Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, a fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty “Hi-Yo Silver!” — it's the story of the Lone Ranger. Stephen Eoannou, author of Yesteryear, tells the story of how a tenacious scriptwriter out of Buffalo and a shrewd businessman out of Detroit managed to create one of America's most enduring cultural figures Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before he helped fill stadiums, George Herman Ruth was a restless boy growing up near the Baltimore waterfront. His father ran a saloon, his mother rarely had time to spare, and discipline came from the brothers at St. Mary's Industrial School. There, he met Brother Matthias, who taught him baseball and provided the structure he needed to find his purpose. His baseball talent carried him from the Red Sox to the Yankees, where his swing reshaped the game and turned him into a national symbol. Mike Gibbons, director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, shares the real story about the boy who became the Babe. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in Carlisle, Iowa, Chef Steve Reed had one job: bring home the Thanksgiving turkey. After years in the kitchen and decades of perfect holiday meals, this one seemed easy. He found the bird, hauled it through a packed grocery store, and tossed it into the back of his truck for the short drive home. There was just one problem...his truck didn’t have a tailgate. By the time he pulled into his driveway, the turkey was gone. A few streets back, a man in a tweed jacket stood quietly on the curb, staring down at the runaway bird like it had fallen from the sky. What followed was part rescue mission, part comedy sketch, and pure Thanksgiving magic. Chef Steve joins us for the story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Karl Marlantes returned from Vietnam carrying memories he couldn’t share and questions he couldn’t shake. Like many who served, he tried to move on and focus on the next chapter of his life. For a long time, that seemed easier than explaining what the war had taken out of him. Writing became his way through it. In Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War, he began to put words to experiences that had stayed unspoken for years. Marlantes joins us to bridge the distance between surviving a war and living after one. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Edward “Easy” O’Hare built his fortune inside Al Capone’s empire. His legal skill kept Capone free and made Eddie one of the most powerful men in Chicago. He gave his son, Butch, every advantage money could buy, but knew that his name carried a stain he could not wash away. When the weight of it became too heavy, Eddie turned against Capone. He worked with federal agents, revealing what he knew about the mob’s inner circle. A year later, he was shot to death on a Chicago street. His choice had cost him everything but left his son with the one thing he had never been able to give before: honor. Years later, Butch O’Hare became a Navy pilot during World War II. When Japanese bombers closed in on the American fleet in 1942, he was the only one in range to fight them off. His courage earned him the Medal of Honor and a place in history. The name O’Hare now belongs to both men: a father who chose conscience over comfort and a son who proved that courage can redeem almost anything. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in April 1942, just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, sixteen B-25 bombers lifted off from the deck of the USS Hornet in a daring gamble led by James Doolittle. Their mission: to strike Tokyo and remind the world that America would not stay on its knees. Weeks later came the Battle of the Coral Sea, a brutal contest fought entirely by aircraft, where courage, coordination, and sheer will stopped the Japanese advance for the first time. Our regular contributor, Anne Clare, revisits these twin moments of resilience, when a wounded nation began to rediscover its strength. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, when a major deal with Mercedes-Benz went wrong, Roger Penske didn’t send an email or a team of lawyers. He took the seats out of his own private jet to fit a race car inside, then flew across the world to deliver both the car and a personal apology. Here’s Penske with his incredible story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the fall of 1959, Americans were told their Thanksgiving cranberries might be contaminated. Overnight, stores cleared shelves, farmers lost millions, and families wondered if their holiday tables would have to go without the familiar red sauce. The History Guy revisits the panic that started with a single food safety warning and grew into a nationwide scare. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Pink Panther ever tiptoed across a screen, Henry Mancini was a steelworker’s son from Pennsylvania with a trumpet and a dream. Music took him from Army bands in World War II to the backlots of Hollywood, where he helped shape the sound of American film. Through hits like Peter Gunn and Moon River, Mancini turned simple themes into lasting emotions. His late wife, Gini Mancini, shares the story of their life together. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, he had already survived plane crashes, gunfire, and political exile. On the same morning Hitler invaded France, Churchill walked into Downing Street and said he felt as if he were “walking with destiny.” In Churchill: Walking With Destiny, historian Sir Andrew Roberts brings the story to life with the speed and suspense of the time itself. From cavalry charges to the Battle of Britain, Roberts explains how Churchill’s scars, stubbornness, and belief in freedom turned him into the leader who refused to give up when Britain stood alone. Here's Roberts himself with the remarkable story of one of the most important men in history. