Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, before founding Express Employment Professionals, Bob Funk believed his life’s work would be in the ministry. Instead, he discovered that helping people find jobs could become a calling of its own. Raised in poverty and shaped by hard work from an early age, Funk built a staffing company grounded in integrity, faith, and service. Over four decades, hi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a child, Deborah Freeburg learned what faith, perseverance, and family looked like by watching her parents care for their own. Years later, she entered a new and frightening season when her father’s health declined and the roles reversed. In this listener's story, Deborah shares what it meant to become her father’s caregiver, tending to him t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Jamie Scott was born, he was placed for adoption and raised by loving parents in North Carolina. For decades, he lived a full life without searching for his biological family. Then a simple DNA test changed everything. In this listener's story, Jamie explains how taking a test through AncestryDNA revealed siblings, cousins, and a family history hidden...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Chosen  is the first multi-season television series about the life of Jesus Christ, and it has become one of the most successful faith-based projects in entertainment history. What began as a small, crowdfunded Christmas special has grown into a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of views worldwide. Here to tell the story behind the series...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Roger Latham was handed a few handwritten pages years after his mother’s death, he did not expect them to change the way he understood her, or himself. Written in pencil and tucked away without intention of publication, the poem revealed a depth and inner life he never knew she possessed. In this moving story, Roger reflects on discovering his mo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, more than 150 years after his death, Jesse James remains one of the most famous and misunderstood figures in American history. Was he a Robin Hood style folk hero, or a ruthless criminal shaped by war and revenge? Historian Roger McGrath traces Jesse James’s life from his childhood in Civil War–era Missouri through his years as a Confederate gue...

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, this time diving into how the phrases “bite the bullet” and "bless you" came to be. His book,  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases , is a must-read. Be sure...

On this episode of Our American Stories, during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, an American reconnaissance armored car faced one of Nazi Germany’s most feared weapons, a massive Tiger tank. By every measure, it should have been an impossible fight. Our regular contributor, The History Guy, shares the tale of how a lightly armed U.S. M8 armored car encountered a German Tiger tank ne...

On this episode of Our American Stories, writer Taylor Brown shares a deeply personal eulogy for his father, a lifelong motorcyclist who taught him about patience, character, and what it means to choose what is hard over what is easy. Originally published in  Garden & Gun , the piece traces their bond through long rides, shared roads, and the quiet lessons passed from father to son. From...

On this episode of Our American Stories, why is it illegal to shoot rabbits from a motorboat? Or to import skunks into certain states? And who decided these things needed to be written into law in the first place? Author Winter Prosapio joins  Our American Stories  to explore the strange, funny, and often forgotten laws that still exist across the United States. Drawing from her book&nbs...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jimmy Neary arrived in New York City from County Sligo, Ireland in 1954 with almost nothing but a gift for people. After finding work at the New York Athletic Club and learning the restaurant trade under famed Irish restaurateur P.J. Moriarty, he opened Neary’s near 57th Street and First Avenue and turned it into a Manhattan institution. Told by his d...

On this episode of Our American Stories, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Corrie ten Boom and her family turned their watchmaker’s home into a refuge for Jews facing deportation and death. Working with the Dutch underground, they built a hidden room behind a false wall, where hundreds found shelter from the Gestapo. Their courage came at a terrible cost. Corrie and her sister B...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Deon Joseph has worked in law enforcement for more than two decades, spending much of that time in places where support systems rarely hold. The people he meets are often in crisis, and the job asks more than it once did. He reflects on how expectations have shifted, how officers adapt when there’s nowhere else to send someone, and what it means to ke...

On this episode of Our American Stories, best known as the wife of Jack London, Charmian Kittredge London was far more than a companion to a literary giant. She was a writer, photographer, athlete, traveler, and intellectual partner whose contributions were long overlooked or misrepresented. Author and historian Iris Jamal Dunkle shares the story behind her groundbreaking biography, the first full...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1984, Los Angeles police officer Bob Alaniz arrested a suspicious car thief without realizing he was detaining one of California’s most dangerous serial killers. That man was Richard Ramirez, later known as the Night Stalker. Though Ramirez was released, the fingerprints Alaniz took during booking would become the key to identifying him months late...

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—this time exploring the phrase “propose a toast” and others. His book,  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases , uncovers the quirky roots behind the words...

On this episode of Our American Stories, during the Korean War, Navy pilot Thomas Hudner made a decision that defied orders and nearly cost him his life. When his wingman, Jesse L. Brown, the Navy’s first Black aviator, was shot down behind enemy lines near the Chosin Reservoir, Hudner deliberately crash-landed his own aircraft in the snow to try to save him. Trapped and badly injured, Brown...

On this episode of Our American Stories, award-winning storyteller Joy Neal Kidney shares a deeply personal family history from the Great Depression, when common childhood illnesses could still be deadly. Drawing from her Iowa roots, Kidney recounts how mumps and whooping cough devastated two related families already struggling with poverty, farm loss, and scarce medical care. In one household, ni...

On this episode of Our American Stories, former Las Vegas Sands executive Mike Leven shares how an unlikely partnership helped launch the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in the 1980s. After hearing stereotypes inside the hotel industry about Indian American franchisees, Leven asked for the data and found their properties performed like everyone else, often better. Working with hotel owner...

On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Anne Clare tells the lesser-known story of two ships lost at Pearl Harbor, the USS Utah  and the  USS Oklahoma . During the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, the  Utah , a retired battleship used as a target ship, was torpedoed and left where it sank on Ford Island, where its quiet memorial still stands today. The ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, one of the most successful blackjack teams in America was built around an unlikely bond: church friendships and trust. Colin Jones, founder of BlackjackApprenticeship.com, and David Drury, dubbed “the most notorious card counter in America,” tell how they learned to count cards, pooled bankrolls, and turned blackjack into a math-driven edge rath...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the late historian David McCullough explains why America’s Founding Fathers cannot be understood as ordinary people living modern lives. Drawing on his deep study of figures like John and Abigail Adams, McCullough describes a world shaped by slow communication, constant risk, and immense personal responsibility. Decisions were made without instant new...

On this episode of Our American Stories, while on a mission trip to Thailand, a modern worship band found itself playing an impromptu set inside a brothel in Pattaya, one of the world’s most notorious centers for sex tourism. In that unlikely setting, the song “God of This City” was written in real time by members of the Belfast-based band Bluetree. Our own Greg Hengler tells the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, In the earliest days of settlement, America became a testing ground for bold ideas about faith, freedom, and self-rule. In this episode of our ongoing  Story of America Series , historian Wilfred McClay, author of  Land of Hope , examines the colonies founded by Puritans, Quakers, and reformers who believed the New World could perfect what the Old...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Allen was born into slavery in colonial America and went on to become one of the most influential religious leaders of the early United States. After purchasing his freedom, Allen became a successful entrepreneur, a powerful preacher, and the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. His stature was such that he was chosen to deliver the eu...