Our American Stories

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James Warner Bellah: From World War I to Writing John Wayne Feb 02, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, before his stories became classic Hollywood films, James Warner Bellah was writing pulp fiction about cavalry, frontier warfare, and American identity. His short stories and screenplays were later brought to the screen by John Ford and helped define the on-screen voice of John Wayne. But Bellah’s life was shaped not only by Hollywood. He also served during World War I, an experience that deeply influenced his writing and worldview. As part of our ongoing Hollywood Goes to War series, Roger McGrath shares the story of the writer whose words helped shape American war films and one of cinema’s most enduring icons.

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How Railroads Created America’s Time Zones Feb 02, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, today, America runs on four time zones, but before the railroad era, thousands of towns kept their own local time based on the sun. As rail travel expanded in the 1800s, that system became dangerous and unworkable. Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of how railroad companies, not the federal government, created standardized time zones to keep trains running safely and on schedule, reshaping how Americans understood time itself.

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Joshua Lionel Cowen and the Toy Trains That Defined American Childhood Feb 02, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Bryk tells the remarkable story of Joshua Lionel Cowen, the inventive mind behind Lionel trains. Cowen began his career designing electrical devices and naval mine detonators before discovering that motion, electricity, and imagination could transform toys forever. His Lionel trains became a defining part of American childhood, outselling real locomotives at their peak and shaping generations of play. This is the story of innovation, marketing genius, and the toy trains that once ruled America’s living rooms.

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How an African American Community Used Storytelling to Change a Life Feb 02, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Eric Motley, author of Madison Park: A Place of Hope, shares how he was raised by a close-knit African American community in Montgomery, Alabama where storytelling, encouragement, and faith shaped a young boy’s life. In a place where many elders had been denied formal education, spoken words carried power, passing down dignity, purpose, and hope. This is the story of how encouragement, community, and stories told out loud can change a life forever.

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The Story of America: The Shot Heard ’Round the World and Common Sense [Ep. 5] Feb 02, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, The American Revolution began before independence was declared and before most colonists were ready for a complete break from Britain. In our fifth installment of our ongoing Story of America series, Bill McClay, author of Land of Hope, explains how the fighting at Lexington and Concord shocked a deeply divided America, and how Thomas Paine’s Common Sense helped turn uncertainty into resolve, making independence imaginable and ultimately inevitable.

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Sunday Mornings with Big Mitch: Ep. 11 Feb 01, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, every Sunday, Our American Stories host Lee Habeeb speaks with Mitchel "Big Mitch" Rutledge, who has spent more than forty years serving a life sentence in Alabama. Each call traces the shape of faith, regret, and forgiveness inside a place built for punishment.
When Mitch first entered prison, he couldn't read or write. He had dropped out of school early and tested just above the threshold that once marked intellectual disability. But that was only where the story just began. Over time, he learned to read, earned multiple degrees, and became a teacher to other prisoners.
On this particular Easter Sunday, Mitch shared what he saw as his resurrection story—one shaped by faith, discipline, and the belief that change is always within reach.

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The Enslaved Man-Turned-Spy Who Helped Washington Win America's Independence: James Armistead Lafayette Jan 30, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, for most of his life, James Armistead Lafayette was known simply as James—not Lafayette. That last name came later, and from none other than the Marquis de Lafayette of the American Revolution. But why would an enslaved man take the last name of a French military officer? Here's Kirk Higgins of the Bill of Rights Institute with the story of one of America's most important, underappreciated, and little-known spies during the American Revolution.

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America's Greatest Grifter? The Odd Story of Appleton Oaksmith: Presumed Slave Trader, Confederate Spy, and Voting Rights Activist Jan 30, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, they say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree—but Appleton Oaksmith landed on another planet. His mother was a feminist who knew top abolitionists; his father, a cartoonist admired across party lines. Appleton? He was hunted internationally for presumed slave trading and a failed kidnapping in Cuba that may have threatened Lincoln’s reelection. Yet he later fought for Black voting rights. Jonathan W. White, author of Shipwrecked, shares the story—courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.

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A Wife’s Heartfelt Letter to Her Husband After Pregnancy Loss Jan 30, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Megan Bayer shares her touching letter of gratitude and healing to her constant companion through a struggle they will never forget.

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The Man Behind Maybelline and the Rise of Modern Makeup Jan 30, 2026

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in Victorian America, makeup was taboo. Respectable women didn’t enhance their eyes—unless they were silent film stars or prostitutes. That changed with one family experiment that quietly sparked a beauty revolution. At just 19, Thomas Lyle Williams created what would become Maybelline, inspired by his sister’s homemade eyelash treatments. Mixed in teapots and sold by mail, the product became so popular that the family once hauled orders from the post office by wheelbarrow.
Sharrie Williams, a member of the founding family and author of The Maybelline Story, tells the inside story of how a homemade beauty aid became a global brand—and how changing one small cultural rule helped change everything.

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