Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

My Father’s Escape from Castro’s Cuba Sep 28, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Cuba’s 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power and forced countless families to make an impossible choice: stay under a communist regime or flee their homeland. Mike Gonzalez’s father once called Castro a friend, but soon discovered the price of living under his rule. With freedoms stripped away and fear taking hold, escape became the only option.
Mike shares his family’s story of exile, revealing what Cuba was like before Castro and how the revolution changed everything.

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Dwayne Johnson’s Heartfelt Goodbye to His Father, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson Sep 25, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson spent his life fighting for a place in professional wrestling. As a Black wrestler performing before largely white audiences in the 1960s and ’70s, he faced racism inside and outside the ring, but kept winning over crowds with his charisma and athleticism. Years later, when his son Dwayne decided to become a wrestler himself, Rocky became his trainer, pushing him through grueling workouts and passing down the lessons that had carried him through his own career.
After Rocky's death in 2020, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid tribute to the man behind the wrestler. He remembers the sacrifices his father made, the complicated relationship they shared, and the lessons about hard work, discipline, perseverance, and family that stayed with him. To the wrestling world, Rocky Johnson was a trailblazer. To Dwayne, he was Dad.

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What It Means to Be the Only Lawyer in Town Sep 25, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Bryk may be the only practicing lawyer in his small New Hampshire town, so when a 17-year-old neighbor got a speeding ticket, her family knew who to call. The problem was that she had already paid the fine, assuming that would be the end of it. Instead, she'd unknowingly put her driver's license at risk. Bill agreed to help her fight to keep it.
Regular contributor Bill Bryk shares what happened when a seemingly ordinary speeding ticket ended up before a judge and why he left the courtroom with a reminder of one of the simplest lessons in practicing law: prepare your case, trust your client, and when the judge rules in your favor, stop talking.

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How the USPS Stamped Itself onto American History Sep 25, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, The Founders knew firsthand that a postal system could be used as a tool of government surveillance. Before the Revolution, British officials had opened and inspected colonial mail, giving Americans good reason to distrust putting their letters in government hands. But the new nation faced a different problem. Its people were scattered across vast distances, and a republic could hardly function if they couldn't remain connected.
Daniel Piazza of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum shares how the American postal system helped solve that problem, allowing Americans to truly settle their new nation.

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A Jewish Soldier’s Unbelievable Survival at the Battle of the Bulge Sep 25, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Milton Nadler grew up fast. The day after Pearl Harbor, his paper route turned into a rush of headlines about war. Within a few short years, he was living those headlines himself. During the Battle of the Bulge, Milton found himself surrounded, outnumbered, and facing death in the frozen forests of Europe. What happened next defied every expectation.
Here's Milton himself with the story of how he survived an encounter by the skin of his teeth... kinda. We'd like to thank the U.S. Library of Congress for providing this audio to us and Milton Nadler's family for allowing us to use it.

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The Mad Scientists of Malibu: Surfing’s Early Pioneers Sep 25, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when Roger McGrath first paddled out at Malibu as a boy in the 1950s, surfing was still a small fraternity with only a few decades of history in California. The boards were heavy, the crowds were thin, and many of the men riding those waves were quietly reinventing the sport. Roger grew up among them, and decades later, he shares the story of the surfers who built the culture he fell in love with.
It begins with George Freeth, who brought stand-up surfing to California, and Tom Blake, who made the massive wooden surfboard lighter and added the fin. After World War II, Joe Quigg, Matt Kivlin, and the eccentric Bob Simmons pushed the board even further, experimenting with new shapes and materials until surfers could turn faster, ride harder, and do things on a wave that had once been impossible.

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“Hey Kid, Catch!” The Coca-Cola Ad That Made Mean Joe Greene a Legend Sep 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, few commercials have left a mark like Coca-Cola’s “Hey Kid, Catch!” starring "Mean" Joe Greene. Greene, already one of the greatest defensive players in the NFL, gained a new kind of fame as the spot played during football broadcasts nationwide.
Our own Greg Hengler (and others) share the story of how a 60-second spot became one of the most memorable moments in sports and advertising history.

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“Son of a Gun” & “Steal My Thunder” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions Sep 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, we use them without thinking. Someone gets “sold down the river.” A project has to “start from scratch.” An idea “steals our thunder.” But behind these familiar expressions are stories involving ancient athletes, biblical passages, British sailors, American slavery, theater rivalries, and baseball.
Andrew Thompson, author of Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases, shares another surprising history hiding inside the words and phrases we use every day.

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Empathy Is Not Optional: The Professor Who Changed Mike Leven's Life Sep 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven was studying law at the University of Chicago when a bad grade sent him to his professor's office looking for help. Instead, the professor gave him a verdict: “You don't understand contracts, and I don't think you ever will.” Mike walked out, sold his law books, and went home. His legal career was over almost as soon as it had begun.
Leven would go on to become one of America's most successful hoteliers, but he never forgot how it felt to have someone in authority dismiss him so completely. Mike shares how that painful encounter shaped the way he approached leadership, parenting, and some of the hardest conversations of his career, especially when he was the person with the power to change someone else's life.

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Bloodletting, Whiskey, and the Strange History of Fighting the Flu Sep 24, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1918, influenza swept across the world with terrifying speed, killing millions. Doctors were desperate to stop it, but there was a fundamental problem: they didn't even know what caused the flu. Patients were subjected to bloodletting and enemas, prescribed whiskey, and even exposed to toxic factory gases, while scientists pursued theories involving bacteria, the weather, and tainted Russian oats. Somewhere among the confusion was a disease medicine could not yet see.
Dr. Jeremy Brown, author of Influenza: The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History, shares how scientists finally uncovered the true cause of influenza and began learning how to fight it. This 2019 lecture comes courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.

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