Our American Stories

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 frantic distress calls across the North Atlantic to anyone who could hear them. Their names were Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. They kept working as the ship took on water, using one of the most advanced communication systems of its time to reach n...

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 days, he was on his way to Vietnam, flying missions as a forward air controller during the early years of the war. Former Colorado Senator Hank Brown shares his journey to the front lines of the Vietnam War and what he learned from it all. Support the s...

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 mine. Doctors didn’t expect him to survive, but that day Jon made three promises to God. What happened next would shape the rest of his life and inspire the people back home who knew him best. Linda, from Jon’s hometown of Fertile, Minnesota...

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 one of the most well-known moments in American history. What people don’t usually hear is what happened after he died. A group of counterfeiters in Chicago came up with a plan to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body from his tomb and hold it for ra...

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 Kid , the classic 1969 film that turned two outlaws into near folk heroes. But long before the movie, a different reputation was taking shape in the American West. Wild West historian and Our American Stories regular contributor Roger McGrath traces...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Kevin Briggs’ job is talking people off a ledge, or more specifically, the Golden Gate Bridge’s ledge. Here’s Kevin to share how he has saved more than two hundred people from taking their own lives by asking a simple question: “How are you doing?” Kevin shares the story of why he does what he does. Support the show ( https://w...

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 have never heard of. Fought near Monocacy Junction in Maryland, it ended in a Union loss. Even so, the stand there delayed Confederate General Jubal Early long enough to help save Washington, D.C., from a far more dangerous attack. Mark Leepson, autho...

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 influential works in English literature: The Pilgrim’s Progress , a book telling the story of a man fleeing the City of Destruction and searching for salvation as he travels toward the Celestial City. As copies made their way to the New World, it becam...

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 through the Rocky Mountains, learning the land long before most Americans ever saw it. Thomas Fitzpatrick was one of the most important among them. After losing his parents at a young age, Fitzpatrick headed west and built a life in the fur trade, ea...

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 the happiest periods of his life. The war was coming to a close, and Lincoln’s schedule reflected a shift toward rebuilding the nation. However, during what was supposed to be a relaxing night at the theater, John Wilkes Booth carried out the...

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 time behind bars. Years later, after turning his life around and using his music to help others facing the same struggles, his story entered Tennessee’s pardon process. That process brought his case before Governor Bill Lee. But when Lee spoke abo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Colin Bettles, an  Our American Stories  listener from Australia, had never heard of buffalo wings until a trip to upstate New York in the early 1990s. One plate was enough. The tender chicken, the heat of the sauce, and the cool bite of blue cheese made it love at first bite, and sparked a lifelong pursuit. From discovering the dish’s roots...

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 the platform was still evolving. Over time, she began to feel a growing disconnect between her life online and who she wanted to be. Despite her lucrative career, she stepped away and turned her focus toward redefining her relationship with God. Nal...

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 blocked them from getting a license. What followed was a long legal battle that reached the Supreme Court, raising questions about constitutional law and whether states can limit who is allowed to run a business within their borders. For our  Ru...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Brian Wilson didn’t record “Good Vibrations” the way most songs were made at the time. He built it section by section, using different studios and techniques to create a new kind of sound. The result pushed the boundaries of pop music and influenced the evolution of rock. For our  Story of a Song  series, our own Greg Hengler sha...

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 warfare: too many soldiers were dying not only in battle, but from disease in overcrowded armies. His solution was the Gatling gun, a hand-cranked, rapid-fire weapon capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute. It would reshape how wars would be...

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 national and international fame. His stories, including  Rip Van Winkle  and  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , helped define early American literature and introduced elements of Gothic fiction and Romanticism to a wider audience. He also he...

On this episode of Our American Stories, during a quiet family visit, Brent Timmons, our regular contributor from Connecticut, found himself pulled out of conversation and into a situation with his young son that escalated quickly. A simple attempt to fix a small cut created a problem he hadn’t anticipated. He literally glued his finger to his son’s face. Brent shares the story of the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bob Keeshan, a Marine, created  Captain Kangaroo  in 1955, at a time when television was still new and largely unstructured. He built the program around a simple idea: speak directly to children and hold their attention without noise or chaos. The show ran for decades and became one of the longest-running and most influential children’s prog...

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, after losing his wife and child, he sat at the piano and wrote “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” The song would go on to become one of the most recognized gospel hymns. For our  Story of a Song  series, our own Lee Habeeb shares the...

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 affordable and reshaping the factory around speed and precision, he turned a rare machine into something millions of people could own. Historian Richard Snow, author of  The Rise of Henry Ford , shares the spellbinding story of how Ford transformed ma...

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. Women stepped into visible, demanding roles tied directly to the military and daily life at the front. Kara Dixon Vuic, author of  The Girls Next Door: Bringing the Home Front to the Front Lines , explains how those experiences shifted public...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Aron Marquez’s story begins in the fields, working long hours and learning firsthand what hard work really looks like. Years later, he would go on to build WildCat Oil Tools, a Texas-based company generating over $100 million in annual revenue and employing hundreds of people. But for Marquez, success was about people, not just profit. From doing the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the early United States faced deep uncertainty after the American Revolutionary War, and the Constitution had yet to prove itself in practice. George Washington entered office knowing that every decision would set a precedent, especially as the revolutionary ties that bound the nation began to break down along emerging party lines. As part of our ongoing&nb...

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 Your Luck  and walked away with over $110,000, becoming one of the biggest winners in game show history. His run looked like pure luck, but behind the scenes, Larson had figured out how the game really worked. Comedian and mathematician Matt Park...