Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Stars and Stripes became the national banner, another symbol of liberty flew over American ships. Known as the Pine Tree Flag, or the "Appeal to Heaven" flag, it was one of the earliest wartime flags of the American Revolution. In 1775, George Washington ordered it raised on six schooners that made up the first naval force of the colonies. Its wh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The American flag that flies over state capitols, schools, and battlefields across the country began as a high school assignment. Robert Heft, a 17-year-old student from Ohio, created the 50-star design in 1958 and received a B-minus for his effort. When Hawaii entered the Union in 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower selected Heft's version as the official...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1777, the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, hungry, freezing, and unsure whether the Revolution would survive. Disease spread through the camp, morale collapsed, and even George Washington wondered how much longer his soldiers could endure. Then came a Prussian officer named Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a man who spoke...

On this episode of Our American Stories, today, the NBA is a global powerhouse worth billions of dollars, with superstars recognized everywhere from New York to Shanghai. But for much of its early history, professional basketball was an afterthought. Players worked second jobs, television networks showed little interest, and many fans cared more about college basketball than the NBA. Pete Croatto,...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1980s, Panama was at the center of global attention as strongman Manuel Noriega tightened his grip on power. Known for his brutality and ties to the drug trade, he seemed untouchable. But when a hairdresser unknowingly welcomed Noriega's daughter into her salon, an unlikely chain of events began. That meeting opened the door to the dictator hims...

On this episode of Our American Stories, John Deere wasn't always a household name. Before tractors transformed American agriculture, he had one revolutionary idea: a steel plow that could cut through tough prairie soil. Kirk Higgins of the  Bill of Rights Institute  shares the story of how John Deere got his start, how one piece of scrap metal helped transform the American West, and how...

On this episode of Our American Stories, both of Mike Zuendel's parents died from Alzheimer's disease, so the possibility had always lingered in the back of his mind. Still, like many people, he put off getting tested. Then one day, after spending several minutes searching for his missing cell phone, he realized he had been holding it in his hand the entire time. That moment convinced him it was t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, he had already survived plane crashes, gunfire, and political exile. On the same morning Hitler invaded France, Churchill walked into Downing Street and said he felt as if he were “walking with destiny.” In  Churchill: Walking With Destiny , historian Sir Andrew Roberts brings the story t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1948, Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand publicly declared that Christianity and Communism were incompatible. For that conviction, he was arrested, tortured, and imprisoned by Romania's Communist regime. Over the next fourteen years, Wurmbrand endured isolation, psychological abuse, and relentless attempts to break his faith through what he described as s...

On this episode of Our American Stories, some inventions solve problems. Others change the world in ways nobody could have predicted. The plow helped make civilization possible by creating agricultural surpluses and supporting cities, governments, and armies. Barbed wire transformed the American West, turning open prairie into private property and helping settle the frontier. Google Search changed...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, chaplain Jack Poe was among the first people on the scene. In the days that followed, he ministered to grieving families, first responders, and a city searching for hope in the wake of unimaginable loss. Six years later, after the attacks of September 11, P...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice from his guide to unraveling the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. His book,  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases , explores where our favorite sayings come from—and what they mean. This time, how the phrases "true colors" and "soa...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Uncle Sam is the iconic face of American patriotism, pointing from posters, stamped on recruitment ads, and etched into the nation's memory. But how did he come to be? The real story begins with a New York meatpacker named Samuel Wilson. What started as a shipping label evolved into one of the most enduring symbols of liberty and national service. Our regul...

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 American soldiers. But that wasn't the end of his story. His niece, Joy Neal Kidney, shares the little-known journey of how her uncle was buried three different times, from a military cemetery in Europe to his final resting place in Iowa. Support the s...

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 memory of arriving at New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty through World War I and into Hollywood's golden age. In films like  It's a Wonderful Life , Capra celebrated resilience, community, and the strength of ordinary people. Our own...

On this episode of Our American Stories, nearly ninety years after Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific, the fascination surrounding her life has never faded. Yet one of the most revealing clues about who she was isn't found in a cockpit or a flight log. It's a leather coat preserved in a museum in Wyoming. Our regular contributor Ashley Hlebinsky shares the story behind the jacket and expl...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a teenager, Lindsay Gallant embarked on a wilderness journey with her father, paddling deep into the remote rivers and forests of Canada. What started as a rite of passage ended up becoming much more: a chance to see the natural world through new eyes. Years later, far removed from the waters of the wilderness, one memory from that trip remains especiall...

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, every summer, Dennis Peterson and his brother went to work with their father, a self-employed brick mason. As young boys, they hauled bricks, cleaned tools, and worked long days on construction sites. At the time, it felt like hard labor. Looking back, it was something much more valuable. ⁠ Through those hours on the job, Dennis's father taught lessons abou...

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 disappointing business venture had left her frustrated, and the sudden death of her beloved niece, Brittany, left her heartbroken. Looking for a distraction while traveling overseas, she stumbled across a newspaper article about a little-known figure in...

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 young history. With tensions rising between the federal government and the states, some feared the nation could fracture or even descend into civil war. George Washington certainly did, and he turned to one man he believed could help prevent it: Patr...

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 American history. As the creative genius behind The Beach Boys, Wilson helped redefine popular music through groundbreaking compositions, intricate harmonies, and a body of work that continues to inspire musicians today. Yet for many people, Brian Wi...

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 quirky and struggling ice cream shop in New Hampshire, she hoped the job would bring in much-needed money for gas and offer some time away from a difficult home life. Instead, it ended with an experience she never expected: getting fired by her "crazy" ma...

On this episode of Our American Stories, In 1831, a young French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the United States, ostensibly to study America's prison system. What he was really seeking was something much bigger: an understanding of democracy itself. The result was Democracy in America , a book that remains one of the most insightful works ever written about the United States....

On this episode of Our American Stories, when red-light cameras began appearing across Missouri, many drivers saw them as little more than an annoyance. Civil rights attorneys Hugh Eastwood and Bevis Schock saw something else: a system that issued tickets to vehicle owners regardless of who was driving, generated millions in revenue for local governments, and raised serious questions about due pro...