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 Heiress of "America's Billionaire King" Who Joined Her Terrorist Abductors: The Story of Patty Hearst
How a Single Mother's Grit Built One of the World's Largest Moving Companies
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1980s, Brig and Jon Sorber, then high school students in Lansing, Michigan, started a local moving service using an old, beat-up pickup truck. They called it Two Men and a Truck—and their mom drew the original stick-figure logo. When the boys left for college, she took over the business, incorporated it, and—using the meager $350 profit from its first year—laid the foundation for one of the world's largest moving companies. Brig himself shares the remarkable story.
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The True Story of the Man Who Traveled Across America by Goat to Lead People to God
On this episode of Our American Stories, JD Phillips (a.k.a. The Appalachian Storyteller) shares the true story of Ches McCartney—a man who traversed the United States in a ramshackle wagon drawn by, of all things, a herd of goats. His mission? To spread the word of God—and have a few adventures (and misadventures) along the way.
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Final Thoughts: A Listener Shares the Story of His Local Cemetery
On this episode of Our American Stories, for our regularly occurring Final Thoughts series, Our American Stories listener and regular contributor, Bill Bryk, gives us a tour of his local cemetery in Antrim, New Hampshire, painting a vivid picture of the people buried there and the lives they lived well.
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The Black Medal of Honor Recipient Who Bombed His Own Hideout to Save Lives
On this episode of Our American Stories, John Robert Fox's last recorded words, radioed from his hideout in the besieged Italian mountain village of Sommocolonia, were: "Fire it! There's more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!" Seconds later, Allied artillery rained down on both him and the advancing German troops. For his heroic actions, First Lt. Fox was posthumously awarded our nation's highest honor for valor—the Medal of Honor. But that recognition wouldn’t come until decades later. Kirk Higgins of the Bill of Rights Institute shares the story.
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The Weapon to End All Wars: The Story of Richard Gatling and His Gun
On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Gatling hoped that the tremendous power of his new Civil War weapon would discourage large-scale battles and reveal the true folly of war. Here to share the story is Ashley Hlebinsky, one of the nation's foremost firearms experts and former curator of the Cody Firearms Museum.
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The Surprising Story of the World's First Billionaire: John D. Rockefeller
On this episode of Our American Stories, John D. Rockefeller had a highly unusual childhood. His father, known as “Devil Bill,” was a smooth-talking snake oil salesman, while his mother was a devout and disciplined Christian who taught John to work hard, save diligently, and give generously to charity. Often demonized as a so-called Robber Baron, Rockefeller reshaped America by building an industry around the world’s most important resource: oil. Sharing the story is Burt Folsom, author of The Myth of the Robber Barons—special thanks to Young America’s Foundation for providing this audio.
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How an Ex-Slave and His White Abolitionist Sidekick Rescued Slaves, Taunted Slavers, and Gave the "Underground Railroad" Its Name
On this episode of Our American Stories, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Scott Shane shares the true story of Thomas Smallwood, a man born into slavery who became one of the first to write about and name the “Underground Railroad.” Risking everything, Smallwood teamed up with white abolitionist Charles Torrey to help enslaved families escape from Washington, D.C., and Maryland, openly mocking slave catchers in the press as he did it.
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California Softens Criminal Laws—Skid Row Officer Responds with "Ladies' Night"
On this episode of Our American Stories, Senior Lead Officer Deon Joseph shares a vivid story about how he helped the women living on L.A.'s notorious Skid Row.
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The Missionary Who Returned with Her Toddler to the Cannibal Tribe That Killed Her Husband
On this episode of Our American Stories, Witness:
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