Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before leading ten publicly traded companies, Jerre Stead was waking up at 3 a.m. to deliver newspapers in rural Iowa. In this story, Stead explains how running a paper route at age nine—through snowstorms, strict deadlines, difficult customers, and personal loss—taught him the fundamentals of leadership, ethics, and responsibility. Those early mornings shaped how he later led companies, treated people, and built cultures rooted in trust and performance. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, historian Stephen Ambrose explains how World War II was actually fought, not just with tanks and planes, but with weapons that were often refinements of much older designs. From barbed wire and land mines to machine guns and artillery, Ambrose shares the story of how defensive positions were built, how infantry advanced, and why many of the war’s most effective tools had their roots in World War I or even earlier conflicts. Courtesy of the Stephen Ambrose Estate. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Texas is one of the last surviving locomotives of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the line that helped create Atlanta, and played a starring role as the pursuit engine in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War. Jackson McQuigg of the Atlanta History Museum explains how the Texas chased the stolen General at extreme speed, how it later served in wartime logistics, and how it narrowly avoided being scrapped again and again. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, founder and CEO Monica Kelsey tells the remarkable true story behind Safe Haven Baby Boxes—secure drop boxes installed at fire stations that allow mothers to surrender newborns safely and anonymously. Conceived in rape and abandoned at birth, Monica later served in the military and became a firefighter/medic before discovering the circumstances of her own beginning. After seeing a “baby safe” box in Cape Town, she returned home, helped pass America’s first baby box legislation in Indiana, and launched the first U.S. box in 2016. Today, baby boxes are saving newborns and reducing deadly abandonments. Monica’s full story is told in her book Blessed to Have Been Abandoned. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ryan Stewart never imagined that walking dogs would become his calling. But after years of drifting, dogs became the constant that helped him grow up, slow down, and finally like who he was. In this deeply personal story, Ryan shares how working with dogs changed his life, and how he now uses that bond to reach people who’ve lost their way. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ulysses S. Grant returned from a triumphal world tour as one of the most admired men on earth—then, almost overnight, he was ruined. After a catastrophic investment collapse left him bankrupt and in debt, Grant was diagnosed with inoperable throat and tongue cancer. With death approaching, he took on one last fight: writing his memoirs to ensure his wife Julia and their children would not be left destitute. Louis Picone, author of Grant’s Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant, shares the remarkable story of how Grant rejected a bad publishing deal, turned to Mark Twain, and wrote in agony until he finished the manuscript just days before he died. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before modern Western dramas, there was Richard King, the real cattle king of the American West. Historian Roger McGrath and William Yancey of Texas A&M University–Kingsville share the story of how a New York orphan became one of the most powerful ranchers in American history, building the legendary King Ranch in South Texas, and helping transform America into a nation of beef eaters. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, a plain white cloth, roughly woven, unremarkable at first glance, turns out to be a powerful witness to slavery, war, and freedom. Chris Graham of the American Civil War Museum shares the story of a towel woven by an enslaved person on a South Carolina plantation during the Civil War. Long interpreted as evidence of Confederate hardship, the cloth reveals a deeper truth about forced migration, self-emancipation, and the lives of enslaved people moved inland to escape Union lines. Through this single object, a hidden chapter of the Civil War, and America’s original sin, comes into focus. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, The Pulitzer Prize winning author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover, Beverly Gage, shares the story of J. Edgar Hoover’s forty-eight years at the center of American law enforcement. From his early obsession with files and bureaucracy, to his role under eight presidents, Hoover shaped the FBI—and the federal government itself—across the Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.Gage examines Hoover’s rise, his management of power, landmark cases like John Dillinger, and the contradictions that defined his legacy, including his role in civil rights investigations and the surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. The result is a portrait of a man whose influence touched nearly every major political and cultural conflict of the twentieth century. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, writer Lilly Dancyger reflects on growing up with a father addicted to heroin, and the quiet ways addiction shaped her childhood. From early conversations about drugs to the confusing aftermath of her father’s death, she traces how love, denial, anger, and grief intertwined over time.Originally written for Psychology Today, Lilly's tale is a deeply personal story on addiction, loss, and what it means to reckon honestly with the people we love. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.