Our American Stories
Episodes
Constitution Day: Lincoln's Greatest Speech Americans Have Never Heard
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Benedetto, founder of Bold Gold Media Group, tells the story of the Cooper Union address-the greatest s...
The Candy That Cleans Your Teeth... and the Teen CEO Who Founded it!
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Alina Morse is the youngest person ever to be featured on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine. As CEO of Zolli...
The First Person to Ever Photograph a Snowflake
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. Jerry Bergman’s here to tell us the story of a teenage boy who became interested in snow. On January 15...
“Red Tape” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 19)
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, here again with his reoccurring series is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Every...
Salvation Army: The Story of William and Catherine Booth
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, the Salvation Army's Christmas Red Kettle has been an American icon for 125 years. But for many Americans, th...
Bryan Dawson's Story: From Hell's Highway to the Valley of Vision
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, you are about to hear the miraculous story from one of our own here at Our American Stories. Bryan Dawson wen...
Hollywood Goes to War: Wayne Morris
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, it’s time for another one of Roger McGrath’s “Hollywood Goes To War” stories. So far we’ve heard th...
The Man Who Wouldn't Give in: The Story of Winston Churchill
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Winston Churchill is the only Englishman to be honored by having a United States Navy Ship named after him. H...
Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, one of the most successful blackjack teams in America is made up entirely of Christians. Here to tell the sto...
From One End of Law Enforcement to the Other: Becoming a Police Officer
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeff Shaw shares his story of being lost in his career path, becoming a police officer, and the years of emot...
The Winner... Who Always Finished Last?!
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Saje Hellstern was the fastest on his cross-country team and always finished in the top. After a tumor was fo...
The Man Who Wrote 'I'll Fly Away'
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Albert E. Brumley is recognized as one of the most important Gospel music composers of all time. Writing over...
I Picked Up "Tex" Watson Hitchhiking AFTER the Manson Murders
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, following the Charles Manson murders, Manson's lead henchman, Tex Watson, stayed in Los Angeles for almost tw...
The Irish Immigrant Whose Life Was So Large, NYC Shut Down for Him
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jimmy Neary was an Irish immigrant who boarded a ship to America in the 1950s and went on to open a namesake ...
Calling All Boats: The Fireboats of 9/11
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, on September 11th, 2001, more people were evacuated from Lower Manhattan than Dunkirk, and all thanks to FDNY...
My Sister Was On Flight 93 on 9/11
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Vaughn Lohec’s sister, Lauren, was on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Vaughn shares about her siste...
A First Responder's Memories of Flight 93
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, many of us know the story of Flight 93 because of the heroic actions of the people in the airplane. But do we...
An Eyewitness Account of the Crash of Flight 93
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Linda Shepley reflects on the heroics that took place on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Support the ...
The Unlikely Relationship Between Two of NYC's Finest
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, we hear about 9/11 firefighter Niels Jorgensen and billionaire David Koch, and the tragedies that brought the...
"Joy Came in the Morning": How Faith and Friendship Got Me Through 9/11
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Ash was still rising from Jocelyn Green’s yard as she mowed a week after 9/11. Her house was mere miles fro...
A Billion Dollar Corporation... That's CLEANING Water?
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Manny Singh, President of Koch Membrane Systems, had a childhood that shaped how he sees water. Then he joine...
The Union Loss That Saved Washington, D.C.
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, while lost battles can sometimes be devastating, this Civil War loss actually helped give the Union just enou...
"Busy Leading His Quiet Life": The Story of Pop Pop Timmons
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, our regular contributor Brent Timmons tells the story of his grandfather. An everyday man who made the most o...
“Son of a Gun & Steal My Thunder” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, here again with his recurring series is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyda...
The Investing Legend Giving Away ALL His Money
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Leon Cooperman grew up in a rough neighborhood of New York City and would become one of the most successful i...
Why Did a Preacher Give Thomas Jefferson a Giant Block of Cheese?!
