Our American Stories

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 kept the lights on, but it was their time on the beaches of North Carolina that changed the world. While others with greater resources failed to get off the ground, Wilbur and Orville studied what moved through the air and why. In 1903, after years of t...

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 loss. It also opened a door that had been closed for decades. As father and son spent more time together, old grievances began to fade, difficult truths were finally spoken, and a relationship that once seemed beyond repair slowly transformed. For o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before modern sanitation, cities were filthy, drinking water was often contaminated, and diseases like cholera and typhoid killed hundreds of thousands of people. Life in even the world's greatest cities could be dangerous, all because of a problem most people would rather not talk about. Our own Greg Hengler explores the surprising history of the toilet, s...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before television and smartphones, there were front porches, and there were storytellers. For Dennis Peterson, the greatest storyteller he ever knew was his grandfather, Frederick Newman “Paw” Summers, an East Tennessee jack-of-all-trades whose tales could keep neighbors, friends, and family listening for hours. Dennis, a regular contributor to&...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before air conditioning, summer shaped how people worked, where they lived, and which cities could survive in the heat. That all began to change in 1902, when Willis Carrier designed a machine to solve humidity problems in a printing plant. His invention transformed the air around us and reshaped modern life forever. Jesse Edwards, a frequent  Our Amer...

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 who loved fishing, hunting, and spending time with his children. But after he died unexpectedly when Sally was just twenty years old, she discovered a small notebook hidden among his belongings that revealed an entirely different side of him. It was hi...

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 Great Britain nearly went to war over a single hog on San Juan Island, in what is now Washington State. History teacher and  Our American Stories  regular contributor Anne Clare shares the story of the strange chain of events that followed, whe...

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, her world shattered. The killer, a sixteen-year-old neighbor, was eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison, but no sentence could undo the loss or answer the deeper question of how to move forward after such a tragedy. For years, Jeanne wo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, born into wealth, privilege, and chronic illness, Theodore Roosevelt seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of America's most energetic and transformative presidents. Yet through sheer determination, he reinvented himself as a rancher, war hero, reformer, and political force whose larger-than-life personality captivated the nation. When an assassin's bu...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Maurice Sendak had a rare ability to look at childhood without sentimentality. He understood its private fears and its unruly joys, and he tried to give those feelings a place to live on the page. That effort shaped the work that made him, for many, the defining children’s book artist of the twentieth century. Our own Greg Hengler traces how Sendak&rs...

On this episode of Our American Stories, most children eventually outgrow paper airplanes. John Collins never did. What began as a childhood fascination with folding paper and experimenting with flight grew into a lifelong passion that led him to become the Guinness World Record holder for the farthest paper aircraft flight at 226 feet, 10 inches. John shares the story of decades spent designing,...

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 their country, while their parents and siblings waited anxiously for news from across the globe. Our regular contributor Joy Neal Kidney shares the story of her uncles, the five Wilson brothers, and the sacrifices their family made during the war years...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Jackson’s career made him one of the most recognizable and most scrutinized people on the planet. As his fame grew, so did the attention on his appearance, especially his skin color. What the public saw was a dramatic lightening over time. What they didn’t know was that Jackson was living with vitiligo, a medical condition that strips th...

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 next stunned the world. With the crowd on its feet, Secretariat sprinted into history, delivering a performance so dominant it's still studied today. This is the story of the race that made him a legend and left the sport forever changed. Support the s...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1950s, a shy teenager from Southern California seemed destined for stardom. As Ritchie Valens rocketed from local dances to national fame, hits like “La Bamba” and “Donna” helped make him one of the brightest young stars in rock and roll. Discovered and mentored by producer Bob Keane, Valens's rise was as rapid as it was...

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  electrified the American colonies, helped turn public opinion toward independence, and inspired ordinary Americans to support the Revolution. Later, his American Crisis essays rallied George Washington's troops during some of the darkest days of the...

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 tractors, tended livestock, and taught his children the value of hard work. But before that, he had lived a very different life. During World War II, Warren Neal commanded large bomber aircraft and prepared to fly combat missions against Japan before the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Rich Wingo’s football journey began under legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, whose tough, uncompromising style forged players into men prepared for more than just Saturdays in Tuscaloosa. Bryant’s influence followed Wingo beyond his college years and into the NFL, where he suited up for the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field...

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 in the city of Pilsen, located in what is now the Czech Republic. Clear, crisp, and unlike anything drinkers had seen before, Pilsner quickly spread across Europe before German immigrants carried their taste for the style to the United States. Author...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers defined late-night television. Carson ruled The Tonight Show  as its steady center, while Rivers became his most trusted guest host, winning audiences with her sharp timing and fearless comedy. Night after night, viewers came to see them as a natural pairing, shaping what a late-night talk show could be. Then, i...

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 young, the loss reshaped everything, from the way he viewed family and purpose to the path he would eventually take in his own career. In this deeply personal tribute, Bruce reflects on grief, memory, and the enduring influence of a father whose life...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before  It’s a Wonderful Life  and  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Jimmy Stewart walked away from Hollywood stardom to serve in World War II. Determined to fly despite resistance from studio executives and concerns about his age and weight, Stewart became a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot, flew dangerous bombing missions over Europe, and ros...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the election of 1828 marked a political revolution in America. Andrew Jackson, a hard-driving frontiersman who never forgot his roots, brought a new style of politics to Washington, one built on popular appeal, distrust of elites, and faith in the judgment of ordinary Americans. In this installment of our ongoing  Story of Us—Story of America &nb...

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 biting her tiny body when a missionary nurse rescued her. Adopted by an American family, Jackie grew up surrounded by love, but struggled with profound questions about rejection, identity, and her own self-worth. Through faith and family, she' come to se...

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 sense that many Americans were being left behind by a rapidly changing nation. Though Bryan lost, the reformers behind his movement lived on. Soon, a new generation of reformers known as Progressives would seek to modernize government, curb corruption,...