Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, few decisions in American history remain as controversial as the choice to drop atomic bombs on Japan in the final days of World War II. Supporters argue the attacks hastened the war’s end and saved lives. Critics say they crossed a moral line that reshaped warfare forever.

Ken LaCorte, host of the YouTube channel Elephants in Rooms, examines the historical context, militar...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard "Dick" Bong was a farm boy who learned to fly and never stopped pushing the limits of what a pilot could do. Flying the P-38 Lightning, he downed 40 enemy aircraft, making him the nation's Ace of Aces and one of the most decorated World War II aviators in history. Yet behind the record was a quiet Midwestern pilot who wrote letters home, worried about his friends, and carried the wei...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the summer of 1787, the United States was deeply in debt, politically divided, and struggling to survive under the weak Articles of Confederation. Behind closed doors in a sweltering room in Philadelphia, a remarkable group of Americans spent three months debating, compromising, and ultimately creating the United States Constitution.

At a Constitution Day event at the National Arch...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom Golisano didn't build Paychex by creating a joyless workplace. He believed people did their best work when they enjoyed coming to the office, and that meant making room for laughter, practical jokes, and a culture where even the CEO wasn't off limits.

The Paychex founder shares some of the company's most legendary office pranks and explains why fun, trust, and camaraderie became p...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early days of hip-hop, the music grew out of Black and Latino communities in New York City. It was local, raw, and deeply rooted in the neighborhoods where it began. So when three white, Jewish kids from New York entered that world, it raised more than a few eyebrows.

Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of the Beastie Boys, how they found their place in a culture that wasn&rs...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Yogi Berra became one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, he was an 18-year-old U.S. Navy sailor headed toward Omaha Beach on D-Day. After World War II, the son of Italian immigrants from St. Louis helped build one of the greatest careers in American sports, winning 10 World Series championships with the New York Yankees and becoming one of the most beloved figures in baseba...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Lance Cpl. Tom Morton deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, he found much more than a squad leader in Sgt. Joe L. Wrightsman. He found a mentor whose hardnosed training and leadership prepared a young Marine for the realities of combat. Then, during a mission across the Helmand River, Wrightsman gave his life trying to save an Afghan police officer from drowning.

Tom shares ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as part of his ongoing series on the origins of everyday expressions, Andrew Thompson, author of Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red, shares the fascinating backstories behind the phrases "take the cake," "the third degree," and others.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1956, Elvis Presley bombed in Las Vegas. Thirteen years later, he returned to a city that was struggling to attract a new generation, and together they changed each other's future.

Author Richard Zoglin shares the story of Elvis's legendary 1969 comeback at the International Hotel and explains how the King of Rock 'n' Roll reinvented the Las Vegas stage with a concert unlike anythi...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before American Sniper introduced millions to Chris Kyle, there was Carlos Hathcock, the legendary U.S. Marine sniper known throughout Vietnam as "White Feather." Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Hathcock grew up hunting to help feed his family before becoming one of the greatest marksmen in American military history.

Military veterans Colin D. Heaton and Mike Droberg of ...

On this episode of Our American Stories, we all know the look and taste of bubblegum, but few people know where it came from. The first bubblegum was invented in 1928 by Walter Diemer, who used the only food dye available: pink. That color stuck, and so did the flavor, a blend of fruit notes now simply called "bubblegum."

Simon Whistler, from the Today I Found Out YouTube channel and its sister pod...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Indiana did not choose its nickname so much as grow into it. The term Hoosier appeared in jokes, travel accounts, and frontier banter, yet no one ever agreed on where it started. Despite the uncertainty, the name kept rising to the surface until it became part of the state's character.

What survives is a word tied closely to the people who shaped Indiana in its earliest years. Dr. Ste...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Olympian, World War II airman, Pacific castaway, and prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini lived one of the most extraordinary lives in American history. In this rare recording, he tells his own remarkable story—from his troubled childhood and the 1936 Berlin Olympics to surviving 47 days adrift at sea, enduring brutal captivity in Japan, and ultimately finding peace through forgiveness and...

On this episode of Our American Stories, at the end of the Revolutionary War, with soldiers restless and unpaid, whispers spread about replacing Congress with a monarchy. Some even suggested that George Washington take the throne. In what became known as the Newburgh Conspiracy, Washington faced a decision that could have reshaped America’s future.

Instead of seizing power, he delivered words that calmed his officers a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Hiram Percy Maxim grew up in the shadow of firepower. His father invented the machine gun, a weapon that changed modern warfare. But when that same weapon left his father deaf, Hiram took a different path. In 1902, he invented the first commercial gun silencer and later applied the same technology to early automobile engines.

His work shaped not only the future of firearms but also th...

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Steve Rakeman was young, his father gave him a simple instruction: “I’m giving you my name. There’s nothing wrong with it. Make sure you pass it on as clean as I gave it to you.”

Steve and his son, Mike, share how that lesson shaped three generations of their family, guiding them through dangerous work, tempting opportunities, costly mistakes, and the ever...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Bill Corum lived as an enforcer in the Kansas City underworld, surrounded by violence, drugs, money, and power. He smuggled guns, dealt cocaine, spent time in prison, and admits he was willing to kill for money. None of it brought him peace.

In his remarkable story, Bill shares how a dramatic encounter with God changed his life, leading him from a life of crime to decades o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language—this time exploring the phrase “put a sox in it” and others. His book, Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases, uncovers the quirky roots behind the words we use every day. B...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, author Leslie Leyland Fields believed the best stories belonged to other people. Then her literary agent challenged her to write the one book she never wanted to write: her own memoir.

Leslie, a regular contributor to Our American Stories, shares how writing Surviving the Island of Grace forced her to confront the deeper story beneath her exp...