Loading...

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

The 5-Foot Bookshelf That Changed How America Thinks...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/05

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1900s, Harvard President Charles W. Eliot made a remarkable claim: with just 15 minutes of reading a day, a person could give himself the equivalent of a liberal education from a shelf of books only five feet long. Publisher P. F. Collier challenged him to prove it.Our American Stories regular contributor John Elfner and historian Robert Johnston tell how Eliot's idea became the Harvard Classics, a 50-volume collection that brought Plato,

en-US

9:29

A Cemetery Is a History Book Written in Stone

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/05

On this episode of Our American Stories, on a summer walk through one of Antrim, New Hampshire's old public cemeteries, Bill Bryk begins reading the stones. A Revolutionary War militiaman rests near a Civil War cavalryman. Veterans of two world wars lie beneath familiar family names. Some markers tell long stories. Others offer only a few words, including one man's simple epitaph: “an honest man.”Bill, who helps care for Antrim's four public cemeteries, reflects on the lives gathered

en-US

17:58

Kasserine Pass and the Harsh Reality of America’s...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/05

On this episode of Our American Stories, in February 1943, American soldiers met the German Army at Kasserine Pass in North Africa and discovered just how unprepared they were for the war ahead. Units became separated, communications failed, intelligence broke down, and inexperienced commanders struggled to respond as German forces tore through American positions. The defeat was humiliating, costly, and impossible to ignore.The late historian Stephen Ambrose shares how the defeat at Kasserine forced

en-US

38:26

How Rodney Dangerfield Finally Got Some Respect

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/05

On this episode of Our American Stories, before he was Rodney Dangerfield, he was Jacob Cohen, then Jack Roy, a struggling comedian who quit show business, sold aluminum siding, raised a family, and spent years filling a duffel bag with jokes. When he returned to the stage in his 40s, a new name, a black suit and red tie, and one unforgettable complaint finally made him a star: "I don't get no respect."Our American Stories producer Greg Hengler tells the life of Rodney Dangerfield, from a lonely

en-US

38:17

Bass Reeves: The Former Slave Who Tamed the Wild West

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/02

On this episode of Our American Stories, Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838. During the Civil War, he escaped bondage and made his way to Indian Territory. Years later, he returned there carrying a badge. For more than three decades, Reeves served federal warrants across some of the most dangerous country in the West, tracking fugitives, working in disguise, and earning a reputation so formidable that some outlaws reportedly chose surrender over facing him.Professor Art T. Burton,

en-US

10:49

What Lee Iacocca and Henry Ford II Taught a...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/02

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tim Leuliette was only 23 when he found himself presenting multimillion-dollar proposals to Lee Iacocca and Henry Ford II at Ford Motor Company. Working in product planning during the 1970s energy crisis meant long nights, five-minute presentations, and learning how to strip away the fluff and get straight to the facts.Leuliette, who went on to become a prominent automotive executive and turnaround specialist, remembers the lessons, pressure, and occasional

en-US

9:29

Thomas Mundy Peterson: The First Black Voter Under...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/02

On this episode of Our American Stories, on March 31, 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson walked into Perth Amboy City Hall in New Jersey to vote on a local charter. Nothing about the election seemed especially historic. But when Peterson cast his ballot, he became the first Black American known to vote under the protection of the newly ratified 15th Amendment.Historian Elliott Drago of the Jack Miller Center shares the story of Peterson's vote and the larger struggle it represented. In the years after the

en-US

9:59

A.P. Giannini: The Italian American Who Bet on...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/02

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1904, A.P. Giannini opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco for the people other bankers tended to overlook: immigrants, farmers, shopkeepers, and working families. Then, just two years later, the earthquake and fire devastated the city. While San Francisco struggled to get back on its feet, Giannini began lending money to people who needed a chance to rebuild. It was the kind of banking he had imagined from the beginning.The History Guy and Forbes

en-US

7:59

The Song My Father Remembered When He Forgot...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/02

