Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, at an age when most kids were still in school, John Clem was marching into battle. He joined the Union Army as a drummer boy at just 12 and quickly became a symbol of bravery. Wounded at Chickamauga and promoted on the field, he was known across the country as “Johnny Clem.” Kristin O’Donnell Tubb shares the true story of one of the Civil...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced a plan to expand the U.S. Supreme Court and shift its balance in favor of his New Deal legislation. The idea gained support...until a fellow Democrat pushed back. Hatton Sumners, a Texas congressman and New Deal ally, believed that court packing would harm the Constitution more than it would help the count...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Charles Urschel had money, influence, and a target on his back. When Machine Gun Kelly broke into his home and took him hostage, it seemed like just another high-profile crime in a lawless era. But Urschel didn’t panic. Instead, he took mental notes, tracking every moment, every voice, every clue. His memory became the FBI’s secret weapon and le...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The GAR Cemetery in Miami, Oklahoma, doesn’t look like much at first. But among the weathered headstones are the stories of Union and Confederate veterans, British pilots, rodeo stars, and forgotten locals who lived big lives before fading from memory. Nancy Bro has spent years documenting them—making sure their names, and the histories behind t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before engines and asphalt, movement meant muscle, yours or the horse’s. But riding bareback could only take humans so far. The saddle changed that. With structure, control, and later, the stirrup transformed the horse into a game-changing force in human history. From mounted armies to long-distance trade, this one invention shaped how empires rose, h...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before settlers arrived, and before maps labeled native nations, indigenous communities had already shaped the land we now call America. Their history reaches back thousands of years, far beyond the record books. Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, a Harvard-trained biologist and author of They Had Names: Tracing the History of the North American Indigenous People , exp...

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, a group home’s night out turned unforgettable when two strangers stepped in with a silent gift. Laurie Seibert had brought her group out for a well-earned dinner, never expecting someone across the room to cover the full bill. But that’s exactly what happened. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)   Support the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Wayne Gretzky didn’t have the size or speed most scouts looked for. But what he did have couldn’t be measured. With unmatched vision, timing, and instinct, he rewrote what was possible on the ice. He holds more than 60 NHL records and remains the only player to score over 200 points in a season, a feat he accomplished four times. We take a look...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when John O’Leary was nine years old, a house fire left him with burns over 100 percent of his body. Doctors said he wouldn’t survive. He did. They said he’d never walk again. He did. And when he returned home, his mother insisted he do one more thing no one thought possible: learn to play the piano. John had no fingers, but she believed h...

On this episode of Our American Stories, few musicians have soared as high—or fallen as hard—as Brian Wilson. After redefining American music with the Beach Boys and producing Pet Sounds , Wilson began working on a follow-up so ambitious that it became his undoing. The project,  SMiLE , pushed the boundaries of sound and pushed Wilson to the edge. For decades, he disappeared from...

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 decisi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bob McLalan, a regular contributor to  Our American Stories , shares why—after half a century—he still chats with his high school teacher. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)   Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, before air conditioning, summer shaped how people worked, where they lived, and which cities could survive the heat. That all began to change in 1902, when Willis Carrier designed a machine to solve humidity problems in a printing plant. His invention cooled the air around us and quietly reshaped modern life. From factories and theaters to homes and highway...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Red Sox were once a powerhouse in professional baseball, but for decades, their legacy was shaped by disappointment. Many fans pointed to the Curse of the Bambino, a superstition born the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. What followed were generations of heartbreak, near misses, and unanswered hope. When the curse was finally broken, it marked one...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert E. Lee is best known for leading Confederate forces during the Civil War, but his final role may be one of his most revealing. After the war, he accepted a position as president of a struggling college in Virginia, where he devoted himself to rebuilding and mentoring the next generation. Historian Allen Guelzo shares how this quiet period helped rede...

On this episode of Our American Stories, C.S. Lewis is best known for  The Chronicles of Narnia , but behind those pages lies a spiritual journey that shaped one of the most important Christian voices of the twentieth century. Lewis abandoned his faith during his years as a rising scholar at Oxford and identified as an atheist. But as fascism and communism gained ground across Europe, he reex...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1960s, Karl Marlantes stood at a crossroads: remain at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, or go to Vietnam and serve alongside the boys he grew up with, many of whom had already shipped out. He chose to go. That decision shaped his life in ways he’s still reckoning with. In this unflinching interview, Marlantes shares why he left behind comfo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sam Goodwin had already visited 180 countries, but when he entered Syria, he vanished. Captured and held without explanation, his fate became a test of everything he believed about God, family, and himself. In his darkest moments, it wasn’t politics or power that saved him. It was faith. In this unforgettable story of redemption, Sam shares how love,...

On this episode of Our American Stories, what did the Founding Fathers find in the ruins of Greece and Rome? A vision for how a free people might govern themselves. From Athens’ early experiments in democracy to the Roman Republic’s lessons in checks and balances, Dr. Kenneth Calvert of Hillsdale College unpacks how classical political thought shaped the government we know today. Suppo...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Manhattan became a skyline of steel and glass, it was home to the Wappinger tribe and one of its most courageous sons, Daniel Nimham. As a tribal chief and fierce defender of both his people and the emerging idea of America, Nimham fought alongside George Washington in some of the war’s harshest moments. Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Salem Witch Trials of 1692–1693 have become a symbol of religious hysteria and injustice, but how much of what we think we know is true? For decades, a cultural silence surrounded the real story until Arthur Miller’s  The Crucible  gave it a new narrative. Dr. Stephen Nichols unpacks the deeper history of the Puritans, the role of...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Lowell Lytle was one of the few people who actually visited the Titanic’s wreck at the bottom of the North Atlantic. He also spent years bringing its story to life, portraying Captain Smith at Titanic museums around the world. While Lowell has since passed away, in this powerful story, he reflects on what it felt like to dive 2.5 miles below the surfa...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Coach John Wooden led UCLA to 10 national championships, but his legacy runs deeper than wins. His Pyramid of Success reshaped how we think about coaching, competition, and character. Told through the voices of those who knew him best, this story explores how a humble Indiana native became one of the most respected figures in sports history. Support th...

On this episode of Our American Stories, what does freedom of religion really  mean? For Mariam Ibrahim, it meant the difference between life and death. Born in Sudan and sentenced to execution for her Christian faith, Mariam escaped religious persecution and built a new life with her family in the U.S. Her journey is a powerful reminder of the cost of belief—and the courage it takes to...