Our American Stories

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 "in a nutshell" and "in the doghouse" 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 to...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before travelers drove the Pike’s Peak Highway or stood at the summit that rises more than fourteen thousand feet above Colorado, a determined young officer named Zebulon Pike set out to understand the far edge of a country still finding its shape. Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation Project traces how Pike’s early failures, his encounters...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Stephen Ambrose spent his life showing readers that the heart of history lives in the people who shape it. His gift for storytelling made complex events feel personal, and that gift continues to resonate long after his passing in 2002. Thanks to the stewardship of his estate, his work can now be heard here at  Our American Stories . In this installment...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Hollywood gave the Lone Ranger his mask and his horse, the Old West was full of riders and lawmen whose real stories were far more compelling. The History Guy shares the life of Bass Reeves, an African American Deputy U.S. Marshal who kept order across a violent and rapidly changing frontier. His work as a tracker and lawman became part of the f...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the war in Afghanistan was still unfolding, many Americans only saw brief clips on the news. Peter Braxton lived it at twenty-two years old. His first combat mission came with no slow introduction. He lifted off, crossed into Afghan airspace, and heard the words that still stay with him: “You are getting shot at.” His story offers a grounde...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the familiar kettles and bell ringers appeared outside stores around Christmastime, The Salvation Army began as a small ministry founded by William and Catherine Booth, two people determined to reach those who had nowhere else to turn. With help from Vision Video and their documentary Our People: The Story of William and Catherine Booth , we loo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, viewers knew Boss Hogg as the blustering figure in The Dukes of Hazzard, yet the man behind that role, Sorrell Booke, carried a life shaped by intellect, training, and service. Nick Ragone revisits the actor’s work and reveals how much more existed beneath the familiar white suit, the quick temper, and the laughter that filled Hazzard County. Support...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when you dial 911 in a medical emergency, you are using a system that did not always exist. Identical twins Alfred and Blair Sadler, one a physician and one a lawyer, worked with emergency medical services pioneers to shape modern EMTs, paramedics, and early 911 call centers, so that trained responders could reach people faster and save more lives. Here&rsq...

On this episode of Our American Stories, more than three hundred sets of brothers have played Major League Baseball, yet few have left a mark like the DiMaggio brothers. In this segment, author Tom Clavin tells the family story behind Joe DiMaggio, his older brother Vince, and his younger brother Dom DiMaggio, tracing their journey from a fisherman’s household in San Francisco to All-Star ou...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Henry G. Plitt returned from WWII as a hero to many Americans, and his story carried special meaning for Jewish American soldiers in WWII who understood exactly what he had been fighting against. He was among the first men to land in Holland during Operation Market Garden and had already jumped into Normandy as a parachuting pathfinder. His wartime record b...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before he became Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, James Best lived a life filled with hardship, discipline, and creativity. Orphaned at three, shaped by his service with the Military Police in wartime Germany, and later admired for his work as the gentle lawman with Flash, the show’s basset hound, he carried a depth that never reache...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Lorna Jean sat down for her first Christmas dinner without her father, she tried to hold on to every tradition her family had built over the years. Only when she set turnips in front of her mother did an unexpected confession rise to the surface, revealing a tender truth about love, marriage, and the quiet ways families carry their stories. Support the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy explores the history of the Christmas tree, tracing how an evergreen that once carried ancient winter meaning became a central symbol in American Christmas traditions. He follows its path from early European customs to the first Christmas tree celebrations in the United States, and explains why the tree still feels essential to the season. S...

On this episode of Our American Stories, "Wild Bill" Donovan was one of America’s most exciting and secretive generals—the man President Franklin Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II. “Wild” Bill was the director of the Office of Strategic Services (the country’s first national intelligence agency). He is known as the founding father of both the CIA and the mili...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Muniz remembers a night in the mountains of northern New Mexico when a long delay, an old station, and a clearing sky created a moment he didn’t expect. As he stood beside his father, he watched a small, steady light cross the darkness, and that quiet evening became the first time he understood how big the world above him really was. Support t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the nineteenth century, a woman’s future could collapse overnight. If a husband died, disappeared, or fell into debt, she often had no legal claim to the house she lived in. The Homestead Law changed that. As historian Jean Stuntz tells it, the law created a small but powerful shield that prevented families from losing the one thing they could not...

On this episode of Our American Stories, much of what’s known about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between the goalposts. So, Greg Hengler sat down with Brett in his Hattiesburg, Mississippi, home for part five of our five-part series. In this conversation, the long-time Green Bay Packers star and Super Bowl champion reflects on the moments, challenges, and memories that...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Nashville was known for neon lights and record labels, a small candy company introduced something new to the South. The Goo Goo Cluster blended chocolate with a handful of familiar ingredients, but the people behind it poured family history and hometown pride into every batch. As the years passed, the candy found its way into lunch pails, store...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories  listener Roger Latham grew up believing Santa was just a story—until one Christmas when someone unexpected changed everything. Roger shares the memory that helped him understand why kindness sometimes shows up in the plainest clothes and why he never forgot the man he came to call the real Santa. Support the show ( https://w...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before superheroes saturated movie screens and Halloween aisles, they lived quietly on pulp pages shaped by the anxieties and ambitions of 20th-century America. Industrial cities were growing, families were struggling, and people craved symbols of justice that felt larger than life but still recognizably human. World War II historian and author of Supe...

On this episode of Our American Stories, every Sunday,  Our American Stories  host Lee Habeeb speaks with Mitchel "Big Mitch" Rutledge, who has spent more than forty years serving a life sentence in Alabama. Each call traces the shape of faith, regret, and forgiveness inside a place built for punishment. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: http...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the 1621 Thanksgiving has become one of the most recognizable stories in American culture, but many details we repeat today weren’t part of the original event. What actually happened was shaped by necessity, diplomacy, and the realities both groups faced. The latter holiday developed slowly as Americans looked for shared traditions. Robert Tracy McKen...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before it became the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving was just one of many autumn celebrations scattered across the country. In the mid-1800s, Sarah Josepha Hale, already known for writing “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” saw an opportunity to unite the nation around a shared tradition. For decades, she wrote to governors, editors, and finally...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas Jefferson is America’s “everyman” because he has been embraced at one time or another by nearly everyone. Historian and acclaimed author of  American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson , Joseph E. Ellis, shared the story of Jefferson’s journey through American history at the U.S. Library of Congress. Support the sh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, each December, a small volunteer-run “store” opens for families who could use extra help during the holidays. Parents walk through the space like any other shop, choosing toys that fit their kids without paying a cent. Jonathan Mattox, co-chairman of The Christmas Store in Oxford, Mississippi, reflects on how this forty-plus-year tradition grew...