Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

The Real Santa Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories listener Roger Latham shares a story he wrote entitled "The Real Santa".

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How the NFL Went from Bush-League to Bigtime Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, professional football began on the factory clock and bank loans, and the first teams were bought for hundreds of dollars. John Eisenberg, author of The League, tells how the pioneers of American sports culture, win or lose, went all-in to make American Football the best and most dramatic game it could be.

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A Family Lived in the New York Public Library? Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, author Kristin O'Donnell Tubb tells the riveting story of the family that lived in the New York Public Library.

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Balloons Over Broadway: The American Visionary Who Created the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, everyone’s a New Yorker on Thanksgiving Day, when young and old rise early to see what giant new balloons will fill the skies for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Our next story is about the man who first invented these "upside-down puppets”—Tony Sarg. Here to tell the story is Deborah Sorensen, Curator of Exhibitions at the Nantucket Historical Association where their exhibition, “Tony Sarg: Genius at Play” is the first comprehensive exhibition exploring the life of Tony Sarg.

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The Great Thanksgiving Cranberry Scare of 1959 Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, 400 million pounds of cranberries are consumed by Americans each year. Twenty percent of that is during the week of Thanksgiving. That's 80 million pounds! And 5,062,500 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce are consumed by Americans every holiday season. Here’s the History Guy to share the story of the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959.

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The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Thanksgiving is the only American holiday that has remained relatively innocent—it’s not something we've been able to commercialize. But something is happening here more than feasting, family, and football. Robert Tracy McKenzie, professor of history at Wheaton College and author of The First Thanksgiving, tells the story of this quintessentially American holiday.

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The Woman Who Wrote "Mary Had A Little Lamb" Is the Godmother of Thanksgiving? Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Thanksgiving used to be one of many days—"If you planned your itinerary carefully, you could have a good Thanksgiving dinner every day between Election Day and Christmas Day." That all changed when a songwriter worked long and hard to crystallize American culture as distinct from that of Britain - including by a new official holiday in the midst of the Civil War.

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Remembering the Worst Naval Disaster in American History (The USS Indianapolis)—A Story Featured in the Movie "Jaws" Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert Shaw's "Quint" told the world about what happened to the USS Indianapolis in the hit movie "Jaws." The late Edgar Harrell, the last surviving Marine from the downed ship, tells the real-life story of that fateful day. It's a story you won't soon forget.

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“Black Harry” Hoosier: The Story Behind Indiana’s Namesake Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, how did Indiana get its nickname “The Hoosier State?” And how did people from Indiana come to be called “Hoosiers?” Here to answer these questions and tell the story is Dr. Stephen Flick.

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They Call Her "The Stomach" Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Our American Stories listener, Lindsey Gallant, tells her story of the time she was challenged to an eating contest by a boy at her church.

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