, Paul Monti was driving his late son J...

Karl Marlantes: How I Came to Terms with My Navy Cross

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Karl Marlantes, a Vietnam War veteran and the award-winning author of Matterhorn and What It I...

Remembering The USS Indianapolis: The Worst Naval Disaster in American History

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, The USS Indianapolis left Guam in July 1945 after delivering critical cargo connected to the Manhat...

Why Robert E. Lee’s Estate Became Arlington National Cemetery

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s most iconic military burial ground, but its origins are mor...

John Moses Browning: The Mormon Inventor Behind Modern Pistols and Machine Guns

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a boy growing up in Ogden, Utah, John Moses Browning worked beside his father in a small gunsmith shop alo...

A Listener's Childhood Story: Rollerskating in the Farmhouse

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a world that moved a little slower, one little girl found her freedom on four wheels. Joy Neal Kidney, aut...

At 16, Pregnancy Gave Her a Reason to Change Her Life

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Teri Neal became pregnant at sixteen, she had already dropped out of school and fallen deep into ...

The Story of America: Andrew Jackson and the Rise of the Common Man [Ep. 21]

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, for decades after the founding of the United States, the presidency remained in the hands of polished Virgini...

The First Pilot At Ground Zero Recalls His First Jobs

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Peter Braxton’s first day as a military pilot began in the skies above September 11 attacks on 9/11. Bu...

Meet John Clem, the Youngest Soldier to Fight in the Civil War

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, at an age when most kids were still in school, John Clem was marching into battle. He joined the Union Army a...

The Customer Service Lesson Mike Leven Never Forgot

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories,  Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanst...

Stephen Ambrose on the Young Men Who Flew WWII Bombers

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, during World War II, thousands of young Americans volunteered to fly dangerous bombing missions over Europe i...

The Mom Who Refused to Give Up on Her Mono Mono Twins

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Lex Ginger was told pregnancy might never happen because of PCOS and a blood-clotting disorder tha...

The Opera Singer Who Left Her Husband One Last Song

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom Lyons and Lillian Lyons married in 1946 and spent a lifetime together on the South Side of Chicago. Lilli...

Why Bob Munden Is Still the Fastest Gun on Record

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Wild Bill Hickok. Doc Holliday. Billy the Kid. None of them ever matched Bob Munden’s speed. Known arou...

She Spent 46 Years Searching for the Sisters She Never Met

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, Traci Huguley was still a child when she learned she had been adopted. Years later, she discovered that two y...

Johnny Cash Entered a Cave to Die. He Found God Instead.

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, by 1967, Johnny Cash had become one of the biggest names in country music, though his addiction to amphetamin...

The Story of a Real-Life “Rosie the Riveter”

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before World War II, factory work remained largely closed off to American women. That changed after the attac...

Louis Armstrong Changed American Music Forever

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time the Jazz Age arrived in the 1920s, Louis Armstrong had already begun transforming American music....

Fannie Farmer’s Revolutionary Role in Measuring Cups, Recipes, and Modern Home Cooking

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, home cooking relied on instinct and improvisation until Fannie Farmer. With the release of The Boston Co...

How Glen Bell Learned the Taco Business and Built Taco Bell

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Taco Bell became one of America’s biggest fast-food chains, founder Glen Bell was searching for ...

This Day in History | After Penn Station Fell, Jackie Kennedy Fought to Save Grand Central

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before she became First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a lifelong New Yorker who deeply believed Americ...

Before Modern Televangelists, There Was Aimee Semple McPherson

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before modern televangelists, Aimee Semple McPherson used radio, stage productions, and Hollywood-style spect...

How Mars Inc. Quietly Took Over the Candy Industry (and Then Some)

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Mars became one of the most powerful private companies in America, it was a struggling family candy sh...

The Hilarious Story of New Mexico’s Infamous “Pointy Hat” Amendment

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, former Duncan Scott quickly learned that an “educated monkey” could have occupied his New Mexico ...

Everything Is Gambling Now: The Rise, Reign, and Rule of Sports Gambling

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, sports betting has existed since the days of the Roman Colosseum, but for most Americans, legal sports gambli...

This Day in History: How George Strait’s “Love Without End, Amen” Was Born

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Love Without End, Amen became one of George Strait’s most beloved hits, it was a prayer set to m...

How a Father’s Desperate Prayer Created Braveheart

18 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Our American Stories, before writing Braveheart, Randall Wallace was a struggling writer and father questioning whether he had made...