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dick Erickson was a young Marine helicopter pilot flying over Vietnam when everything went quiet. His radio was dead, his instruments were failing, and the jungle below offered no clear place to land. Alone in the cockpit, he began to pray. What happened next stayed with him for life. In that silence, he felt a calm that didn’t come from training or instinct. Dick joins us to tell his remarkable story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Schlitz had already spent more than a decade in uniform when his life changed in an instant. On February 27, 2007, during a road-clearing mission, an IED tore through his vehicle in Iraq, taking brothers in arms and leaving Michael with burns across most of his body and the long uphill work of recovery. The months that followed were measured in surgeries, setbacks, and small victories that felt enormous. He could have turned inward. Instead, he chose to keep serving. Through years of healing, Michael found purpose in helping other wounded veterans face their own fights. Today he travels to hospitals, bases, and community halls, speaking with wounded veterans about resilience and the hard work of beginning again. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in Abilene, Texas, Jay Moore has made a name telling the kind of stories that stay with you. None has stayed longer than the story of Dennis Holt, a quiet man with an eyepatch and a grin that seemed to outlast everything. At twenty-one, Dennis volunteered for a dangerous gunner’s post in the middle of a jungle fight and barely made it home alive. Years later, Jay rode beside him in pickup trucks and watched him build houses, joke easily, and live with gratitude instead of bitterness. Jay joins us to tell the story of the man behind the eyepatch. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, before the United States had a flag or a White House, it had George Washington. He led a band of farmers and tradesmen against the most powerful empire on earth and earned their loyalty by sharing in their struggle and fighting by their sides. When the war was won, the world waited for him to take the throne they assumed was his. Instead, he laid down his sword and went home, setting a precedent for term limits that lasted until FDR took office almost 150 years later. Vince Benedetto, the CEO of Bold Gold Media Group, tells the story of a man who shaped a nation by choosing humility over glory. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of Veterans Day began with silence. When the guns of World War I finally stopped, the world gathered to mark peace on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day. Over time, that single moment grew into a holiday that now honors all who have worn the uniform. Anne Clare, a regular contributor to Our American Stories, explains how the day’s symbols, like the blue and gold colors and the bright poppy blooms, came to carry so much meaning. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, he was called “Mad Anthony” for a reason. General Anthony Wayne led with grit and daring through some of the fiercest battles of the American Revolution. From the fight for independence to the campaign that secured the Northwest Territory, his name became a symbol of relentless courage. Historian Dr. Mary Stockwell, author of Mad Anthony Wayne and the Battle for America, tells the story of the general who earned his nickname on the battlefield and helped define the nation that followed. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in November 1975 shocked the nation and inspired one of the most haunting songs of the decade. The 729-foot freighter disappeared during a fierce Lake Superior storm, leaving behind questions that still echo through Great Lakes history. Ric Mixter, a maritime historian and diver who has explored the wreck, shares what made the Edmund Fitzgerald unique and how its story became a part of 1970s American history. Through Mixter’s firsthand perspective, we revisit the night the freighter went down and the legacy it left on the world of shipping and song Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Holiday Inn became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), it began with a simple ritual at the Wilsons’ home in Memphis. Each Sunday, Kemmons Wilson gathered his family for dinner and conversation that shaped ideas which would later change the hotel industry. His goal was clear: clean rooms, fair prices, and a warm welcome for every traveler. His son, Kemmons Wilson Jr., shares how those lessons in consistency and care grew into one of the world’s most trusted hotel chains, including Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Resorts. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Paul Kotz hit a wall while writing his dissertation, he turned to his father for advice. His father was sick by then, but still quick with his words. “You write like Jack Kerouac,” he said. It was an odd comparison, and Paul didn’t understand it until he looked Kerouac up himself. What he found was a writer who chased rhythm and honesty above all else. In this touching tribute to his father, Paul reflects on how a few simple words became a quiet kind of encouragement that never left him. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Mason-Dixon Line came to represent a nation divided, it began as a simple question of property. In the 1760s, Pennsylvania and Maryland bitterly disputed over their shared border. To end it, two English surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, were sent across the Atlantic with a task that would test their patience and skill. They spent years in the wilderness, charting forests and rivers, measuring each step with chains and stars. The line they drew finally brought peace to the colonies. But history had other plans. Nearly a century later, their boundary became a symbol of division between free and slave states. Dakota Bricker tells the story of how a quiet act of measurement became a defining landmark in American history, one that still carries the weight of its past. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.