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas Jefferson is often known for championing religious freedom in our nation's infancy, but not many peopl...
From Exploitation to Exhultation: Escaping the Sex Industry
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, as a young woman seemingly trapped in the commercial sex industry, Harmony Dust Grillo's struggle continued u...
How to Properly Brag About the World's Fastest Plane
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, bragging is often seen as unsportsmanlike... but when you're flying the world's fastest plane, maybe you can ...
John Wooden: First NBA Hall of Fame Player AND Coach
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, John Wooden compiled the greatest legacy of any coach in history. How he defined success was unique and centr...
The First B-17 To Bomb Berlin
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, it was never supposed to be them...but through an extraordinary chain of events, Lt. Bill Owen's crew managed...
The 1913 Storm: When Tragedy Struck the Great Lakes
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, it was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United S...
Inspiration from My Dad and Author Jack Kerouac
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Paul Kotz gives a touching tribute to his father. At a time when Paul needed a great deal...
The 1974 "Ten Cent Beer NIght" Riot in Cleveland, Ohio
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 4, 1974, in Cleveland, Ohio trouble was a brewin', the bleachers were loaded, and there was a distinc...
Escaping WWII in Croatia to Founding Maglite: Tony Maglica's Story
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tony Maglica's family escaped the horrors of World War II and left their homeland of Croatia; however, his f...
The Making of an American Pantheon: Grant's Tomb
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Presidential historian and author of Grant's Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an A...
"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!": The Story of Daisy B.B. Guns
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, relatively few women went with the initial stampedes to new mineral discoveries throughout the American front...
"Wild" Bill Donovan, Super Spy Extraordinaire
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Drew Newman, of JC Newman Cigars, tells the story of cigars in the United States, a story his family played a...
Elliot Lurie: From Brooklyn to "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Elliot Lurie wrote one of the most recognizable songs of the early 70s, and he eventually went on to a "real ...
Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in WWII
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Best-selling author Adam Makos tells the story of two tank crewmen from opposite sides of the conflict (Corpo...
Ugandan Street Kid to American Foster Dad
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, in Kevin Samy's father's village in India, they actually had to call in a person from another village to teac...
Milka Bamond: The Real-Life “Rosie the Riveter”
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Veteran's History Project in Atlanta brings us the story of Milka, an actual WWII “Rosie the Riveter,” an...
The Runaway Slave Who Founded the Black Baptist Church
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Woody Holton of the University of South Carolina tells the story about David George, a man who would escape h...
Why Led Zeppelin Pays Royalties to a Southern Bluesman
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Captain Jim "Boots" Demarest tells story of Captain Steve Phillis, a decorated Air Force A-10 fighter pilot k...
How the USA Almost Went to War Over a Pig
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Paul Monti drives his son Jared's truck, an act which inspired the hit country song "I Drive Your Truck" by L...
Into The Vast Unknown: The First American Ascent of Mount Everest
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brot Coleman tells the harrowing story of the time America reached the highest peak in the world not once, bu...
Tony Mandarich Was NFL’s Biggest Bust, Then He Rebuilt His Life
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tony Mandarich’s story was immortalized by two Sports Illustrated covers, one hailing Mandarich as “The I...
The Pistol-Packing Conductor of the Underground Railroad: Harriet Tubman
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, many of us know the name "Harriet Tubman," but we may not know the struggles that she went through to become ...
How Did SPAM Come to Be?!
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, author of The Book of Spam: A Most Glorious and Definitive Compendium of the World’s Favorite Canned Meat, ...
A Real Family Love: The Roy Rogers Story
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, we hear how the only natural born son of Roy Rogers, Roy "Dusty" Rogers, Jr., was raised by Roy and his wife ...
The Story And Family Behind Steinway Pianos
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, we learn how Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (Or Henry Steinway), a subject born of the Holy Roman Empire, would ...
The Woman Who Saved 800 Jews: Corrie ten Boom
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, here again with his reoccurring series is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Every...
