Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy tells the story of everything you've ever wanted to know—and more—about toilet paper.  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, shortly after ratifying the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting a citizen’s right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude", Thomas Mundy Peterson made history and became our nation's first black voter.  Here to tell this great American story is the Jack Miller Center 's Editorial Offic...

On this episode of Our American Stories, our regular contributor from Kodiak Island in Alaska, Leslie Leyland Fields, shares the story of the heart-breaking relationship between her and her father...and it's not what you'd expect. 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, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. The book is  Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/don...

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to know about the history of America, you must know the role the Bible played in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers, Christian and non-Christian—were heavily influenced by the Bible. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan author of  100 Bible Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Enduring Foundation o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, our regular contributor and listener Paul Bauer from Minneapolis, MN brings us a story entitled “Lessons from Gizmo” ...about his best friend—his dog.  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, the sport of Snowboarding skyrocketed when a young East Coast college graduate made some innovative designs that have lasted to this very day. Here’s our own Greg Hengler to tell us the story of Jake Burton and the sport that became a worldwide phenomenon. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.our...

On this episode of Our American Stories, aided by Mark Twain, the former president and Civil War hero raced to complete a literary masterpiece that saved his wife from destitution. Christopher Klein is here with the story. 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, buried beneath the St. Patrick’s Day symbols of shamrocks, leprechauns, and green beer, lies the story of a man determined to share a message with a people who made him a slave. Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/li...

On this episode of Our American Stories, today, the word "Puritan" is often used as an insult—but who were the Puritans? Our own Greg Hengler (and others) tell the story of the men and women who tamed the wilderness and shaped what would become America in their own image—and in the image of their God.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw's life was permanently altered when he read  Uncle Tom's Cabin.  He would soon find himself leading one of the Union's first all-black regiments to see combat in the Civil War. Shaw would later be played by Matthew Broderick (I.E Ferris Bueller) in the hit 1989 movie Glory. Here to tell the story is Kirk Higgins of the&nb...

On this episode of Our American Stories, James Smithson was never accepted by his father, the Duke of Northumberland. He never married, had no children, and spent his life studying minerals—but his parting gift to the world upon his death was to a country he never set foot in or even spoke about during his lifetime. Wyatt Hensley, a history education major at Pittsburgh University and a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, although President Eisenhower’s name is forever etched upon our interstate highway system, Charles Zug wanted to know if this was true. Zug is an Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy and Political Science at the University of Missouri, a Jack Miller Center fellow, and the author of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Federal Highway Act . Support...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before he was a television star, James Best was orphaned at the age of three. During WWII he served with the Military Police in war-torn Germany. He became one of the hottest acting coaches in Hollywood training the likes of Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Glen Campbell, Quentin Tarantino, and Regis Philbin.  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanst...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Young Army Rangers scaled Normandy cliffs under rifle fire and grenade blasts. Why did they do it? Hear President Reagan celebrate the surviving Rangers at the site, near the monument to the daggers they drove in to top the walls of Hitler's "Fortress Europe." Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouram...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the rock band Boston has sold over 75 million albums with classic hits like "More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” “Rock and Roll Band,” “Smokin',” and “Don't Look Back.”  Here’s Greg Hengler with the story about a Home Depot employee and his favorite rock n roll band. Support the show ( http...

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to understand the history of America, it is essential to recognize the Bible's role in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers—both Christian and non-Christian—were deeply influenced by it. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, author of  100 Bible Verses That Made America . Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanst...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Kit Carson is one of the most complex characters in American history. The good and the bad that come with the great conquest of the American West are summed up in this one man’s unaccountable life. Our regular contributor Roger McGrath tells the story. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramer...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Wild Bill Donovan penned a letter to President Roosevelt expressing the need for the United States to have special forces units in WWII (which would eventually become the OSS and later the CIA), he looked back at America’s first modern conflict—the Civil War—and the group that attempted the first color revolution in history: the Confe...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Oliver Hazard Perry sailed into battle on Lake Erie in September of 1813, the words "don't give up the ship" were stitched into his battle flag—honoring the late Captain James Lawrence. Perry won—and won decisively. Here to tell the story of Perry—and his astonishing victory—is Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation Project . ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of how Monopoly came to be often goes like this: Charles Darrow, an out-of-work salesman, sat down amid the Great Depression and created the board game after watching his friends play a game involving the buying and selling of properties. He'd bring the game to the Parker Brothers and the rest is history. The truth, however, is far more complicate...

On this episode of Our American Stories, miles outside of the motor city in South Bend, Indiana, one of America’s most iconic classic car companies battled for survival against the ever-increasing tides against it. Automotive historian Patrick Foster brings us the story of Studebaker. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstor...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories listener and regular contributor Paul Kotz gives a touching tribute to his father for our' This Week in History' series. At a time when Paul needed a great deal of encouragement, his father turned to an American novelist to cheer him up. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https://www.ouramer...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Today, getting the flu (for most people) means a few days on the couch—or in the worst case—a visit to the hospital. In 1918, however, it was a potential death sentence, and the treatments might have been even worse. Dr. Jeremy Brown, author of  Influenza: The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History ,  tells the stor...

On this episode of Our American Stories, most know the famous line from the film A pocalypse Now , which showed Robert Duvall standing in a bombed-out field saying: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” The man who  actually  said that was Colonel David Hackworth. Here's his story! Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate ) Support the show: https:/...