Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, in NASCAR, some names fade. But Dale Earnhardt does not. Dale Earnhardt Sr. built his reputation one race at a time, driving the black No. 3 and collecting championships like stamps. More than two decades later, Dale Earnhardt remains central to NASCAR’s story. Jay Busbee, author of  Earnhardt Nation , shares the tale of how a poor boy from Kanna...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Alcatraz: the inescapable prison. Inmates called it “the Rock,” and the distance from Alcatraz to the mainland was enough to make even the most hardened criminals shiver in fear. But in 1946, a group of prisoners attempted the impossible. They overpowered guards inside Alcatraz and tried to break out. The attempt spiraled into what became known...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert E. Lee is known for his role during the Civil War, but what about his life afterward? After the Confederate surrender, General Robert E. Lee returned to Virginia and accepted the presidency of a struggling college in Lexington. The aftermath of the Civil War left the South uncertain about its future, and Lee’s final years were spent guiding stu...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the top show of the 60's and 70's started with a simple question: "Scooby-Doo where are you?" The show introduced the Scooby-Doo gang, a group of teenagers and one nervous Great Dane riding around in the Mystery Machine, chasing ghosts that always turned out to be something far more human. Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of one of the most ironic cart...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ben Franklin had more “firsts” than most Americans could dream of. But before he was a statesman, a printer, or the face on the hundred-dollar bill, Benjamin Franklin was a devoted chess player. In fact, Benjamin Franklin’s chess history goes back further than most people realize. He is widely considered America’s first known chess p...

On this episode of Our American Stories, after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the real test began. Could a fragile rebellion defeat the most powerful empire on earth? In this episode of our ongoing Story of Us—Story of America  series, Dr. Bill McClay, a Hillsdale College professor and the author of  Land of Hope , tells the story of how American independence was secur...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of Rosa Parks is often reduced to a single moment on a Montgomery bus. But here, in her own voice, Rosa Parks tells the fuller story of what led to that decision and what followed. Through rare audio from Felicia Bell, the director of the Rosa Parks Museum, Parks herself explains how segregation shaped every part of daily life in the South, why sh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Valentine’s Day began as a feast honoring a third-century Christian martyr. So how did we get from beheading to betrothing? Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of Saint Valentine, a Roman priest executed under Emperor Claudius II for secretly marrying Christian couples. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show:...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when 18-year-old Shelby Houston prepared to preach for the first time, her father sent her a reassuring text. Hours later, Richard Houston, a 21-year veteran of the Mesquite Police Department, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call. At his memorial service, Shelby delivered a moving eulogy—one that reflected her father&rsq...

On this episode of Our American Stories, John Ragosta of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello shares the story of how religious persecution in colonial Virginia gave rise to one of America’s defining principles. As Baptist ministers were jailed and dissenters taxed to support the established church, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison joined forces with evangelical Christians to defeat state-s...

On this episode of Our American Stories, every Sunday, Our American Stories  host Lee Habeeb speaks with Mitchel “Big Mitch” Rutledge, who has spent more than forty years serving a life sentence in Alabama for killing a man. Mitch has never denied his crime or offered excuses for it. Instead, their conversations focus on what responsibility, faith, and accountability look like whe...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the Third Reich lasted just twelve years, but the destruction it unleashed reshaped the world forever. In this episode, we examine the rise of Adolf Hitler—not as a sudden coup, but as a political ascent made possible through elections, institutions, and public support. How did a nation renowned for its Christian tradition, artistic achievement, scien...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before leading ten publicly traded companies, Jerre Stead was waking up at 3 a.m. to deliver newspapers in rural Iowa. In this story, Stead explains how running a paper route at age nine—through snowstorms, strict deadlines, difficult customers, and personal loss—taught him the fundamentals of leadership, ethics, and responsibility. Those e...

On this episode of Our American Stories, historian Stephen Ambrose explains how World War II was actually fought, not just with tanks and planes, but with weapons that were often refinements of much older designs. From barbed wire and land mines to machine guns and artillery, Ambrose shares the story of how defensive positions were built, how infantry advanced, and why many of the war’s most...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Texas is one of the last surviving locomotives of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the line that helped create Atlanta, and played a starring role as the pursuit engine in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War. Jackson McQuigg of the Atlanta History Museum explains how the Texas chased the stolen General at extreme speed, how it later serv...

On this episode of Our American Stories, founder and CEO Monica Kelsey tells the remarkable true story behind Safe Haven Baby Boxes—secure drop boxes installed at fire stations that allow mothers to surrender newborns safely and anonymously. Conceived in rape and abandoned at birth, Monica later served in the military and became a firefighter/medic before discovering the circumstances of her...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ryan Stewart never imagined that walking dogs would become his calling. But after years of drifting, dogs became the constant that helped him grow up, slow down, and finally like who he was. In this deeply personal story, Ryan shares how working with dogs changed his life, and how he now uses that bond to reach people who’ve lost their way. Support th...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ulysses S. Grant returned from a triumphal world tour as one of the most admired men on earth—then, almost overnight, he was ruined. After a catastrophic investment collapse left him bankrupt and in debt, Grant was diagnosed with inoperable throat and tongue cancer. With death approaching, he took on one last fight: writing his memoirs to ensure his w...

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before modern Western dramas, there was Richard King, the real cattle king of the American West. Historian Roger McGrath and William Yancey of Texas A&M University–Kingsville share the story of how a New York orphan became one of the most powerful ranchers in American history, building the legendary King Ranch in South Texas, and helping tran...

On this episode of Our American Stories, a plain white cloth, roughly woven, unremarkable at first glance, turns out to be a powerful witness to slavery, war, and freedom. Chris Graham of the American Civil War Museum shares the story of a towel woven by an enslaved person on a South Carolina plantation during the Civil War. Long interpreted as evidence of Confederate hardship, the cloth reveals a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Pulitzer Prize winning author of  G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover , Beverly Gage, shares the story of J. Edgar Hoover’s forty-eight years at the center of American law enforcement. From his early obsession with files and bureaucracy, to his role under eight presidents, Hoover shaped the FBI—and the federal government itself—across the Depr...

On this episode of Our American Stories, writer Lilly Dancyger reflects on growing up with a father addicted to heroin, and the quiet ways addiction shaped her childhood. From early conversations about drugs to the confusing aftermath of her father’s death, she traces how love, denial, anger, and grief intertwined over time. Originally written for  Psychology Today , Lilly's tale is a d...

On this episode of Our American Stories, while plowing his field in the Ozarks, Ed Stilley suffered a heart attack and experienced a vision that would change his life. He believed God asked him to build musical instruments and give them to children, with a promise that his family would be cared for in return. The problem was simple: Ed had never made an instrument before. Musicians Kelly and Donna...

On this episode of Our American Stories, James Bradley Thayer and Chauncey Wright grew up in rural Massachusetts with little to suggest they would one day enter Harvard’s elite world. Yet both rose into Harvard Yard, where their paths sharply diverged. Thayer became a towering figure at Harvard Law, shaping generations of Supreme Court justices, while Wright’s brilliance was undone by...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Elizabeth Smith Friedman helped build modern American cryptography, though much of her work remained classified for decades. From World War I through World War II, she broke enemy codes, trained military intelligence officers, dismantled Prohibition-era smuggling networks, and exposed Nazi spy rings operating in South America. Lindsay Larkin, who attended F...