The Greatest Showman: How PT Barnum Changed American Entertainment
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, In a big and memorable way, PT Barnum changed how all Americans lived. Our movies, television, and whole ente...
Lincoln's Greatest Speech Americans Have Never Heard
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Benedetto, founder of Bold Gold Media Group, tells the story of the Cooper Union address-the greatest s...
Frank Sinatra Wrote ME a Letter
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Frank Sinatra wrote a young fan a personal letter after having to track down her address. Audie Murphy's sto...
The Night 2 H-Bombs Fell on North Carolina
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, we learn how on January 23, 1961, a B-52 bomber crashed in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Two H-bombs—each 250 ...
What Happened When a Kid Sued Pepsi for a Harrier Jet?
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Sean Kernan of Medium helps us tell the story of how Leonard v. PepsiCo Inc. is a law school classic that hel...
The Boy Who Had a Seat at Groucho Marx’s Table
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, the man behind Holiday Inn, Kemmons Wilson, had some hilarious interactions with Muhammad Ali, Sam Walton, Mc...
A Sister's Love and Loss of Three Brothers
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, James Sullivan, author of Unsinkable: Five Men and the Indomitable Run of the USS Plunkett, tells the story o...
American Freedom Machines: The Story of Harley-Davidson
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Margie Siegal was a teenager, she had a boyfriend with a motorcycle. The boyfriend was forgettable—the...
Ford v. Ferrari 2: The Rematch
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Caleb Bailey shares his family’s story of hope and redemption after the loss of his father at 10 years old....
How 911 At Ease International Saved This Police Officer’s Career
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Charles Scott was working as a Police Officer in the Central Valley of California. Things were going well. Bu...
An Aussie's Obsession with American Buffalo Wings
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Professor Art T. Burton tells us how he first found out about Bass Reeves and he didn't think much about him...
Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, George Armstrong Custer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, T.J. Stiles, casts surprising new light on one of the...
The Baltimore Colts: The Team that Helped Shape the NFL and Broke a City's Heart
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven was President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. One of the great hoteliers of a...
Moonshine Runners and the Birth of NASCAR
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before NASCAR’s rampant commercialism lurks a distant history of dark secrets that have been carefully...
Walt Whitman Served the Union... And the Confederacy!
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Marshall Field's favorite gift wasn't the one that caused his name to be forever associated with Chicago's pr...
The Shocking History of PEZ Candy: Smoking Alternative for Adults?!
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, PEZ had great success where it was invented, but changed its course drastically after initially failing in ...
Edgar Allen Poe, Father of Modern Horror… Detective, Science Fiction, and Treasure Hunt Stories
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Edgar Allen Poe is known for his scary short stories and poems, and when we look at his life, early tragedies...
They're One of the Youngest Couples in Their Community and Doing Aerobics... at 90?!
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, author Richard Rhodes shares the amazing story of Austria-born turned Hollywood movie star, Hedy Lamarr. She ...
The Transatlantic Cable: How ONE Underwater Cable Changed the World
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, historian John Steele Gordon tells the story of how the telegraph went from Samuel Morse to winning WWI and h...
A Store Named "Piggly Wiggly" Created the Modern Supermarket
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, meet Ron Brown, a man who grew up in a rough area of Chicago, was practically abandoned by his father, and wo...
The Woman Who Stood Up To George Washington
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, during the Revolutionary War, Esther Reed decided the Patriot troops needed a morale boost. Reed, along with ...
Stalin’s Daughter: American Citizen, Wisconsin Cheesehead?!
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and America’s Cup winner Bill Koch doesn’t like being cheated. Tom Acitelli...
One of the Last Navajo Code Talkers Remembers WWII’s “Unbreakable Code”
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, many Americans have heard of the famous Navajo Code Talkers who used their traditional language to transmit s...
When Shooting Weddings And Chasing Storms Collide
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. John Marszalek and Eddie Rangel of the Grant Presidential Library tell the story about how Grant went fro...
