Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, John Ford was at the top of Hollywood. The director of  Stagecoach ,  The Grapes of Wrath , and  How Green Was My Valley  had money, fame, power, and back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Director. Then, at forty-seven, he walked away from Hollywood and went on active duty with the U.S. Navy. For our  Hollywood Goes to War  seri...

On this episode of Our American Stories, caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer's is often invisible work, but not in this powerful account from Meryl Comer. The Emmy-winning journalist opens up about her husband's early-onset Alzheimer's and the emotional journey of becoming his full-time caregiver. Drawing from her memoir  Slow Dancing with a Stranger , she offers deeply personal insight...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 6, 1944, as Allied troops fought their way onto the beaches of Normandy, Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to an anxious nation. Rather than deliver a conventional presidential address, Roosevelt led his listeners in prayer for the men fighting overseas. For six minutes, FDR asked God to strengthen the troops, comfort those who would lose loved ones, and...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before VHS, streaming, or even the ability to watch  Star Wars  whenever they wanted, children had another way to return to a galaxy far, far away: toys. Kenner soon became one of the world's largest toy manufacturers, but after  Return of the Jedi  and George Lucas's decision to step away from  Star Wars , the phenomenon seemed to...

On this episode of Our American Stories, historian Stephen Ambrose considered Dwight D. Eisenhower both a great man and a good one. Born in a rented shack beside the railroad tracks in Denison, Texas, and raised in a deeply religious, pacifist family in Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower rose from an obscure Army officer to Supreme Allied Commander and eventually President of the United States. Ambrose,...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Angelo Ruffino rows through the canals of Southern California, singing his original music to passengers and perfecting a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. But he’s more than a romantic oarsman. He’s a racer, a performer, and a champion for gondola culture, hoping one day to bring it to the Olympic stage. Our own Lee Habeeb sits down wi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in March 1861, seven Southern states had already left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Virginia and the rest of the Upper South were still deciding what to do. Lincoln entered the presidency with no executive experience and a question hanging over the country: Could the Union survive...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The iPhone, radar, and TV dinners don't appear to have much in common, but each tells a surprising story about how innovation really happens. The iPhone brought together technologies developed over decades, many of them originating in government and military research. Radar began with British scientists investigating the possibility of a "death ray" before...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Spotify, playlists, and music on demand, there was the jukebox. Drop in a nickel, pick a song, and a machine glowing with lights and color could provide the soundtrack for a bar, restaurant, or teenage hangout. Along the way, jukeboxes helped spread new sounds, gave Black musicians another way to reach listeners during segregation, and became an unmi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Kevlar is now a staple of body armor, trusted by law enforcement, military personnel, and first responders, but when Stephanie Kwolek first developed the fiber in a DuPont lab, it was almost thrown away. The material didn’t behave like others, and no one saw a use for it. Kwolek pushed for further testing, convinced it was worth more. That decision le...

On this episode of Our American Stories, they wanted to serve their country, but the U.S. military wouldn't let women fly its planes. So in 1942, a remarkable group of American women crossed the Atlantic and joined Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying Spitfires, bombers, and battered aircraft between factories, repair depots, and frontline airfields. Some arrived as stunt pilots and flying...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Nancy 3 Hoffman started collecting the little sleeves that come with umbrellas after finding a few while cleaning her house. Soon, friends and family were giving her theirs, along with stories about where the umbrellas had been and how their covers had survived. Then came what Nancy jokingly calls her "crime of passion": stealing a particularly beautiful um...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the Mars family makes some of the most recognizable products in the world, from M&M's, Snickers, and Skittles to Pedigree pet food. Yet more than a century after Frank Mars founded the company in 1911, Mars remains privately held and controlled by the family, even as it has grown into one of the world's largest family businesses. Victoria Mars, the foun...

On this episode of Our American Stories, a legend and leader in the hotel industry, Horst Schulze has reshaped how service and hospitality are defined in business—setting standards that have become world-famous. Over the years, he worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of the luxury hotel chain, the Ritz-Carlton, in 1983. Horst...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Cliff Shiepe was working his dream job on the backlot of Disney when his body began to fail. A series of unexplained fevers sent him from studio sets to his childhood bedroom, where he would spend the next decade bedridden. Doctors couldn’t explain what was happening. Most people would have given up. Cliff didn’t. He leaned on his faith, the unw...

On this episode of Our American Stories, William A. Scott III went to war for a country that still treated him as a second-class citizen. Drafted into the segregated U.S. Army in 1943, the young Morehouse College photographer served with an all-Black combat engineer battalion as Patton's Third Army pushed across Europe. Then came an assignment Scott could never have prepared for: Buchenwald. Scott...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in February 1860, Abraham Lincoln traveled to New York City with something to prove. The country was tearing itself apart over slavery, and Lincoln believed he could demonstrate that those demanding its expansion had misunderstood the very Founders they claimed to defend. So the Illinois lawyer did what he knew best: he built a case. After months spent stud...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Fernando Arroyo knew exactly what he wanted to do after watching the September 11 attacks unfold from his high school classroom. Within weeks, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and volunteered for the 82nd Airborne Division. By 19, Arroyo was fighting in Fallujah, where his first combat mission ended with him killing an insurgent and confronting a question that...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when automobiles first took over American roads, drivers had speed but few of the rules we now take for granted. Roads often had no marked lanes, traffic laws varied from place to place, and thousands were dying in crashes each year. Then a handful of Americans began experimenting with an extraordinarily simple solution: paint a line down the middle of the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ralph Stayer had built Johnsonville Sausage into a tremendous success, but the wealth that came with it left him deeply uncomfortable. Raised Catholic, he couldn't shake Christ's warning about the difficulty of a rich man entering heaven. He prayed about giving his money away, moving into a small apartment, or leaving everything behind to serve others. Then...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. Seuss believed children could spot a sermon coming from a mile away. That's why the author behind  How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  and  The Lorax  worked so carefully to give his stories moral weight without talking down to his young readers.  The Grinch  reflected Seuss's own complicated relationship with consumerism afte...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the summer of 1941 belonged to two of baseball's greatest hitters. Ted Williams entered the final day of the season batting .39955. Rather than protect a mark that would have rounded to .400, he played both games of a doubleheader, went six for eight, and finished at .406. No major leaguer has hit .400 since. Yet even Williams' season was overshadowed by wh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Christine Handy had spent most of her life in front of a camera. She began modeling at 11 and eventually landed campaigns with Pepsi, J.Crew, Petco, and Target. But as her career grew, Christine's sense of worth became tied almost entirely to how she looked. Then a routine wrist surgery went terribly wrong. A missed infection left the bones in her wrist des...

On this episode of Our American Stories, he helped fight for America’s freedom, then shaped the city that would represent it. Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed Washington, D.C. with intention: circles, lines, and avenues that all meant something. But what began as a grand commission ended in conflict. L’Enfant’s refusal to give up control led to his removal. The plan moved o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson returns with more from his guide to the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language, this time diving into how phrases like "gung-ho" and "cheesy smile" came to be. His book,  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases , is full of these fascinating stories. Be sure to check...