Covering every hamlet and precinct in America, big and small, the stories span arts and sports, business and history, innovation and adventure, generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love, past and present. In short, Our American Stories tells the story of America to Americans.
About Lee Habeeb
Lee Habeeb co-founded Laura Ingraham’s national radio show in 2001, moved to Salem Media Group in 2008 as Vice President of Content overseeing their nationally syndicated lineup, and launched Our American Stories in 2016. He is a University of Virginia School of Law graduate, and writes a weekly column for Newsweek.
For more information, please visit ouramericanstories.com.
America's First Animal Celebrities: Railroad Dogs
How a Farm Boy Invented Television
On this episode of Our American Stories, as a teenager growing up on a farm in rural Idaho, Philo Farnsworth had an idea that seemed almost impossible: transmit moving pictures through the air. Before long, he had built the first fully electronic television system and found himself in a battle with RCA, one of the most powerful companies in America.
The History Guy and Evan Schwartz, author of The Last Lone Inventor, share the remarkable story of Farnsworth and the many other inventors who helped turn television from a dream into a technology that fundamentally transformed American life. Evan's audio originally appeared in the Naked Sciencevideo The Invention That Changed The World.
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The Native American Chief Who Stood with George Washington
On this episode of Our American Stories, more than 13,000 Native Americans took part in the Revolutionary War, most fighting alongside the British. Daniel Nimham chose a different path. The last sachem of the Wappinger people of New York's Hudson Valley, Nimham joined the American cause, received a commission as a captain in the Continental Army, and served alongside George Washington at Valley Forge.
Craig Du Mez, president of the Grateful Nation Project, shares the remarkable story of Daniel and his son Abraham Nimham, who fought from Saratoga to New York City before making their final stand against an overwhelming British force at the Battle of Kingsbridge in 1778.
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Are Pro Wrestlers Really Athletes?
On this episode of Our American Stories, from the days of Hulk Hogan to modern WWE, wrestlers travel constantly, train relentlessly, and perform feats that demand strength, timing, and endurance. The spectacle may be designed for drama, but the toll on the body is no joke.
Sportswriter Riley Evans of Grandstand Centralshares the real story and physical cost of professional wrestling.
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How America's First Female Detective Saved Abraham Lincoln
On this episode of Our American Stories, in February 1861, Abraham Lincoln was making a 13-day journey from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C., when warnings emerged of a plot to assassinate the president-elect as he passed through Baltimore, Maryland. With the country already coming apart and Lincoln’s inauguration only days away, detective Allan Pinkerton raced to uncover the threat and find a way to get Lincoln safely through the city.
Daniel Stashower, author of The Hour of Peril, shares the remarkable story of the Baltimore Plot and Kate Warne, a pioneering detective who posed as Lincoln’s sister and helped smuggle the future president through the city under cover of night. We’d like to thank the Library of Congress for making this audio available to the public.
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John Brown: The Radical Abolitionist Who Launched a Holy War Against Slavery
On this episode of Our American Stories, to Southerners, John Brown was a dangerous villain. To many Northerners, he was a fanatic. But Brown believed he was an instrument of God, called to wage war against the evil of slavery.
David S. Reynolds, author ofJohn Brown, Abolitionist, shares the story of how a deeply religious boy from Connecticut became one of the most feared and controversial men in America. Brown’s crusade against slavery would take him west to the blood-soaked plains of Kansas and eventually to Harpers Ferry, Virginia, where he hoped to ignite a rebellion that would free the enslaved.
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James Madison: The Lawgiver Who Gave Us the Constitution
On this episode of Our American Stories, James Madison may not have been America's greatest president, but his understanding of the Constitution helped shape the nation long before he entered the White House. A Virginia legislator, author of the Federalist Papers, architect of the Constitution, political partner of Thomas Jefferson, and eventual fourth president of the United States, Madison devoted much of his life to understanding how a free government could control power while remaining accountable to the people.
Hillsdale College President Dr. Larry P. Arnn shares the story of Madison, the "lawgiver."
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How Catholics Gave Us the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1960, McDonald's franchise owner Lou Groen had a problem. His Cincinnati, Ohio, restaurant sat in a neighborhood that was 87 percent Catholic, and on Fridays, when many Catholics abstained from eating meat, his hamburger sales collapsed. With his struggling restaurant and his family's livelihood on the line, Groen came up with an idea: sell fish.
Simon Whistler of Today I Found Outand the Brain Food Show shares how Groen's creation helped turn a struggling Ohio franchisee into the owner of 43 McDonald's restaurants.
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Elijah and the Jewish Roots of American Liberty
On this episode of Our American Stories, from the American Revolution to the Civil War, the biblical prophet Elijah has played an important role in the American story, inspiring generations in their fights for liberty and justice.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern, co-author of The Jewish Roots of American Liberty, shares how Elijah’s rebuke of the tyrannical King Ahab inspired Americans during the Revolution. His “still small voice” would later echo in the words of Frederick Douglass, while the story of his ascent to heaven found new life in the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
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How One Man Made a Million Dollars Selling Pet Rocks
On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1975, advertising copywriter Gary Dahl was sitting in a California bar listening to friends complain about the hassle of caring for their pets when he joked that a rock would make the perfect companion. It would never need to be fed, walked, groomed, or taken to the vet.
Our frequent contributor Jesse Edwards shares the tale of the Pet Rock and how clever packaging and a 32-page instruction manual turned an ordinary stone into a cultural phenomenon in 1970s America.
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