Covering every hamlet and precinct in America, big and small, the stories span arts and sports, business and history, innovation and adventure, generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love, past and present. In short, Our American Stories tells the story of America to Americans.
About Lee Habeeb
Lee Habeeb co-founded Laura Ingraham’s national radio show in 2001, moved to Salem Media Group in 2008 as Vice President of Content overseeing their nationally syndicated lineup, and launched Our American Stories in 2016. He is a University of Virginia School of Law graduate, and writes a weekly column for Newsweek.
For more information, please visit ouramericanstories.com.
When a Baptist Preacher Gave Thomas Jefferson a 1,200-Pound Gift
How Spam and Chocolate Became America’s Secret Weapons in WWII
On this episode of Our American Stories, when American troops left for war, they carried reminders of home that came in the simplest form: food. Spam and Hershey’s chocolate became symbols of comfort in a world that had lost its sense of safety. Spam filled mess kits and fueled long marches through mud and heat. Hershey’s chocolate brought a quick burst of sweetness that could steady a soldier’s nerves or break the monotony of rations. Together they fed the body and the spirit, helping to turn familiar tastes into a quiet kind of strength that followed the American army wherever it went.
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Kemmons Wilson: The Man Who Built Holiday Inn
On this episode of Our American Stories, Holiday Inn began with one frustrated family road trip and grew into one of the largest hotel chains in the world. At the center of that growth was Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn and a salesman at heart. His son, Kemmons Wilson Jr., joins us with stories of his father's relationships with some of the greats: Muhammad Ali, Sam Walton, and Sam Phillips.
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When Friendship in Vietnam Meant Saying Goodbye
On this episode of Our American Stories, the Vietnam War changed a generation of American men. For many of them, survival depended less on strategy and more on friendship. Camelo Venegaz was the kind of guy you could talk to about anything, and he became someone his fellow soldiers trusted with their fears and, at times, their final words. He joins us to tell his story.
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The Rural Missouri Church That Preaches In Five Languages
On this episode of Our American Stories, Josh and Lauren Manning did not expect to end up in Noel, Missouri. After years in retail management, Josh felt pulled toward ministry and accepted a role at a struggling rural church.
What they walked into was something unexpected: a congregation that spanned multiple cultures and languages. Noel had become home to refugees and immigrant families drawn to the area for work in local industries, bringing with them languages and traditions from around the world. Today, services are held in English, Spanish, Karen, Chuukese, and Marshallese—languages spoken by families from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands who now call rural Missouri home.
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99 Reasons a Typewriter Beats a Computer
On this episode of Our American Stories, it is hard to imagine now, but there was a time when writing meant sitting in front of a typewriter. Just a keyboard, a ribbon, and a blank sheet of paper. The QWERTY layout, first designed in the nineteenth century, shaped how we still type today.
Our American Stories listener Bert Rosica explains why that old typing machine still holds a certain power and why, in his view, there are 99 reasons a typewriter is better than a computer.
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From Fairly OddParents to Danny Phantom: The Animator Behind the Shows
On this episode of Our American Stories, Butch Hartman shares the story of how one of the most influential animation careers of the 2000s came to be. While millions recognize the shows he created; The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, and more, far fewer know the path that led him there. Hartman tells how his journey took him from the snowy shores of Michigan to the studios of Southern California, and how persistence, faith, and craft shaped a career that defined a generation of television animation.
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When a Messenger Pigeon Stopped Friendly Fire in World War I
On this episode of Our American Stories, during World War I, carrier pigeons were woven into the U.S. Army’s communication system. When phone lines were cut and runners could not cross open ground, messenger pigeons carried handwritten notes over smoke and shellfire. At one point in the war, an American unit was pinned down by its own artillery. Cut off and taking heavy losses, the men turned to a wounded homing pigeon that had been trained to fly back to its loft. That small bird became their final line of communication.
Frank Blazich of the National Museum of American History tells the tale of how pigeons entered modern military service and how one battered carrier pigeon altered the course of a battlefield in World War I.
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How the Automobile Solved a Problem No One Could Ignore
On this episode of Our American Stories, it’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the automobile was hailed as an environmental savior. Cities at the turn of the century were suffocating under the burden of their own success. The horse had built them, but it was also destroying them. Streets were thick with waste, and the air carried the scent of disease. Into that chaos rolled the automobile, a machine that seemed to offer a vision of progress that was clean, modern, and under control. Miles C. Collier, founder of the Revs Institute, shares the story.
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What Salmon Fishing Taught Me About Courage
On this episode of Our American Stories, Seaside, Oregon, was a small Pacific Northwest town built on logging and salmon fishing. Karl Marlantes’ grandfather had already survived a logging accident that crushed both his legs before turning fully to commercial salmon fishing. As a gillnetter, he worked the tides with precision, and when Karl was thirteen, he brought him into the family business. Karl, the author of What It Is Like to Go to War and Matterhorn, shares the story of how those summer days changed his life.
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