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.
The First Black Naval Aviator: Jesse Brown
Anorexia Recovery, Faith, and the Road to Motherhood
On this episode of Our American Stories, eating disorder recovery rarely moves in a straight line, and Randi Wilson’s story makes that clear. After developing an eating disorder as a young woman in Charlotte, North Carolina, she went through hospitalization, residential treatment, and years of working to rebuild a healthy relationship with her body.
Wilson shares how that process carried into adulthood and how recovery made room for a future she once thought might not have been possible, including the chance to become a mother.
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The Story of America: Washington’s Final Message to a Divided Nation [Ep. 15]
On this episode of Our American Stories, as George Washington prepared to step down as president in 1796, the United States was already showing signs of bitter political division among those who had fought for American independence. In his Farewell Address, he focused on the growing influence of political parties and what that shift could mean for the future of the country.
As part of our ongoing Story of Us, Story of America series, Dr. Bill McClay, author of Land of Hope, explains the context behind Washington’s Farewell Address and why his message continues to matter
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He Believed His Father Was Dead Until One Phone Call
On this episode of Our American Stories, Ron Brown grew up in Chicago and lost contact with his father at a young age. Over time, the absence became permanent, and he eventually came to believe his father had died.
But after Ron appeared on Family Feud and introduced himself on air, his father, who was still alive and watching, recognized him. He followed the details shared during the episode and began making calls until he was able to track him down.
Ron Brown joins us to talk about that call and what happened after they reconnected.
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She Made Sure No One Was Buried Without Honor
On this episode of Our American Stories, at a funeral home in Iowa, a number of urns had gone unclaimed for years, with no clear path back to family. Lanae Strovers was asked to try to track someone down, but many of the names led nowhere or to people who could not take them.
Instead of leaving them there, she arranged the burials herself and made sure each person was treated with care.
Here’s Lanae with her story.
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Jackie Robinson Didn’t Just Change Baseball. He Changed America
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jackie Robinson didn’t plan to make history. He only wanted to play ball. But in a country that had barred Black baseball players for more than sixty years, that simple dream came with impossible expectations.
After a short stint in the Negro Leagues in Kansas City, he became the first to cross into the majors, carrying not only a bat but the burden of representing a nation’s progress. From racism on the field to isolation in the clubhouse, Robinson endured what few could. And because he did, the integration of Major League Baseball finally began.
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, tells the story of one of America’s greatest players.
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Robert Smalls Stole a Confederate Ship and Sailed His Family to Freedom
On this episode of Our American Stories, in May 1862, Robert Smalls carried out a daring escape from slavery in Charleston Harbor. Forced to work aboard the Confederate ship Planter, he learned its routes and the signals required to pass the harbor’s defenses. When the officers left the ship one night, Smalls stepped into their place and guided the vessel past Confederate guns toward the Union blockade.
The History Guy shares how Robert Smalls escaped slavery and secured freedom for his family.
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What a Grandmother’s Hands Can Tell Us About Family
On this episode of Our American Stories, Dennis Peterson, our regular contributor from South Carolina, reflects on his grandmother and the role grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren, remembering a set of hands that carried the weight of a family and offered comfort when it mattered most, even while dealing with painful arthritis.
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Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog, and the Rise of the Muppets
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Muppets became a part of American television, Jim Henson was experimenting with a camera and a homemade puppet that would eventually become Kermit the Frog. He saw something others missed: a way to use television to give a puppet a sense of life.
As his work found its way onto more screens, the Muppets became a familiar part of life across the United States, shaped by a creative vision that quietly changed what television could be.
Brian Jay Jones, author of Jim Henson: The Biography, shares the story.
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Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the Story Behind America’s Most Famous Speech
On this episode of Our American Stories, in November 1863, Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, just months after one of the bloodiest battles in American history. What he saw there, the devastation, the loss, and the sacrifice, would shape the words he was about to deliver. At just 269 words, the Gettysburg Address would go on to become one of the most famous speeches in history. But at the time, it was largely overlooked and even criticized.
Our host, Lee Habeeb, shares the story behind the Gettysburg Address, how Lincoln redefined the Civil War as a fight not just to preserve the Union but to advance the principle that all men are created equal, and why those few words continue to shape America today.
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