Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

Lincoln’s Final Days Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Civil War had ended. Washington was alive with celebration, and President Lincoln was finally stepping into a season that promised hope. But that new beginning never arrived. John Wilkes Booth cut it short. Our host, Lee Habeeb, shares the story in a way you may not have heard before—one that begins with the happiest day of Lincoln’s life just days before his assassination.

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“Bring Home the Bacon” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions Dec 19, 2025

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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 diving into how the phrase “bring home the bacon” came to be. His book, Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases, is a must-read. Be sure to check it out!

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Memorable Christmas Stories in U.S. Military History Dec 19, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Christmas has a way of slipping into the cracks of history, even in years when war tried to swallow the season whole. The History Guy pulls together the overlooked moments when Christmas and military history collided in unexpected ways.

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One Man’s Midlife Showdown with Fitness and Common Sense Dec 19, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when Paul decided it was time to get serious about weight loss, he went all in on the kind of fitness plan that looks sensible on paper and slightly unhinged in practice. He wrestled with machines that never moved, counted laps he could never quite remember, and kept trying to turn discipline into something he enjoyed. His journey through healthy eating habits and gym-floor humility becomes a funny, familiar look at what happens when a clean eating dream meets real life.

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When John Ford Walked Off a Hollywood Set and Into World War II Dec 19, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, John Ford was already shaping the Golden Age of film, the force behind classics like Stagecoach and The Informer, when World War II pulled him toward a different kind of frontier. At forty-seven, with Hollywood at his feet and a reputation as one of America’s greatest directors, Ford walked away from the studio lot and into the U.S. Navy. Historian and Wild-West expert Roger McGrath shares how a filmmaker known for mythic westerns ended up documenting a real war and why that decision changed John Ford’s legacy forever.

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Babe Ruth's Final Years in the Major Leagues Dec 18, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Babe Ruth was the Greatest baseball player of all time, yet time proved to be his greatest enemy. Join us as Mike Gibbons tells the story of Babe Ruth's final years as a professional baseball player.

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Billy Graham's Sermon to Remember After the Oklahoma City Bombing Dec 18, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when the Oklahoma City bombing shattered the Murrah Building, people were left searching for something that made sense. The investigation into Timothy McVeigh was only just beginning, and the shock of the tragedy had not yet lifted. Billy Graham arrived in a city that felt suspended between grief and disbelief. His sermon offered language for a moment no one knew how to describe, and many residents still remember it as a turning point in the days following April 19, 1995.

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Inside the First Red Scare: How the Palmer Raids Redefined “Radical” Dec 18, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, every country has moments it would rather not rewatch, and the Palmer Raids sit high on America’s list. What began as scattered bomb scares and loud political rhetoric slowly slid into mass arrests, borderless investigations, and a government convinced that civil liberties were optional when the stakes felt high enough. Larry Reed unpacks how fear, politics, and a restless Justice Department collided in nineteen twenty, turning a national anxiety spike into one of the clearest case studies of how the rule of law can warp under pressure.

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The Odd Journey of a Penguin and His New Kicks Dec 18, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Enrique had lived a long, dignified life at the St. Louis Zoo when age finally caught up to his feet. Arthritis doesn’t care whether you’re human or penguin, and soon every step told his keepers something needed to change. What followed wasn’t a grand breakthrough so much as a series of small experiments that eventually pointed toward an idea no one expected — shoes. Marija Elden walks us through how an aging bird, some stubborn symptoms, and a whole lot of trial and error turned into one of the zoo’s most quietly charming success stories.

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Where Our Christmas Traditions Actually Come From Dec 18, 2025

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On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Christmas settled into the shape we know, the holiday moved through centuries of reinvention. Early Europeans marked the dark stretch of winter with fire and evergreens, while later religious debates pushed the season in new and sometimes unexpected directions. By the time America embraced Christmas as a public holiday, it had gathered customs from many cultures and carried stories far older than the Nativity itself. Here's the story of how Christmas as we know it came to be.

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