Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, Flannery O’Connor wanted to shake her readers awake. Her mother wanted her to write the next  Gone with the Wind . Here to tell her story is Jonathan Rogers, author of  The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O’Connor . Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tony Mandarich’s story became immortalized by two  Sports Illustrated  covers—one hailing him as “The Incredible Bulk” heading  into  the 1989 draft, and another in 1992 labeling him “The NFL’s Incredible BUST” as his four-year career in Green Bay came to an end. Here’s Tony Mandarich himse...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sophia and Deshaun Olds were married in 2004 but didn’t immediately think about starting a family. They were busy serving overseas and pursuing their education. That all changed when, after 13 years without children, they became a family of nine—literally overnight. Here they are with their story. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstorie...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1938, many Americans were scared. As the news from Europe grew increasingly grim, radio listeners had grown accustomed to urgent bulletins about a crisis that threatened to plunge the world into another war. Sensing an opportunity, Orson Welles—not yet a household name—seized on the public's anxiety and, on Halloween night, delivered a broadc...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ben Franklin holds the distinction of many "firsts" in American history. He invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, bifocals, the urinary catheter, swim fins, and the odometer. He also founded America's first public library, the first volunteer fire company, fire insurance company, and hospital, and became the nation's first Postmaster General. As C...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Professor Jeff Bloodworth tells the story of John McCormack, who rose from humble beginnings in South Boston to become a masterful legislator and the first Catholic Speaker of the House. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Britney Ruby Miller is the CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, where she leads a team of more than 500 employees across seven luxury steakhouses in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. She’s also the author of  5-Star Life: The Faithful Fight to Overcome Obstacles and Pursue Excellence . Here she is with her story! Support the show ( https://www.o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when a stadium full of excited sports fans pressed downhill against inadequate crowd control, tragedy struck in an instant. Michael Brin—a player on the field that day and now an emergency physician—shares his harrowing story of the infamous University of Wisconsin stampede and its aftermath. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert Marovich, a writer for the  Journal of Gospel Music , shares the story of Thomas A. Dorsey and how the tragic loss of his wife and newborn child in 1932 led him to write the gospel classic "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"—a hymn that would later become a favorite of Martin Luther King Jr. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dr. Theodore Schwartz, a neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine and best-selling author of  Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery , shares how he approaches the difficult task of delivering bad news to patients with terminal and late-stage brain cancer. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ou...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jill Duggar and her husband, Derick, share the unedited truth behind TLC’s hit television show that captivated the nation,  19 Kids and Counting . Their story has become a New York Times instant bestseller with their memoir,  Counting the Cost . Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.oura...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when it comes to infrastructure that helps keep us safe while we drive, perhaps the greatest cost-to-benefit ratio in terms of saving lives is painted lane lines on roads. Here's the story of how they came to be. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/list...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Canada is an independent nation, not part of the United States. A lot of that has to do with smallpox. Here to tell the story is William Federer, president of AmeriSearch. 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, in part three of our five-part series, Brett Favre gets very personal about his miraculous Monday Night Football game, which occurred immediately after his father’s passing. 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, we all have a Billy Graham story—Ruth Graham, Billy's daughter, shares hers in the touching eulogy she gave at her father's funeral as part of our ongoing Final Thoughts series.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Stephen Ambrose wrote the definitive biography of Dwight Eisenhower. Ike was born in a small rented shack beside the railroad tracks in Denison, Texas. He was raised in a family of Mennonites—fundamentalists in their Christian faith who were also committed pacifists. Here's the late Ambrose himself with the story of our 34th president. Support the sho...

On this episode of Our American Stories, today, the Super Bowl is the most-watched event on television—between 90 and 110 million people tune in to the "big game" each year. Americans consume 1.45 billion chicken wings (enough to circle the Earth three times), eat 28 million slices of pizza, and drink 325 million gallons of beer on this unofficial holiday. But it wasn’t always this way...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Latin is the dead language of the Romans—but to David P. Hardy, it was exactly what inner-city kids needed to thrive in school and become good citizens. Here's David with the story of how he founded Boys' Latin—and fell in love with being an educator in the worst neighborhood Philadelphia had to offer.  Support the show ( https://www.o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers a truly extraordinary Civil War heroine, Mary Edwards Walker. She is the only woman in U.S. history to receive the Medal of Honor. 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, Presidential historian and author of   Grant's Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon , Louis Picone, shares the story of the creation, degradation, and revitalization of the former president's final resting place in New York City. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show:...

On this episode of Our American Stories, author Louis Picone tells the story of how Grant's memoirs came to be while the former president was bankrupt and dying of cancer. 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, Dr. John Marszalek and Eddie Rangel of the Grant Presidential Library share the story of how Ulysses S. Grant went from selling firewood on a street corner to leading the U.S. Army to victory in the Civil War. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listene...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Professor David Babcock shares his inspiring and quirky story of how he earned a Guinness World Record for knitting the longest scarf while running a marathon. 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, from bifocals and the cotton gin to the automobile and the iPhone, America has a long history of inventions that changed the world. But not every invention was born from necessity—some were created simply for fun. In this episode, author Natascha Biebow joins us to share the colorful true story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of Crayola crayons, as told...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Pastor Greg Laurie tells the story of his life—from growing up in the tumult of the ’60s, to finding God, and ultimately making peace with his family Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.