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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

7:59

In the Shadows of Bataan: The Untold Story of the...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/17

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines during World War II, a group of American nurses found themselves caught in the fighting on Bataan. Evacuation was still possible, but they chose to stay. In makeshift hospitals carved out of the jungle, they cared for wounded soldiers through heat, bombardment, and disease. Supplies disappeared. Food ran out. Still, they worked—often through the night—using what little they had to keep their patients

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38:16

David McCullough on the Life and Legacy of John Adams

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/16

On this episode of Our American Stories, John Adams carried the weight of a nation that was still fragile and untested. He was the second president of the United States, a man caught between loyalty to his principles and the demands of politics. The late historian David McCullough shares Adams’ story not as a list of accomplishments—but as the life of a husband, father, and revolutionary who believed deeply in the republic he helped create.We’d like to thank theJohn Adams

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20:18

She Wanted to Be a Movie Star, So She Moved to Yosemite

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/16

On this episode of Our American Stories, at 19 years old, Donna Martin had a plan. She was going to leave Forest, Mississippi, spend the summer working as a lifeguard in Yosemite, and use her days off to drive over to Hollywood and become a movie star. It sounded simple enough. Then she got to California and discovered that Yosemite wasn't exactly next door to Hollywood, her summer job involved more than sitting beside a swimming pool, and life away from home wasn't quite what she had imagined.Donna

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9:59

The Day a Soviet Nuclear Submarine Got Run Over by an...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/16

On this episode of Our American Stories, on the night of March 21, 1984, theUSS Kitty Hawkwas cutting through the Sea of Japan when a Soviet submarine suddenly surfaced directly in its path. For days, the nuclear-poweredK-314had been stalking the American carrier group. Then, somehow, they lost track of theKitty Hawk. By the time she surfaced and spotted the 80,000-ton aircraft carrier bearing down on it, there was no time to get out of the way. With American and Soviet forces suddenly facing each

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7:59

Forgiving the Drug Dealer That Killed My Daughter

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/16

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Mike and Deborah Bailey lost their daughter Ashlynn to a fentanyl overdose, their world stopped. For months, they wrestled with heartbreak and rage, knowing the man who sold her the drugs was still alive. Then their son came to them with a quiet conviction: he wanted to forgive the dealer. What began as an act of faith became a family’s path to healing.The Baileys wrote a letter offering forgiveness—not to excuse the pain, but to release its

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7:59

How the Lobotomy Changed Modern Brain Science

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/15

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the mid-20th century, families desperate for answers turned to a radical procedure known as the lobotomy. It was sold as a cure for everything from depression to schizophrenia, but its brutal methods left thousands of patients permanently damaged. At the center was Dr. Walter Freeman, a man whose name became synonymous with transorbital lobotomy and the dark side of psychosurgery. Yet from these failures came progress. The shortcomings of lobotomy forced

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20:18

Richard Herzog: From Abuse to Forgiveness and a New...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/15

On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, Richard Herzog found refuge from a troubled home on the playing field. Sports gave him confidence and a place to belong. Then a trusted teacher abused that trust, leaving Herzog with wounds he would spend decades trying to understand.Herzog, author ofPaydirt, shares how football eventually brought him to Ole Miss and later to a championship-winning career as a coach. But no victory could erase his

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30:17

Christopher Columbus: The Good, the Bad, and the Four...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/14

On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Columbus sailed west in 1492, convinced he could reach Asia across the Atlantic. He was wrong about where he was going, wrong about the size of the world, and yet skilled and determined enough to complete a voyage that would change it forever. Over four expeditions, Columbus explored the Caribbean, encountered peoples unknown to Europeans, pursued gold and converts, and struggled disastrously to govern the colonies he helped establish.Laurence

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17:58

He Played the Titanic's Captain, Then Dove to the Wreck

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/14

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Lowell Lytle put on a captain's uniform and portrayed Edward J. Smith at Titanic exhibits around the country. The ship became an obsession, but Lytle never imagined it would take him to the place where its story ended. Then, at 68 years old, he climbed inside a Russian submersible and descended two and a half miles into the Atlantic. Waiting for him in the darkness was the wreck of the Titanic.Lytle shares what it was like to come face-to-face with

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30:17

David Klein: The Man Who Invented Jelly Belly (and...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/13

On this episode of Our American Stories, David Klein loved candy so much that he studied candy bars as a kid, sold popcorn out of the back of his car, and eventually walked away from a career in law to make sweets his life. Then, in 1976, with just $800 to his name, Klein had an idea: reinvent the ordinary jelly bean. He dreamed up unusual flavors, found a manufacturer willing to make them, and gave his creation a name that would soon be known around the world: Jelly Belly.David Klein himself shares

