Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, on August 24, 1919, Cleveland Indians pitcher Ray Caldwell made his debut at League Park before a crowd of 20,000. In the ninth inning, with victory in sight, lightning suddenly struck the field—and Caldwell himself. Fans thought he had been killed. Instead, moments later, he stood up, shook it off, and finished the game. It remains one of the most as...

On this episode of Our American Stories, it was never supposed to be their mission. But in March 1944, through a twist of circumstance, Lt. Bill Owen’s crew became the first to fly a B-17 Flying Fortress into Berlin during World War II. Against heavy defenses from the German Luftwaffe, they dropped bombs in the heart of the Third Reich and returned to tell the story. John O’Neil, Chair...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Bill of Rights was drafted, a group of ordinary citizens in Queens, New York, made a bold stand for freedom. In 1657, they issued the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition demanding the right to worship without interference from government. Their words, written in a small colonial town, would echo more than a century later in the First Amendment...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven spent decades at the top of the hotel world, rising to President and COO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. and earning a reputation as one of the sharpest business leaders of his generation. Looking back on a lifetime in service and management, Leven offers a piece of wisdom he believes every company should take seriously: the bigger the bureaucracy, the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, it was scratched, heavy, and imperfect, but to Joy Neal Kidney, the old upright piano her mother left behind was priceless. She remembered the sound of hymns and simple songs filling the house, her mother’s hands steady on the keys. Years later, when the piano became hers, every touch of the keys carried those moments back. Joy shares the story of her...

On this episode of Our American Stories, few figures embody the rise of America’s economy in the nineteenth century more than Cornelius Vanderbilt. He began with nothing, working the waters of New York Harbor, and built a fortune that placed him among the wealthiest people in history. Known to some as a railroad baron and to others as the very model of a captain of industry, Vanderbilt creat...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Bryk has spent years in the saddle, but in this story, he takes us to a place most riders overlook: the quiet, deliberate work of caring for a horse. Before a hoof hits the trail or a rider lifts the reins, there are coats to brush, manes to comb, and hooves to clean. Even teeth require attention—a reminder that a horse’s strength begins wi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Clarence Smoyer, a gunner in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—became one of World War II’s most unlikely heroes. In Cologne, his Pershing tank faced Gustav Schaefer’s Panzer in a duel captured on film, now one of history’s most famous armored battles. Best-selling author Adam Makos shares Smoye...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Skip Reeves grew up in a military family, traveling the world, making music, and building a life surrounded by love and stability. He never questioned the bond he had with his father, a man who taught him strength, respect, and decency. But decades later, as an adult with children of his own, Skip learned a secret that had been hidden since he was five year...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in December 1968, 19-year-old Frank Olivo showed up at a Philadelphia Eagles game in a Santa suit, hoping to bring some holiday cheer to the crowd. What happened next became one of the strangest and funniest moments in football history. Instead of applause, Olivo was booed, jeered, and pelted with snowballs by frustrated Eagles fans. The story has lived on...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom and Lillian Lyons married in 1946 and spent a lifetime together on the south side of Chicago. Lillian’s opera career began before marriage, and it was her voice that first captured Tom’s heart. Through decades of family life, that music remained at the center of their love. When Lillian died, Tom thought he would never hear her sing again. B...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Albert E. Brumley, the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers, wrote “I’ll Fly Away,” the most recorded gospel song in history. Rooted in Southern gospel traditions, its message of faith and freedom has inspired churches, revivals, and concert halls for nearly a century. Brumley’s journey from poverty to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame shows ho...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories regular contributor Leslie Leyland Fields shares a heartwarming story about what she learned from a baby bald eagle at her Kodiak Island, Alaska, home—and how it connected to her own kids “leaving the roost” for the first time in their lives. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)   Support...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on September 11, 2001, firefighter Niels Jorgensen ran toward the collapsing Twin Towers as part of the FDNY brotherhood that risked everything to save lives. Like so many first responders, he later faced a slower, quieter enemy: cancer caused by the toxic dust that blanketed Lower Manhattan after the attacks. His illness connected him with someone far outs...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, his hand rested on a Bible that would become one of America’s most treasured artifacts. That same Bible was on loan to Fraunces Tavern, a Revolutionary War landmark near the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001. After the towers fell, the search for survivors gave way to the search for the d...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1798, President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, laws meant to protect the young nation during conflict with France. Supporters saw them as necessary for security, while critics argued they violated the First Amendment and gave government dangerous power. Dr. Adam Carrington explains why these laws became so divisive and how they continue t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, few filmmakers embody the American dream as vividly as Frank Capra. Born in Sicily in 1897, he carried the memory of arriving at New York Harbor—and his father pointing to the Statue of Liberty—through World War I and into Hollywood’s golden age. In films like It’s a Wonderful Life,  Capra celebrated resilience, community, and t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Bonnie Brown Rowcliffe prepared to sell her childhood home, she dreaded the moment she would walk through its doors for the last time. Every wall carried the weight of memory, and every room felt like a reminder of her late parents. On her final day in the house, she opened one last cupboard and found something unexpected: her father’s “dou...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, created some of the most famous children’s books of the 20th century. Two of his best-known works,  The Lorax  and  How the Grinch Stole Christmas , show just how intentional he could be. The Lorax stood among the Truffula trees and spoke for the environment, long before environmentalism was a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as Lower Manhattan filled with smoke and chaos on September 11, 2001, escape routes vanished. Bridges and tunnels were shut down, subways halted, and thousands of people were trapped at the edge of the island with no way out. In that moment, the harbor became their only hope. The call went out: “All available boats.” Fireboats, tugboats, ferries...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the planes struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald was left devastated. The investment firm’s offices spanned the upper floors of the North Tower, leaving no chance of escape. In less than an hour, 658 employees were gone—more lives than any other company lost that day. Among them was the brother of CEO Howard...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Stars and Stripes became the national banner, another symbol of liberty flew over American ships. Known as the Pine Tree Flag, or the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, it was one of the earliest wartime flags of the Revolution. In 1775, George Washington ordered it raised on six schooners that made up the first naval force of the colonies. Its...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the mid-20th century, families desperate for answers turned to a radical procedure known as the lobotomy. Promoted as a cure for everything from depression to schizophrenia, its brutal methods left thousands of patients permanently damaged. At the center was Dr. Walter Freeman, whose name became synonymous with the transorbital lobotomy and the dark side...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Lori Coan was on her second date with a boy she wasn’t sure about when something happened that changed her mind—and her life. A group of troublemakers tripped a girl with polio, sending her sprawling in front of everyone. Most of the students laughed or looked away. Lori’s date didn’t. He jumped up, helped the girl to her feet, and g...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on the frigid night of February 3, 1943, the troop ship  USS Dorcheste r was struck by a German torpedo. Within twenty minutes, the ship slipped beneath the waves. As it did, a Methodist minister, a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Dutch Reformed pastor moved calmly through the panicked crowd—guiding soldiers to lifeboats, offering prayers,...