Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, during the height of the Cold War, the United States worked tirelessly to stay ahead of the Soviet Union in the global arms race. Safeguards were put in place to prevent the accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, including special systems known as Permissive Action Links, or PAL codes. But for almost two decades, the launch code for America&rsqu...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for Sean Pronger, playing in the NHL was a dream come true. Skating beside Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, was something he’d imagined since childhood. But when that dream finally came true, he was hungover. What followed was one of the most surreal games of his life and one of the funniest stories in hockey history. Support the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the radio first crackled to life in the 1920s, it transformed how Americans shared news, music, and hope. But behind those first transmissions were young innovators like Lester Wolf, who saw endless promise in a brand-new medium. Working at one of Chicago’s early radio stations, Wolf helped shape the early days of commercial broadcasting, unaware...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before “Love Without End, Amen” became one of George Strait’s most beloved hits, it was a prayer set to music. Songwriter Aaron Barker wrote it after a painful argument with his teenage son, an experience that brought him to his knees before his guitar. Out of that moment came a song about grace, fatherhood, and the unconditional love that...

On this episode of Our American Stories, every October, porches glow with carved pumpkins and streets fill with costumed children, but the roots of Halloween reach much deeper than candy and costumes. The holiday began as All Hallows’ Eve, a night of remembrance that blended Christian and Celtic traditions. When Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in the United States, they carried those c...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1777, the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, hungry, freezing, and unsure if 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 with no Englis...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 36th episode of our  Story of America  series, Hillsdale College professor and author of  Land of Hope , Bill McClay, explores one of the turning points in American history: the moment the American frontier finally closed. For generations, the pioneers of the Westward Expansion had defined what it meant to be American. They built homes...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early days of the American War for Independence, Major General Benedict Arnold was one of the Revolution’s brightest stars. His victories at Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga made him one of the most admired American Revolutionary War leaders of his time. Yet the same ambition that drove his heroism would also lead to his downfall. Feeling overlook...

On this episode of Our American Stories, from card tables to golf courses, Titanic Thompson made a career out of winning bets nobody else could. Often called the greatest cheat of all time, he lived a life as daring as any gambling movie. The History Guy joins us to explain how his name became synonymous with risk, deception, and the thrill of the game. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanst...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Neil Armstrong ever stepped on the Moon, the Apollo 8 crew made history. More than one billion people listened as Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders took turns reciting the story of creation from the Bible. It was the first time human beings had traveled that far from home—and the first time they had seen the whole planet suspended in da...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard "Dick" Bong was a farm boy who learned to fly and never stopped pushing the limits of what a pilot could do. Flying the P-38 Lightning, he downed forty enemy aircraft, making him the nation’s Ace of Aces and one of the most decorated WWII aviators in history. Yet behind the record was a quiet Midwestern pilot who wrote letters home, worried ab...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before haunted houses filled October nights, Halloween in America was a mess. In the early twentieth century, it was less about candy and costumes and more about broken fences, stolen gates, and angry neighbors. Communities were desperate for order, and their answer came from an unexpected place. Schools, churches, and civic clubs began creating haunted att...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tommy DeCarlo’s story feels like a lost lyric from a Boston song. He worked at Home Depot by day and sang their music at night, never expecting anyone to hear him beyond a few friends. Then a homemade recording traveled farther than he ever could have planned. The surviving members of Boston, led by guitarist and founder Tom Scholz, invited him to joi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before D-Day, another battle was already being fought high above Europe. The late, great Stephen Ambrose brings us into that world, where bomber crews crossed the Channel in formation and hoped to see England again by nightfall. Through his eyes, we see the exhaustion of the men who flew, the calculations of the commanders who sent them, and the gradua...

On this episode of Our American Stories, he was one of the Civil War’s most gifted commanders—and one of its most enigmatic. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson moved through history like a myth in motion: calm in combat, withdrawn in peace, and utterly sure of his faith. Yet behind the reputation was a man wrestling with illness, loneliness, and an almost obsessive sense of duty. T...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Milton Nadler grew up fast. The day after Pearl Harbor, his paper route turned into a rush of headlines about war. Within a few short years, he was living those headlines himself. During the Battle of the Bulge, Milton found himself surrounded, outnumbered, and facing death in the frozen forests of Europe. What happened next defied every expectation. Suppor...

On this episode of Our American Stories, listener and Our American Stories  regular contributor, Brent Timmons, tells the story of spending time with his Uncle Bud in the final days of his life—and the life lessons he learned from him before he passed. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a Colorado mining town torn apart by violence and lawlessness, a man named Willie Kennard rode in to restore order. He was Black, he was new to town, and he was willing to take on a job no one else would. What followed turned him into a frontier legend. Armed with quiet confidence and a strong sense of right and wrong, Kennard faced down gunmen, earned t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the HMS Birkenhead  struck rocks off the coast of South Africa in 1852, chaos should have followed. Instead, what happened that night became one of history’s clearest displays of courage and order in the face of disaster. With lifeboats too few for the hundreds aboard, British soldiers stood their ground so that women and children could be s...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jedediah Smith’s story reads like the birth of the American West itself: bold, unforgiving, and full of faith. In an age when few dared to leave the safety of the frontier, he ventured across mountains and deserts no American had ever seen. He charted new routes to the Pacific, endured attacks and near starvation, and still pressed forward. His journa...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Greg Hall wasn’t looking for fame when Chile’s government asked for help rescuing 33 trapped miners. A businessman and Catholic deacon from Texas, he simply believed he could make a difference. Over 69 tense days, Hall and his team drilled through solid rock to reach the men the world feared were lost. He later said it was God who guided every t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Devon Westhill became the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he learned the meaning of perseverance from the woman who raised him. His mother faced poverty, long hours, and the weight of raising a family on her own in rural Florida. Yet through every setback, she refused to let her children see defeat. Her sto...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Bob McLalan’s son told him he wanted to become a Green Beret, the words carried a weight that lingered. There was courage in the choice, but also risk. Every parent hopes  their child finds purpose, yet few are ready for the moment that purpose calls them away. In this story, Bob shares how his son’s decision shaped their family’...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Nancy Kelsey left Missouri with her husband in 1841, she had no map, no guide, and no reason to believe she’d ever see home again. She was young, pregnant, and part of the first wagon train attempting to cross into California. The trail stretched endlessly, marked by hunger, broken wagons, and the quiet fear of being lost for good. Still, Nancy k...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. E. Wesley Ely of Vanderbilt University Medical Center shares deeply meaningful experiences—both medical and spiritual—from a patient’s suddenly shortened final days. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...