Our American Stories
Arts & Culture Podcasts
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.
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.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Description:
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.
Twitter:
@realoastories
Language:
English
Email:
info@OANetwork.org
Episodes
A Crooked Cop, An Innocent Man, And An Unlikely Journey Of Forgiveness And Friendship
8/5/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, here again with his reoccurring series is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases author, Andrew Thompson, as he continues to share another slice from his ultimate guide to understanding these baffling mini mysteries of the English language. It all went down in the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 2006. Andrew Collins was a narcotics officer. Jameel McGee was a new father of a baby boy. This is...
Ilene Hall Joined the Army to Search for Her Husband During WWII
8/5/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Ilene Hall enlisted in the Army WAC in 1943, she was following her husband, Edward “Ken” Hall to war. When her husband, to whom she was married in March 1943, finished his training and was about to be shipped overseas, the young Canton, Ohio girl decided not to put an ocean between them. Art Burton, author of countless books on African Americans in the West, tells the story of one of the most feared outlaws of the Indian Territory...and the story...
When Pride Still Mattered: The Life of Vince Lombardi
8/4/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, more than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor of the American experience. David Maraniss (author of "When Pride Still Mattered"), captures all of Lombardi: the myth, the man, his game, and his God.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
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City Grazing: The Landscape Management Company Powered by Goats
8/4/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Anne Clare tells the story of a nurse who served in the Philippines during World War II, and shares the experience that she and others like her went through after the Japanese invasion there. Genevieve Church, the third "Goat Lady of San Francisco", is executive director of City Grazing. She shares about how this sustainable land management and fire prevention non-profit organization came to be. At the start of the 1948 election cycle, President...
The ONLY Time You Want Just One Lawyer in Your Town
8/3/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, what started as a quest to find black fans for a brother-in-law morphed into a lifelong mission to find anything small, electric, and an appliance. Here's the story of "The World's Largest Small Electrical Appliance Museum" in Missouri, and the man behind it all. Some people don’t have the highest view of lawyers, but not every lawyer is an ambulance chaser. At least, Bill Bryk isn't. Stephen Ambrose tells us a very unlikely World War II story about...
Duration:00:48:08
"You Can Change Your Story": Why I Wrote a Book About the Death of My Mother
8/3/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, David LaBelle's last memory of his mother was seeing her washed away in a raging flood when he was a senior in high school. She would never be found. It took David years to wrestle with the loss, and eventually he decided to write a semi-fictional book about the event called Bridges & Angels as a therapeutic exercise. No woman figured more prominently on the Yukon and Alaskan frontiers than Belinda Mulrooney. She gained international fame as the...
Duration:00:48:46
Why a Prisoner of War Forgave the Enemies Who Tortured Him
8/2/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Carol, the Daughter of Doolittle Raider Jacob DeShazer, shares the story of her father being taken captive by the Japanese as a prisoner of war, and how he chose to forgive the torturers.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:38:15
Sports Were Taken Away From Him in High School... So He Became a Coach
8/2/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, World War II history buff, Anne Clare, tells the story of how World War II impacted a small Navy town on the West Coast. Richard Herzog shares the story of an unlikely relationship formed between himself and his high school teacher, which became abusive and caused him to surrender the one thing he loved most: sports. After years of confusion and shame, he became a head football coach and led his team to win 3 state championships.
Support the show...
Duration:00:38:16
John Newton: From Disgrace to "Amazing Grace"
8/1/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brian Edwards tells the story of America's most popular hymn that actually didn't come from America. It was based on the life of English slave trader, John Newton.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:38:16
The First Radio Broadcast of a Parachute Jump
8/1/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Roger Brucker shares the story of radio pioneer, "Skeets" Miller, and the surprising story of the first time a parachute jump was broadcast on live radio. Matthew Denhart and Tracy Messer of the Coolidge Foundation tell the story of America's 30th President, a man molded by his rural hometown of Plymouth Notch, Vermont.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Time Codes:
00:00 - The First Radio Broadcast of a Parachute...