On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up, Karen Cutler Drecktrah and her sister loved teasing their father, Jim, about his favorite song, "Kentucky Waltz." They had never heard it and were convinced he had confused it with "Tennessee Waltz." Jim insisted the song was real, even though he could no longer remember the words or melody.Decades later, as 89-year-old Jim struggled with dementia in a Wisconsin hospital, he suddenly began singing a song from his childhood. What happened next

en-US

20:18

Winston Churchill: The Warrior Who Hated War

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/01

On this episode of Our American Stories, Winston Churchill had seen war up close long before he was asked to lead a nation through one. As a young soldier and correspondent, he rode into battle, came under fire, and watched new weapons make killing faster and more devastating. The experience never left him. Churchill spent much of his life warning about the cost of war and searching for ways to prevent another catastrophe.Then came May 1940. France was collapsing, Nazi Germany was sweeping across

en-US

9:59

The Home Depot Worker Who Became Boston’s Lead Singer

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/01

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tommy DeCarlo’s story feels like a lost lyric from a Boston song. He worked at Home Depot by day and sang their music at night, never expecting anyone to hear him beyond a few friends. Then a homemade recording traveled farther than he ever could have planned. The surviving members of Boston, led by guitarist and founder Tom Scholz, invited him to join the band that had sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. In time, DeCarlo stepped onto the same

en-US

7:59

How Pinball Found Its Way Through Bans, Backrooms,...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/01

On this episode of Our American Stories, pinball’s story winds back to a quiet corner of European parlor culture, where small tabletop games offered a brief challenge to anyone willing to try their luck. Those early ideas eventually migrated to America, where the game weathered citywide crackdowns and the tests of time.As the tables grew more complex, the machines slipped into public rooms that gave them steady use and helped shape the early world of classic arcade games. Jeremy Saucier of The

en-US

10:49

When Infertility Tests a Marriage

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/01

On this episode of Our American Stories, Stephen Rusiniak and his wife had always imagined a home filled with children. Then infertility turned that future into a painful uncertainty, and Stephen carried much of the blame himself. He knew he was the reason they were struggling to conceive, but shame and guilt made it difficult to say aloud what he was feeling. One summer night, sitting beside his wife, he finally found the courage to begin the conversation he had been avoiding.Originally published

en-US

27:27

The Story of America: Woodrow Wilson and the Great...

Our American Stories ·

2026/10/01

On this episode of Our American Stories, when war erupted across Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson promised to keep the United States out of it. For nearly three years, he tried. But German submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and repeated attacks on American shipping steadily narrowed the country's options. By the spring of 1917, neutrality was no longer holding. On April 2, Wilson went before Congress and asked for a declaration of war.As part of our ongoing Story of

en-US

10:49

Why the Wild West Wasn’t So Wild After All

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/30

On this episode of Our American Stories, a wagon train heading west might carry dozens of families, hundreds of animals, and almost no formal government. Before setting out, the travelers had to decide who was in charge, how disputes would be settled, and what would happen if someone broke the rules. So they wrote constitutions. In mining camps, prospectors did much the same thing, establishing claims, assembling juries, and creating their own systems of justice when there was no sheriff or

en-US

27:27

America's First Multi-Millionaire: John Jacob Astor

Our American Stories ·

2026/09/30

On this episode of Our American Stories, John Jacob Astor arrived in America in 1784 with little money and an eye for opportunity. He began trading furs, built a commercial empire that stretched across the continent, and then made an even bigger bet on the future of New York City. As Manhattan expanded, the land Astor had quietly accumulated became extraordinarily valuable. By the time he died, the German immigrant who had started with nothing had become the richest man in America.Here’s the

en-US

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

en-US

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

en-US

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

en-US

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

en-US

2,742 results

Similar Podcasts

وجوه من الـظل

Medi1 Podcast

The Morning Hustle Podcast

Urban One Podcast Network

Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

J.G.

Chicks in the Office

Barstool Sports

Um Espião no Kremlin

Observador