Our American Stories

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...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Theodore Schwartz, a neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine and best-selling author of  Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery , shares how he approaches one of the most difficult responsibilities in medicine: delivering bad news to patients with terminal and late-stage brain cancer. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr. Schwartz explains how hones...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Carl Montgomery grew up surrounded by neglect, instability, and violence, where a broken childhood pushed him toward gang life and years in prison. What began with poverty and bad choices led to a cycle of crime and incarceration that seemed impossible to escape. But prison became an unexpected turning point. Through faith, accountability, and new purpose,...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a town with only one lawyer, every problem comes to the same door. Bill Bryk spent his career deciding when to fight for others and when wisdom meant stepping back. Practicing law in a small community taught him that justice isn’t only about winning cases, but about judgment, restraint, and knowing when to rest. Support the show ( https://www.ouram...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the iconic Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot  weren’t actors. They were real minor-league hockey players. When Dave Hanson, known as “Killer,” was cast in the 1977 cult classic alongside Paul Newman, one of the most unforgettable trios in sports movie history was born. Here's Hanson with the true story behind the making of  Slap Sho...

From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson defined late-night television as the longtime host of The Tonight Show. Over three decades, hundreds of guests passed through the chair across from him, but only a few appearances became truly legendary. Two of the most unforgettable belonged to Don Rickles and Ed Ames, whose moments on Carson’s stage are still talked about today. Mark Malkoff, author of Love...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the origins of the Protestant Reformation trace back to a deceptively simple and deeply personal question. A Catholic monk named Martin Luther wrestled with it for years: Am I a good person?  That spiritual struggle would ultimately shake the foundations of Christianity and transform Western civilization. Eric Metaxas, bestselling author of  Marti...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Lee Habeeb, host of  Our American Stories , reflects on his mother’s life and the quiet legacy she left behind. Set in the patch of Northern New Jersey she cared for and shaped, this is a deeply personal meditation on love, grace, character, and the influence a parent carries long after they are gone. It’s the eulogy he never gave, and the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on January 29, 1774, Benjamin Franklin was summoned before the King’s advisers in an octagonal chamber at Whitehall Palace known as the Cockpit. Intended as a public humiliation, the encounter instead became a turning point. Franklin entered as a loyal servant of the British Empire and left deeply disillusioned, newly committed to the American cause....

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, reflects on two profound college friendships that shaped his life long after graduation. In this deeply personal story, Kendrick recounts intimate conversations with two fraternity brothers before their deaths, moments that left a lasting imprint on his understanding of loyalty, mortality, and what it means t...