Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, what role did the Bible play in shaping America? According to Robert J. Morgan, author of  100 Bible Verses That Made America , it was central, especially for early leaders like Pastor John Robinson, who used scripture to guide the Pilgrims toward their historic journey. Here's Morgan with the story. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.co...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Danny Elfman first became famous as the lead singer of Oingo Boingo before building a career as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable film composers. His work on  Batman ,  Beetlejuice ,  Edward Scissorhands , and  The Simpsons  helped shape the sound of movies and television for an entire generation. But music was not always h...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Joy Neal Kidney shares the story of a handmade quilt that linked her to her great-grandmother, Laura Goff, a country schoolteacher born shortly after the American Civil War who raised 11 children while moving across the Midwest in search of opportunity and education for her family. Years after Laura’s death, Joy inherited her unfinished “Periwin...

On this episode of Our American Stories, finding meaningful work is easier said than done. For our  Opportunity America  series, Kelly Robinson shares how the culture at Koch Industries helped her discover new strengths, grow professionally, and ultimately find her calling. It’s a story about career growth, workplace culture, leadership, and what can happen when employees are encou...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in January 1961, a B-52 Stratofortress crash near Goldsboro sent two massive hydrogen bombs falling to the ground just days after John F. Kennedy took office. But much of what happened that day remained hidden from the public for decades. Earl Smith, the young Air Force bomb disposal technician sent to the scene, shares what he saw on the night of the Golds...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Boston Marathon had never officially allowed a woman to compete when Kathrine Switzer pinned on her bib number in 1967 and stepped to the starting line. Just minutes into the race, an angry official stormed toward her and tried to rip her out of the pack in front of reporters and spectators. Switzer herself joins us to share how she kept running through...

On this episode of Our American Stories, William Faulkner spent most of his life in Oxford, where he wrote novels focused on the people, conflicts, and tensions of the modern South. The town around him became the basis for Yoknapatawpha County, the fictional setting that would define much of his work and help establish his place in American literature. Some locals did not always appreciate it, aft...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1700s, a small log cabin in Pennsylvania became the center of a growing religious movement in the American colonies. Built by Presbyterian minister William Tennent, a devoted pastor and educator, the humble school, later known as the “Log College,” trained a handful of young men who would go on to lead revivals across the colonies a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Patrice Onwuka was born on the Caribbean island of Montserrat before her family immigrated legally to the United States in search of greater opportunity. After arriving in a rough neighborhood outside Boston during the 1980s, Onwuka watched her parents work exhausting jobs, sacrifice endlessly for their children, and slowly build a new life from scratch. Ye...

On this episode of Our American Stories, NFL legend Brett Favre reflects on one of the most emotional games of his career. After the passing of his father, Irvin Favre, in December 2003, Brett took the field and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a memorable Monday Night Football victory over the Oakland Raiders. During his 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, he shared the sto...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Americans drink millions of cups of coffee every day, and the United States Armed Forces have long depended on it too. Our regular contributor out of Colorado, Richard Muniz, traces the history of coffee in America through wartime stories before sharing a hilarious tale from the USS Enterprise  (CVN-65), where one sailor’s attempt to make the gre...

On this episode of Our American Stories, after fleeing Cuba as a young man during the rise of Fidel Castro, Marc Barrios arrived in America searching for a fresh start. Years later, while working in advertising for Coors Brewing Company, he helped create the now-famous Coors Light Silver Bullet can. Barrios shares the story of starting a new life in the United States and eventually making his mark...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the 1904 Summer Olympics marathon in St. Louis looked nothing like the race we know today. Runners competed through brutal heat on dusty roads while cars drove alongside them, kicking dirt into the air. Water stations were scarce because many officials believed drinking water during a race was dangerous. One runner hitched a ride in a car. Another survived...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Steve McQueen became the “King of Cool,” he spent much of his childhood in trouble, bouncing between relatives and reform schools after his family fell apart. Marshall Terrill, the author of  Steve Mcqueen: In His Own Words ,   shares the story of how McQueen slowly rebuilt his life and became the unforgettable star of  Bul...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Lee Habeeb was born, his family joined the long list of American families forever changed by World War II. One afternoon in 1944, two Army officers arrived at his mother’s apartment building with news that her brother John had been killed overseas. Lee shares how that loss stayed with his family for generations and how he remembers his fallen u...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Lee Brice turned the story into the hit song I Drive Your Truck, Paul Monti was driving his late son Jared’s pickup truck through the back roads of Massachusetts just to feel close to him again. Jared Monti, a U.S. Army soldier later awarded the Medal of Honor, was killed in Afghanistan while trying to save a fellow soldier pinned down under en...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Karl Marlantes, a Vietnam War veteran and the award-winning author of  Matterhorn  and  What It Is Like to Go to War , received the Navy Cross after leading an assault during a brutal battle in Vietnam. Long after the fighting ended, he found himself thinking less about the medal and more about the young Marines who fought alongside him. Marl...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The  USS Indianapolis  left Guam in July 1945 after delivering critical cargo connected to the Manhattan Project. But before she could make it to her next destination, a Japanese submarine would strike the cruiser, leaving hundreds of sailors and Marines sinking in shark infested waters. While the story gained popularity from  Jaws , the deta...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s most iconic military burial ground, but its origins are more surprising than many Americans realize. Elliott Drago of the  Jack Miller Center  shares the little-known story behind the founding of Arlington Cemetery, from its roots on the former estate of Robert E. Lee and the Custis family to its t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a boy growing up in Ogden, Utah, John Moses Browning worked beside his father in a small gunsmith shop along the pioneer trails of the American West. Decades later, the rifles, pistols, and machine guns he designed would appear in the hands of soldiers around the world. From the legendary M1911 pistol to the weapons carried by American troops during two...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a world that moved a little slower, one little girl found her freedom on four wheels. Joy Neal Kidney, author of  Leora's Dexter Stories  and a regular contributor to  Our American Stories , takes us back to her childhood home just outside Dexter, Iowa, where a pair of roller skates and an open farmhouse created memories that stayed with h...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Teri Neal became pregnant at sixteen, she had already dropped out of school and fallen deep into drug culture. She had grown up watching addiction consume nearly everyone around her and expected her own life would end the same way. Then her son gave her a reason to believe something else was possible. Teri shares the remarkable story of her life...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for decades after the founding of the United States, the presidency remained in the hands of polished Virginia statesmen and political insiders. Then came Andrew Jackson, a frontier fighter who built his reputation at the Battle of New Orleans and carried his popularity straight into the election of 1828. To his supporters, Jackson represented the “co...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Peter Braxton’s first day as a military pilot began in the skies above September 11 attacks on 9/11. But that was just one of several first jobs that helped shape his life. From high-stakes military missions to everyday roles in civilian life, Braxton reflects on the early experiences that defined who he became and the lessons he carried with him alon...

On this episode of Our American Stories, at an age when most kids were still in school, John Clem was marching into battle. He joined the Union Army as a drummer boy at just 12 and quickly became a symbol of bravery. Wounded at Chickamauga and promoted on the field, he was known across the country as “Johnny Clem.” Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of  John Lincoln Clem: Civil...