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PODCAST

Our American Stories

Our American Stories tells stories that aren’t being told. Positive stories about generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love. Stories about the past and present. And stories about ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things each and every day. Stories from our listeners about their lives. And their history. In that pursuit, we hope we’ll be a place where listeners can refresh their spirit, and be inspired by our stories.

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

10:49

How Bananas Changed the World

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/30

On this episode of Our American Stories, Americans eat roughly 4.5 million tons of bananas every year. They’re cheap, plentiful, and so ordinary that most of us toss a bunch into the shopping cart without giving them a second thought. But getting that banana onto the supermarket shelf required ships, railroads, enormous corporations, and a global trade that helped shape American involvement in Central America. The fruit even gave us the term “banana republic” and one of

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27:27

From $1,000 Down to 1,500 Employees: Bob Huff's...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/30

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bob Huff grew up outside Dayton, Ohio, in a three-room house without indoor plumbing, raised largely by a single mother who taught him that when something needed to be done, you went to work. Years later, that lesson followed Bob and his wife, Lynn, into a struggling 35-bed nursing home they bought with $1,000 borrowed for the down payment. There was no staff of executives waiting for them. Bob and Lynn cooked meals, washed dishes, painted walls, cared for

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38:16

Sidney Poitier: The Actor Who Broke Hollywood's Color...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/29

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sidney Poitier arrived in New York as a teenager with almost nothing. He sometimes slept on rooftops and in pay toilets, worked as a dishwasher, and could barely read. When he auditioned for the American Negro Theater, he was thrown out and told to go find work washing dishes. Instead, Poitier taught himself to read, changed the way he spoke by imitating voices on the radio, and learned how to act. Within a decade, he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars.Aram

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20:18

Bruce Wang, All-American: The Chinese Cowboy with a...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/29

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bruce Wang grew up in southwestern China and came to America for college, eventually finding his way to West Texas. Then someone took him to a rodeo. Bruce was fascinated. Before long, he was wearing cowboy boots, watching Duck Dynasty, studying Southern accents, and learning everything he could about cattle and the people who raised them.Bruce shares how an international student who knew little about Texas found himself falling in love with cowboy culture

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9:59

The Surprisingly Strange History of Toilet Paper

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/29

On this episode of Our American Stories, toilet paper might seem like a modern necessity, but the truth is messier—and much older. Long before perforated rolls and flushable comfort, people used whatever they could find: seashells, corn cobs, even stones.Our American Stories regular contributor, The History Guy, shares the story of what people used before toilet paper was invented—and how one man’s idea for “medicated paper” launched an industry no one wanted to talk

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7:59

How One Hatmaker Shaped the Image of the American West

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/29

On this episode of Our American Stories, the cowboy hat didn’t come from Texas or tumbleweeds. Instead, it came from a modest Philadelphia workshop. John B. Stetson transformed durable felt and a wide brim into a practical design that would become one of the most iconic symbols of the American frontier. His creation topped the heads of Western legends like Buffalo Bill and Will Rogers, and later, Hollywood cowboys like John Wayne.Our own Reagan Habeeb shares the story of how a humble hatmaker

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38:16

Wally Amos: The Real Man Behind Famous Amos Cookies

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/28

On this episode of Our American Stories, Wally Amos was a talent agent who worked with some of the biggest names in show business before a chocolate chip cookie changed his life. In 1975, with backing from friends including Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy, Amos opened a cookie shop on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. His Famous Amos cookies soon became a national sensation.His daughter, Sarah Amos, shares the remarkable and complicated story of her father, from his childhood in segregated Tallahassee,

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10:49

Ten Cent Beer Night: When Cheap Beer Sparked Chaos in...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/28

On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians hosted the Texas Rangers in what began as a regular MLB game and ended as one of the most infamous promotions in baseball history. Known as “Ten Cent Beer Night,” the evening promised cheap drinks to boost attendance. What followed was a riot on the field, a forfeit, and a chapter of baseball history that still stuns fans today.The History Guy recounts the unbelievable story of the night chaos replaced

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9:29

When a Bathroom Drug Deal Was Interrupted by Jesus

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/28

On this episode of Our American Stories, it started in a bathroom, where a man trapped in addiction waited to make another bad decision. Pastor Greg Laurie didn’t know what he was walking into—only that something told him to go. Inside, he found a man on the edge: tired, angry, and ready to give up. Instead of turning away, Greg spoke about grace, and in that small, stained room, something began to shift.The encounter led to a renewed faith and a brand-new life rebuilt from the ruins of

