Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Shiloh Carozza’s father was diagnosed with brain cancer, her family’s days began to split in two: the life they had before, and the one that followed. He had been a teacher, a storyteller, the kind of father who could turn a drive into a lesson. As the disease took more from him, he still tried to give what he could.

One night, he gathered his family and said, “You are...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in June of 1984, President Ronald Reagan visited the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc to mark the 40th anniversary of D-Day. Before him stood the surviving Army Rangers who had scaled those cliffs under constant fire to help turn the tide of World War II.

Often called the Great Communicator, he delivered one of his most powerful speeches, linking the courage of the men who fought at Normandy to the e...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Gina Ramsey moved her father into a memory care home, she thought she was watching him lose everything that made him who he was. Then he met May, a woman who had just turned one hundred and still laughed like a girl. Their friendship grew into a kind of love that gave both of them something to hold on to inside the fog of dementia.

Gina Ramsey joins us to tell the story of the highs&mda...

On this episode of Our American Stories, on the morning of October 27, 2018, a quiet neighborhood in Pittsburgh turned into the scene of one of the deadliest attacks on a Jewish congregation in American history. Paul Kengor was driving with his wife when a text from their daughter appeared on his phone. She was hiding in a van just across the street from the Tree of Life Synagogue, where gunfire had erupted.

What followed was an ho...

On this episode of Our American Stories, after years of arguing cases before the Supreme Court, Barry Levinson took a sharp turn. He left the law behind to open the world’s largest mustard museum, a place that celebrates more than 6,000 varieties of the condiment that changed his life. What started as a joke became one of America’s most unique tourist attractions, and a reminder that passion can take you places logic ne...

On this episode of Our American Stories, at the dawn of the twentieth century, radium was hailed as a miracle of modern science. Factories across the country began hiring young women to paint watch dials and instrument panels that lit up in the dark. It was considered a respectable, even glamorous job. No one warned them that the glow they wore on their skin and teeth came with a deadly cost.

Kate Moore, author of Radium Girls...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before chewing gum became part of American life, William Wrigley Jr. was selling soap door to door. He gave away gum as a bonus and discovered people wanted that more than anything else. From that moment, he built one of the oldest gum brands in history and a life that revolved as much around his wife as his business.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, William C. Rhodes started as a kid tagging along with his dad on Saturdays in Memphis. Years later, he was guiding AutoZone across the Americas as Chairman, President, and CEO. Along the way, he learned what leadership looks like on the floor, in the field, and in the boardroom, and how corporate governance turns good instincts into durable results. Here's Rhodes with his story of success.

S...

On this episode of Our American Stories, every Sunday, Our American Stories host Lee Habeeb speaks with Mitchel "Big Mitch" Rutledge, who has spent more than forty years serving a life sentence in Alabama. Each call traces the shape of faith, regret, and forgiveness inside a place built for punishment.

In this fourth installment, Mitch reflects on what love has meant to him after decades behind bars. It wasn't romance that...

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

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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 hi...

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...

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 beg...

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 age...

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, a...

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.

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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.

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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, G...