Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, when 16-year-old Hector Boiardi stepped off the ship at Ellis Island, he carried more ambition than belongings. Trained as a chef, he brought Old World recipes to his new country and eventually opened a restaurant that made his pasta sauce famous. Soon, his name—changed to Boyardee so Americans could pronounce it—appeared on canned foods across the nation. Our own Greg Hengler sh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Taylor Dooley’s breakout role as Lava Girl launched her into sudden fame, but it also came with pressures few young actors are prepared to handle. By her late teens, she stepped away from Hollywood to live life outside the spotlight. Years later, Dooley returned to reprise the role that defined her childhood in Netflix’s We Can Be Heroes. Here, Taylor opens up about the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tommy Emmanuel grew up in Australia with a guitar in his hands and a dream in his heart. Inspired by country guitar legend Chet Atkins, he taught himself to play with a style and energy that amazed audiences. That dream eventually led him to America, where he found a home for both his music and his talent. Here, Emmanuel reflects on how his music continues to bridge the gap between passion a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, escaping war-torn, Nazi-occupied Croatia during World War II, Tony Maglica started over in the United States with nothing but ambition and skill. He worked tirelessly, built his own tools, and eventually invented the Maglite: a flashlight that redefined quality and reliability. For decades, Maglite has been proudly made in America, carried by first responders, explorers, and anyone who neede...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1961, a group of young men and women boarded buses to test whether the Supreme Court’s desegregation rulings would be honored in the South. They became known as the Freedom Riders. Their mission was met with brutal violence as mobs and members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked them for daring to sit as equals. But they refused to turn back. Kirk Higgins of the Bill of Rights Institute sh...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1846, a group of pioneers set out for California with dreams of a better life. Known as the Donner Party, they fell behind on the trail, took a disastrous shortcut, and became trapped in the Sierra Nevada as winter storms closed in. With supplies gone and snow piling up, survival came at a great cost. Here’s their remarkable and tragic story.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 2003, Ford marked its 100th anniversary with something more than a celebration. The company decided to build a supercar that would honor its legendary Le Mans victories while proving it could still compete at the highest level of performance. The result was the Ford GT: a car that blended heritage and innovation in a way few vehicles ever have. Through the voices of industry leaders Neil ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, picture a crowded parlor in the 1800s. The air is heavy, the fire is roaring, and the women are laced into corsets that leave little room to breathe. In moments like these, fainting became common—so common that homes often had special couches set aside for recovery. What we now think of as a Victorian cliché was, for many women, an ordinary interruption to daily life. Simon Whis...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Pat Boone was at the height of his career when television executives told him to cancel a guest. That guest was Harry Belafonte, the singer whose hit “Day-O” had made him famous around the world. Boone was warned that audiences in some parts of the country wouldn’t accept a Black artist on stage beside him. His answer was simple: if Belafonte wasn’t welcome, neither w...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Neil White thought his life was defined by success and appearances—until a white-collar crime sent him to prison in Carville, Louisiana. What he didn’t know was that this prison also housed one of the last leprosy colonies in the United States. Living side by side with patients who had been exiled from the world forced White to confront his own pride, his failures, and the meanin...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a small Oklahoma town, one man’s toy collection grew into something nobody had ever seen before: the world’s first action figure museum. Thousands of superheroes, robots, and childhood icons now fill the shelves, turning a private passion into a public treasure. What began as one person’s love of action figures has become a place where visitors can step back into their o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 6, 1944, as Allied troops fought through the waves at Normandy, Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to a nation holding its breath. Rather than delivering a speech, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer for the men fighting overseas. For six minutes, more than 100 million Americans bowed their heads as FDR called for faith in the face of war. Our host, Lee Habeeb, shares the story of Roosevelt&...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before he shared the screen with John Wayne in Rio Bravo, John Russell was fighting on Guadalcanal as a decorated Marine. He returned from WWII with a battlefield commission, a reputation for valor, and a rugged presence that caught Hollywood’s eye. Soon, he was cast in films and television, rising to fame as the star of Lawman and earning a place among Western legends like C...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 35th episode of our Story of America series, Hillsdale College professor and Land of Hope author Bill McClay tells the story of how America shifted from the rhythms of the countryside to the pace of the city. Factories, streetcars, and crowded neighborhoods brought both opportunity and hardship, reshaping daily life for millions. As McClay explains, immigration and industry ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the Joplin tornado struck in 2011, entire neighborhoods disappeared in minutes. Among the debris were family photographs, wedding portraits, baby pictures, graduation snapshots, carried by the wind and dropped miles from home. Thad Beeler began collecting the photos he found and searching for the people in them. What started as a small act of kindness became a mission to return memories...

On this episode of Our American Stories, many people remember Pat Boone as one of the biggest pop stars of the 1950s and '60s, but his story began in a church choir. He grew up learning how to hold a melody, lead voices in harmony, and carry a room without a single instrument behind him. Those simple lessons in discipline and presence became the foundation for a career that lasted longer on the charts than even Elvis Presley. Boone...

On this episode of Our American Stories, what would you do if armed guards ordered you to give up your men? In a Nazi POW camp, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds stood before his captors and refused. When they demanded the Jewish soldiers step forward, he told his men to stay in line and answered, “We are all Jews here.” With those words, he saved more than 200 American soldiers from being singled out. Edmonds never spoke ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, have you ever heard of a Puritan pastor who learned a new language so he could preach the Bible to Native Americans in their own words? In the 1600s, John Eliot did exactly that. He became known as the “Apostle to the Indians” for translating Scripture into Algonquian and sharing it across New England, leaving behind the first Bible printed in North America. Robert J. Morgan, aut...

On this episode of Our American Stories, what began as one handmade wooden bat for his son grew into the most popular and respected bat company in America. Today, Marucci Sports is trusted by players at every level, from Little League to the majors. Jack Marucci shares how a backyard project for his boy turned into a brand that changed the game.

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