Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

The Wild Story of Andrew Jackson's Inauguration Party Aug 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when Andrew Jackson arrived in Washington for his inauguration in 1829, thousands of Americans came with him. He was unlike the presidents who had come before, an orphan from the frontier who had risen from humble beginnings to become a general and the self-proclaimed champion of the common man. To his supporters, his election represented a changing of the guard in American politics.
Then Jackson opened the White House to the people. The crowd poured inside, climbed onto furniture for a glimpse of the new president, broke china, spilled refreshments, and packed the rooms so tightly that Jackson's friends feared he might be crushed. Keith Hardison, former director of interpretation at Jackson's home, The Hermitage, shares the story of the rowdy inauguration that announced the arrival of the "People's President."

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A Veteran, a Widow, and the Horses That Helped Them Heal Aug 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Dawn Newland watched helplessly as her husband took his own life. Army veteran William Lambert came home from three deployments carrying the guilt of surviving when 15 men from his unit did not. Both were living with PTSD, and both reached points where moving forward seemed almost impossible.
Dawn found an unexpected refuge in wild mustangs. Caring for them quieted her mind and slowly helped her reclaim her life. Then she realized the horses might be able to help others, too. That's how William met Dawn and eventually a horse named Faith. Dawn and William share how horses helped them confront trauma, rediscover trust, and ultimately use their own pain to help save the lives of others.

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The $50,000 Bet That Became Ruger Firearms Aug 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1949, Bill Ruger and Alexander Sturm started a firearms company with a $50,000 investment and a new .22-caliber pistol. Within months, orders were coming in faster than their small operation could fill them. Then, just as the company was taking off, Sturm died unexpectedly at only 28 years old.
Ruger pressed ahead. He expanded into revolvers and rifles, took the company public, survived a costly attempt at building automobiles, and even weathered a controversy that angered some of his most loyal customers. Firearms historian Logan Metesh shares how a handful of men working out of a red barn built Sturm, Ruger & Company into one of America's major firearms manufacturers.

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The $10-a-Night Job That Changed My Life Aug 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Quentin Wedan was barely out of fifth grade when some friends told him about a summer job at the Lazy B Chuckwagon and Show in Estes Park, Colorado. The pay was $10 a night, the work was hard, and Quentin loved it. He spent the next ten summers there, earning enough to cover much of his college tuition while learning from owner Tom Justin that doing a job well meant more than working hard. It meant never settling for anything less than your best.
Years later, the Lazy B closed its doors. But Quentin never forgot the place or the lessons he'd learned there. In 2017, he brought the business back to life. Quentin shares the story of how his first job became his own business and why he's working to preserve a piece of the American West for another generation.

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Benjamin Rush: Founding Father of American Medicine Aug 21, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Benjamin Rush signed the Declaration of Independence, but politics was only one part of his extraordinary life. A physician by profession and reformer by temperament, Rush treated Philadelphia's poor when other doctors wouldn't, demanded humane treatment for the mentally ill, fought slavery, championed public education, and followed George Washington's army into battle to care for wounded soldiers. His work would help lay the foundations for American psychiatry, military medicine, and even veterinary care.
Harlow Giles Unger, author of Dr. Benjamin Rush: The Founding Father Who Healed a Wounded Nation, shares the remarkable story of one of America's most accomplished and overlooked Founding Fathers.

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The Winner Who Always Finished Last Aug 21, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Sage Hellstern was the fastest runner on his middle school cross-country team. In his final meet that year, he finished 12th out of 169 runners, with everyone ahead of him a year older. Then doctors found a tumor in the back of his brain.
After surgery, a year and a half of radiation and chemotherapy, and months of physical therapy, Sage returned to the track. Cancer had taken much of his strength, and the kid who once raced near the front now finished last. But Sage kept lacing up his shoes. His stepfather, Roger Wrench, shares the story of a young man who learned that winning isn't determined by a clock.

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The Super Bowl of Sitcoms: How "All in the Family" Changed Television Aug 21, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when All in the Family premiered in 1971, even its stars didn't think it would last. The show was abrasive, political, and unlike nearly anything Americans had seen on television. CBS was so nervous about offending viewers that it opened the first six episodes with a warning. Then America discovered Archie Bunker.
Soon, Norman Lear's unlikely sitcom was watched by nearly one-third of the country. But beneath the shouting and dysfunction were characters audiences recognized and loved. Our own Greg Hengler shares how All in the Family went from a television gamble to the "Super Bowl of sitcoms."

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He Survived a Mass Shooting. Then Came the Hard Part. Aug 21, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, for five years, the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, had been one of Tyler Spady's favorite places to hang out. But on November 7, 2018, as he stood on the dance floor thinking life couldn't get much better, he heard the gunshots that would change his life forever.
Spady escaped through a packed kitchen as bullets struck the walls around him, eventually finding refuge with strangers in a nearby neighborhood. But surviving was only the beginning. In the days and months that followed, he learned which friends had died and struggled to make sense of why he had lived. Tyler Spady joins us to share his story of faith and hope in the midst of unspeakable tragedy.

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Bat 21 Bravo: The Most Daring Rescue of the Vietnam War Aug 20, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, on Easter Sunday 1972, 53-year-old Air Force navigator Gene Hambleton was shot out of the sky over Vietnam. He landed wounded and alone in the middle of the North Vietnamese Army's massive Easter Offensive, surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops. Worse, Hambleton possessed some of America's most sensitive knowledge of missiles, electronic warfare, and nuclear targeting. The order was clear: bring him home.
What followed became the largest and most complex search-and-rescue operation of the Vietnam War. This is the extraordinary story of Bat 21 Bravo and the astonishing price Americans were willing to pay to leave no man behind.

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The Fatal Car Wreck That Changed a Deputy Forever Aug 20, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Muniz never imagined himself as a cop. He had a degree in astrophysics and considered himself an intellectual, not the kind of guy who wrestled criminals or rushed toward danger. But when he needed a job, law enforcement unexpectedly became his career.
Then, two days after Christmas, Muniz was called to a horrific wreck outside Antonito, Colorado. A semi had crushed a car carrying four young people, and Muniz suddenly found himself covered in blood and desperately performing CPR on a dying man. The experience nearly convinced him to leave law enforcement for good. Then, weeks later, a young cheerleader walked up to him at a basketball game and said something he would never forget. Our regular contributor Richard Muniz shares the story of the night that changed the way he understood his badge forever.

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