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17:58

My Father’s Escape from Castro’s Cuba

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/28

On this episode of Our American Stories, Cuba’s 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power and forced countless families to make an impossible choice: stay under a communist regime or flee their homeland. Mike Gonzalez’s father once called Castro a friend, but soon discovered the price of living under his rule. With freedoms stripped away and fear taking hold, escape became the only option.Mike shares his family’s story of exile, revealing what Cuba was like before Castro and

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10:49

Dwayne Johnson’s Heartfelt Goodbye to His Father,...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/25

On this episode of Our American Stories, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson spent his life fighting for a place in professional wrestling. As a Black wrestler performing before largely white audiences in the 1960s and ’70s, he faced racism inside and outside the ring, but kept winning over crowds with his charisma and athleticism. Years later, when his son Dwayne decided to become a wrestler himself, Rocky became his trainer, pushing him through grueling workouts and passing down the lessons

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9:29

What It Means to Be the Only Lawyer in Town

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/25

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Bryk may be the only practicing lawyer in his small New Hampshire town, so when a 17-year-old neighbor got a speeding ticket, her family knew who to call. The problem was that she had already paid the fine, assuming that would be the end of it. Instead, she'd unknowingly put her driver's license at risk. Bill agreed to help her fight to keep it.Regular contributor Bill Bryk shares what happened when a seemingly ordinary speeding ticket ended up before a

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17:58

How the USPS Stamped Itself onto American History

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/25

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Founders knew firsthand that a postal system could be used as a tool of government surveillance. Before the Revolution, British officials had opened and inspected colonial mail, giving Americans good reason to distrust putting their letters in government hands. But the new nation faced a different problem. Its people were scattered across vast distances, and a republic could hardly function if they couldn't remain connected.Daniel Piazza of the

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10:49

A Jewish Soldier’s Unbelievable Survival at the...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/25

On this episode of Our American Stories, Milton Nadler grew up fast. The day after Pearl Harbor, his paper route turned into a rush of headlines about war. Within a few short years, he was living those headlines himself. During the Battle of the Bulge, Milton found himself surrounded, outnumbered, and facing death in the frozen forests of Europe. What happened next defied every expectation.Here's Milton himself with the story of how he survived an encounter by the skin of his teeth... kinda. We'd

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27:27

The Mad Scientists of Malibu: Surfing’s Early Pioneers

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/25

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Roger McGrath first paddled out at Malibu as a boy in the 1950s, surfing was still a small fraternity with only a few decades of history in California. The boards were heavy, the crowds were thin, and many of the men riding those waves were quietly reinventing the sport. Roger grew up among them, and decades later, he shares the story of the surfers who built the culture he fell in love with.It begins with George Freeth, who brought stand-up surfing to

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10:49

“Hey Kid, Catch!” The Coca-Cola Ad That Made Mean Joe...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/24

On this episode of Our American Stories, few commercials have left a mark like Coca-Cola’s “Hey Kid, Catch!” starring "Mean" Joe Greene. Greene, already one of the greatest defensive players in the NFL, gained a new kind of fame as the spot played during football broadcasts nationwide.Our own Greg Hengler (and others) share the story of how a 60-second spot became one of the most memorable moments in sports and advertising history. Support the show

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9:29

“Son of a Gun” & “Steal My Thunder” and the Wonderful...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/24

On this episode of Our American Stories, we use them without thinking. Someone gets “sold down the river.” A project has to “start from scratch.” An idea “steals our thunder.” But behind these familiar expressions are stories involving ancient athletes, biblical passages, British sailors, American slavery, theater rivalries, and baseball.Andrew Thompson, author of Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases,

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17:58

Empathy Is Not Optional: The Professor Who Changed...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/24

On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven was studying law at the University of Chicago when a bad grade sent him to his professor's office looking for help. Instead, the professor gave him a verdict: “You don't understand contracts, and I don't think you ever will.” Mike walked out, sold his law books, and went home. His legal career was over almost as soon as it had begun.Leven would go on to become one of America's most successful hoteliers, but he never forgot how it felt

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30:17

Bloodletting, Whiskey, and the Strange History of...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/24

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1918, influenza swept across the world with terrifying speed, killing millions. Doctors were desperate to stop it, but there was a fundamental problem: they didn't even know what caused the flu. Patients were subjected to bloodletting and enemas, prescribed whiskey, and even exposed to toxic factory gases, while scientists pursued theories involving bacteria, the weather, and tainted Russian oats. Somewhere among the confusion was a disease medicine could

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7:59

How “Women and Children First” Began

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/24

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the HMS Birkenhead struck rocks off the coast of South Africa in 1852, chaos should have followed. Instead, what happened that night became one of history’s clearest displays of courage and order in the face of disaster. With lifeboats too few for the hundreds aboard, British soldiers stood their ground so that women and children could be saved. Their calm obedience became known as the Birkenhead Drill: a model of discipline that would inspire

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