Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, in his book-turned-docudrama  Why the Nativity?  Dr. David Jeremiah looks in detail at the people and events that surround the Christmas story and why each of them was chosen for their specific purpose. Here's the story of the nativity!  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanst...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Toti, former captain of the  USS Indianapolis  submarine, tells the story of his experience with Admiral Hyman Rickover—the father of the nuclear navy.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Frederick Douglass escaped slavery when he was 20 and went on to become one of the most important Americans to fight for emancipation and the equality of all people. He was the most photographed American of the 19th century, sitting for more portraits than even Abraham Lincoln. But this famed abolitionist’s story is even more fascinating than what man...

On this episode of Our American Stories, only weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made an all-important stop in the United States to visit with President Roosevelt and to address Congress about the hard path before them...as he knew more than anybody else in the world what that path looked like. He'd been walking it alone for a while.  Support the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. The book is  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases . Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/do...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers the forgotten stories from U.S. military history. You won't want to miss this one! Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, for nearly 60 years, Hess trucks have brought smiles to children, and adults, up and down the East Coast. They were also the kind of gift the energy entrepreneur who created them wished he could have gotten growing up. Hess Toy Truck Director, Justin Mayer, and superfan, Mike Roberto, tell the story.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.c...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Colin Bettles loves buffalo wings, which isn't that odd—many people do. However, the thing that makes his story unique is that he's many many many miles removed from Buffalo, New York in Australia. Here he is to share his story of how he came to adore buffalo wings.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show:...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for more than 150 years the story of Davy Crockett has captured our imaginations and inspired us to celebrate his image in song, story, and cinema. Here to tell another Hollywood Goes to War story is Roger McGrath. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/li...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on May 1st, 1960, spy pilot Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet Russia resulting in massive controversy....and many questions. Did he defect? Did he have a flameout? Why didn't he kill himself? Did he spill his guts to the Soviets? When he returned from captivity to some, he was a hero—to others, he was a villain. But to Gary Powers, Jr....he was ju...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, tells the remarkable story of how George Washington turned the tides of war at Trenton and Princeton in the most important year in our country's history—1776 by surprising a bunch of hungover Germans.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouram...

On this episode of Our American Stories, most people's knowledge of Robert E. Lee starts with his decision to reject command of the Union Army and ends at Appomattox—but there's so much more to his story than that. Dr. Allen C. Guelzo, author of Robert E. Lee: A Life,   tells the story of a complicated man whose decision-making was heavily influenced by where his house was and wher...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Billie Mae Richards is a Canadian actress best known for voicing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the 1964 stop-motion television classic. The special first aired on December 6, 1964, on NBC. Here’s Billie Mae to share her story. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Rikk Dunlap has always been a writer, but he never dreamed that his work would eventually become a regular feature film on the biggest holiday movie channel around—Hallmark. Here he is to share his astonishing story.... just in time for the holidays.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.our...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Luke Mickelson, founder of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, tells how a meeting in his church turned into a Boy Scouts project, a Christmas tradition, and 50,000 free beds for needy families every year. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Mom died, the dog died, the wife took off, and John Clay Wolfe became paralyzed all in the short span of about a year. Then came the worst news: someone had been stealing his company's money, and he was millions in debt. John Clay Wolfe, the founder of GiveMeTheVin.com and the host of the John Clay Wolfe Show, tells his astonishing story of recovery—both in business and life.  Support t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate Se...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini mysteries of the English language. The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate Se...

On this episode of Our American Stories, a son's story about his father, from our regular listener/contributor Roger Latham, from Fort Worth, Texas. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, just moments before the biggest fireworks display in American history, President Ronald Reagan spoke in front of the Statue of Liberty aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. Reagan understood the profound nature of what the founders did back in 1776. We take you back to New York Harbor in 1986. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories listener Patty Kingsbaker shares this "knockout" Frank Sinatra story. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, he was twice nominated for the Academy Award for his 1954 performance in  Roman Holiday,  and the second in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid. He also starred as Oliver Wendell Douglas in the 1960s television sitcom  Green Acres . But his greatest role was the one he played in WWII. As part of our ongoing 'Hollywood Goes to War' series, Roger McGra...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy recalls the forgotten history of Christmas trees. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, the Mason-Dixon Line defined the American "house divided" between antislavery and pro-slavery. Yet this border war was pre-dated by another battle—a colonial-era quarrel that ended only when the area separating Pennsylvania and Maryland’s border was surveyed and mapped in the 1760s by the Englishmen Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Here to tell...

On this episode of Our American Stories, from its humble beginnings in an Austrian chapel in 1818, 'Silent Night' has become one of the most popular Christmas hymns ever. Here’s the History Guy with the story of the song. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...