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7:59

Edie Hand: When Being the Strong One Gets Lonely

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/13

On this episode of Our American Stories, Edie Hand grew up on 40 acres of rolling hills in Burnout, Alabama, where some of her happiest memories were made inside an old family barn. There were horses to ride, mud pies to make, sweet potatoes waiting after school, and brothers to run around with. Her beloved grandmother Alice was never far away. To Edie, the barn was more than a building. It was the place where she felt safe, free, and certain that a little girl could grow up to become anything she

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10:49

The Small Act of Courage That Led to 54 Years of...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/12

On this episode of Our American Stories, Lori Coan was on her second date with a boy she wasn’t sure about when something happened that would change her mind and her life. A group of troublemakers tripped a girl with polio, sending her sprawling in front of everyone. Most of the students laughed or looked away. Lori’s date didn’t. He jumped up, helped the girl to her feet, and gave her dignity back in a moment when she had been robbed of it.To Lori, that simple act of courage said

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19:28

The Story of America: The Civil War Begins [Ep. 29]

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/12

On this episode of Our American Stories, Abraham Lincoln entered the Civil War with no military experience and no blueprint for putting down a rebellion of eleven states. The Union had more men, more factories, more railroads, and a powerful navy. But none of those advantages guaranteed victory. After the disaster at Bull Run, Lincoln had to build an army almost from scratch, find generals willing to use it, and convince a divided Northern public to endure a war that was already proving longer and

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7:59

How George Washington's Bible Survived 9/11

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/12

On this episode of Our American Stories, when George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, his hand rested on a Bible that would become one of America’s most treasured artifacts. That same Bible was on loan to Fraunces Tavern, a Revolutionary War landmark near the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001. After the towers fell, the search for survivors gave way to the search for the dead and eventually to a search for the missing Bible.Robert J. Morgan, author of100 Bible Verses That

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38:16

Five Floors Up: The Heroic Family Story of Four...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/11

On this episode of Our American Stories, William M. "Bill" Feehan spent his life fighting fires in New York City. He rose through every uniformed rank in the FDNY, survived the department's brutal "War Years" of the 1970s, and became one of its most respected leaders. Firefighting was also a family tradition. For four generations, the Feehans had answered the same call, building a legacy of service that stretched back to the sons of Irish immigrants.Brian McDonald, author ofFive Floors Up: The

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10:49

FDNY Fireboats and the Largest Water Evacuation in...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/11

On this episode of Our American Stories, on September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of people reached the southern tip of Manhattan and found themselves trapped between a city under attack and New York Harbor. Then a call went out over the radio: "All available boats." Ferries, tugboats, fireboats, and private vessels converged on the waterfront and began taking people aboard. By day's end, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people had escaped Manhattan by water in the largest waterborne evacuation

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9:29

Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO Remembers 9/11 and the...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/11

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the planes struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald was left devastated. The investment firm’s offices spanned the upper floors of the North Tower, leaving no chance of escape. In less than an hour, 658 employees were gone—more lives than any other company lost that day. Among them was the brother of CEO Howard Lutnick. For Lutnick, the grief was immediate and deeply personal, but so was the responsibility. He

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9:59

They Will Be Remembered: Tony Dolan's Tribute to...

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/11

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tony Dolan was inside the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck on September 11, 2001. In the years that followed, he met young servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan without arms or legs, some of them determined to recover so they could rejoin their units. He watched generals address wounded enlisted men as "sir" and met families carrying losses so profound that even a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer struggled to find the right words.The

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7:59

Faith and Friendship After the 9/11 Pentagon Attack

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/11

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jocelyn Green didn’t lose anyone on September 11, but she still felt the weight of that day in ways she couldn’t have predicted. Living just a few miles from the Pentagon, she saw how quickly fear moved through a neighborhood. What surprised her was what came next: people showing up for each other in quiet, steady ways.Over time, she found herself thinking more about how faith fits into grief and how friendships sometimes grow strongest in the

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20:18

Noah Webster: The Man Who Gave America Its Voice

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/10

On this episode of Our American Stories, Noah Webster believed winning the Revolution was only the beginning. If Americans were going to become a truly independent people, he thought they needed to stop speaking, spelling, and learning like the British. So the stubborn and obsessive Connecticut writer set out to give the new nation a language of its own. His schoolbooks taught generations of American children, his spelling reforms changed the words they wrote, and his dictionary consumed decades of

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