Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

The Woman Who Wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb" Is the Godmother of Thanksgiving? Nov 18, 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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I Lived Through The Depression And Didn't Even Know It Nov 18, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Donald Sturm tells his story of growing up during The Great Depression without knowing it because of the powerful influence of his parents...here's his remarkable story.

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“Propose a Toast” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 17) Nov 18, 2024

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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. The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases.

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The Story of the Real—and Mostly Unknown—Author of the U.S. Constitution, Gouverneur Morris Nov 15, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, our next story is about a Founding Father who wrote the most famous seven words in American history: “We the People of the United States.” Professor of political science at Syracuse, Dennis C. Rasmussen is also the author of The Constitution's Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America's Basic Charter—he is also a Jack Miller Center Fellow.

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The Story of Putting the Customer In Charge Nov 15, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven was President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. One of the great hoteliers of all time—a legend in his business. He is also what you would call a “wise man.” Here’s Mike with a story about how he learned to put his customers in charge.

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The Great Thanksgiving Cranberry Scare of 1959 Nov 15, 2024

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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 Irish Immigrant Whose Life Was So Large, NYPD Shut Down the City for Him Nov 15, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Jimmy Neary was an Irish immigrant who boarded a ship to America in the 1950s and went on to open a namesake restaurant in Manhattan that has for more than a half century been a famed canteen in the heart of New York City. Here to tell his story is Jimmy’s daughter, Una.

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The Watchmaker's Secret Room: Corrie ten Boom, The Holocaust Rescuer Behind "The Hiding Place" Nov 14, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, all in all, it is estimated that around 800 Jews were saved by Corrie ten Boom and her family. Hear Corrie tell her story!

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The Story of How "Women and Children First" Came to Be Nov 14, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers the Birkenhead Disaster and explains where the protocol "women and children first" was first used.

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The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving Nov 14, 2024

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Thanksgiving is the only American holiday that has actually remained relatively innocent—it’s not something that we have been able to commercialize. But there’s something going on here more than feasting, family, and football. Robert Tracy McKenzie is a professor of history at Wheaton College and is the author of The First Thanksgiving. He’s here to tell us the story of this quintessentially American holiday.

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