The WWII Attack America Chose to Forget
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, because of the devastating nature of the attack, the U.S. government chose to keep the details of the HMT Rho...
The Greatest Fighter Pilot in American History, Dick Bong
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, after the United States pulled out of Vietnam, their allies in Indochina were all alone. Faced with the prosp...
A Crooked Cop, An Innocent Man, And An Unlikely Journey Of Forgiveness And Friendship
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, here again with his reoccurring series is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Every...
Ilene Hall Joined the Army to Search for Her Husband During WWII
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Ilene Hall enlisted in the Army WAC in 1943, she was following her husband, Edward “Ken” Hall to war...
When Pride Still Mattered: The Life of Vince Lombardi
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, more than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor of the American experi...
City Grazing: The Landscape Management Company Powered by Goats
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Anne Clare tells the story of a nurse who served in the Philippines during World War II, and shares the exper...
The ONLY Time You Want Just One Lawyer in Your Town
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, what started as a quest to find black fans for a brother-in-law morphed into a lifelong mission to find anyth...
"You Can Change Your Story": Why I Wrote a Book About the Death of My Mother
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, David LaBelle's last memory of his mother was seeing her washed away in a raging flood when he was a senior i...
Why a Prisoner of War Forgave the Enemies Who Tortured Him
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Carol, the Daughter of Doolittle Raider Jacob DeShazer, shares the story of her father being taken captive b...
Sports Were Taken Away From Him in High School... So He Became a Coach
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, World War II history buff, Anne Clare, tells the story of how World War II impacted a small Navy town on the ...
John Newton: From Disgrace to "Amazing Grace"
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brian Edwards tells the story of America's most popular hymn that actually didn't come from America. It was ...
The First Radio Broadcast of a Parachute Jump
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Roger Brucker shares the story of radio pioneer, "Skeets" Miller, and the surprising story of the first time...
The Story of William Wilberforce and His Campaign to End Slavery
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Eric Metaxas tells the story of the man who, perhaps more than any other, stirred the conscience of the world...
The Surprising Origin of Pinball
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeremy Saucier of the Strong Museum of Play shares the history of pinball--from its origins in French parlor...
The Time a Kid Sued Pepsi for a Harrier Jet
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Sean Kernan of Medium tells the story of Leonard v. PepsiCo Inc. (which is now a law school classic that help...
How a UCLA Student in the 70s Saved the Marx Brothers
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, A man named Paul shares the moving story of his older brother and some special prayers he prayed, in hopes of...
They Trapped Polio Patients Inside of Tubes to Save Them
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Daryn Glassbrook of the Mobile Medical Museum tells the story of the iron lung, a device used to keep people ...
Buck O'Neil's 15 Years of Rejection Before the Hall of Fame
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Klein tells the story of how our 18th President and Civil War hero, aided by Mark Twain, raced to...
The NBA: How a Regional Fascination Became an International Obsession
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers a truly extraordinary Civil War heroine, Mary Edwards Walker. She was the only woma...
The ONLY Photographer Allowed to Photograph the Making of the Atomic Bomb in Oak Ridge, TN
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Cook tells us the story of how in 1943 the town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee was established and went fro...
The Heavy-Drinking, Congress-Rejected Spendthrift Who Served America to the Fullest
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Mary Stockwell, author of Unlikely General: "Mad" Anthony Wayne and the Battle for America tells the story of...
The Story of America's Pastor, Billy Graham
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Billy Graham took the role of evangelist to a new level, lifting it from the sawdust floors of canvas tents i...
Shot Down: A B-17 Pilot's Survival Behind Enemy Lines
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Emerich Juettner tells us how he was an upstanding citizen... for most of his life. Here is the story of how ...
The Angel of the Battlefield: Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert Frohlich, author of Aimless Life, Awesome God, tells the story of his German born grandfather Will...
Reuniting With My POW Father After Thinking He Was Dead For 3 Years
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Our American Stories, writer Anne Clare remembers the loss of the USS Utah and Oklahoma and the men who served on them on Dece...