Duration:00:38:46
The Story of William Wilberforce and His Campaign to End Slavery
7/29/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Eric Metaxas tells the story of the man who, perhaps more than any other, stirred the conscience of the world to see the horror and evil of slavery, William Wilberforce.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:42:38
The Surprising Origin of Pinball
7/28/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeremy Saucier of the Strong Museum of Play shares the history of pinball--from its origins in French parlor games, to its prohibition, and then to its emergence as the immersive and popular game that it is today. Liz Williams, founder of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, tells the story of whisky, bourbon, absinthe, and pink elephants... done Cajun style. Kelly and Donna Mulhollan tell the story of their friend Ed Stilley, a poor Ozarks farmer...
Duration:00:38:16
How a UCLA Student in the 70s Saved the Marx Brothers
7/28/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, A man named Paul shares the moving story of his older brother and some special prayers he prayed, in hopes of being just like him. Bill Bryk briefly recounts how New York City became the city it is today, as well as his love for its past. Steve Stoliar grew up as the ultimate Marx Brothers fan. He shares his story of how he led the charge to save one of their long-lost movies.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Time...
Duration:00:48:47
The Time a Kid Sued Pepsi for a Harrier Jet
7/28/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Sean Kernan of Medium tells the story of Leonard v. PepsiCo Inc. (which is now a law school classic that helps kids navigate the curious world of contract law). Nell Chennault Calloway shares the story of her grandfather, Claire Chennault, who was the leader of the "Flying Tigers" in WWII.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Time Codes:
00:00 - The Time a Kid Sued Pepsi for a Harrier Jet
10:00 - The American Fighter...
Duration:00:37:51
Buck O'Neil's 15 Years of Rejection Before the Hall of Fame
7/27/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Klein tells the story of how our 18th President and Civil War hero, aided by Mark Twain, raced to complete a literary masterpiece that saved his wife from destitution. Hoat Hoang shares the story of his family fleeing Vietnam after Saigon fell to the communists' troops, and how it helped him become an American surgeon. Legendary baseball player, Buck O'Neil, was rejected for 15 years before making it into the Hall of Fame. You'll hear the...
Duration:00:38:16
They Trapped Polio Patients Inside of Tubes to Save Them
7/27/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Daryn Glassbrook of the Mobile Medical Museum tells the story of the iron lung, a device used to keep people with advanced polio alive in the first half of the 20th century. Heather McPherson, Curator of History at the South Carolina Military Museum, shares the story of why she chose her career to honor her great uncle. Roger McGrath tells another "Hollywood Goes to War" story of American screenwriter, Merian C. Cooper. Cooper worked on various...
Duration:00:38:45
The NBA: How a Regional Fascination Became an International Obsession
7/26/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers a truly extraordinary Civil War heroine, Mary Edwards Walker. She was the only woman in United States history to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Pete Croatto, author of From Hang Time to Prime Time, explains how the NBA became an 8.3 billion dollar entertainment and cultural icon.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Time Codes:
00:00 - The Only Woman to be Awarded the Medal of Honor?!
10:00 - How...
Duration:00:38:16
The ONLY Photographer Allowed to Photograph the Making of the Atomic Bomb in Oak Ridge, TN
7/26/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Cook tells us the story of how in 1943 the town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee was established and went from 58,000 acres of farmland to a town of 75,000 people to beat Germany to the atomic bomb.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:38:46
The Heavy-Drinking, Congress-Rejected Spendthrift Who Served America to the Fullest
7/25/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Mary Stockwell, author of Unlikely General: "Mad" Anthony Wayne and the Battle for America tells the story of "Mad" Anthony Wayne and why he is remembered.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:39:31
The Story of America's Pastor, Billy Graham
7/22/2022
On this episode of Our American Stories, Billy Graham took the role of evangelist to a new level, lifting it from the sawdust floors of canvas tents in small-town America to the podiums of packed stadiums in the world’s major cities.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:37:59