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.
He Grew Up Without Reliable Water—Now He’s Turning Wastewater Into Drinking Water
One Leg, Thirteen World Records, and an Incredible Athlete
On this episode of Our American Stories, Amy Palmiero-Winters is one of the most accomplished athletes in adaptive sports. She holds 13 world records for distance running, completing marathons and endurance races using a prosthetic leg.
Her journey into competitive running began after a life-changing accident that could have ended her athletic ambitions entirely. Instead, it pushed her toward a new challenge.
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The Hard Truths and Joys of Foster Care
On this episode of Our American Stories, Kimberly McCullough shares the beauty, and heartbreak, of walking through the foster care and adoption process. Through her experiences as a foster mother, McCullough reflects on the tension at the heart of foster care: the hope of reunification, the deep bonds formed with children, and the painful reality of letting them go. From courtroom adoption days filled with joy to difficult goodbyes that test a family’s strength, her story captures what she calls a “broken hallelujah”.
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“Knock on Wood” & “Kick the Bucket”: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 11)
On this episode of Our American Stories, as part of his ongoing series on the origins of everyday expressions, Andrew Thompson, author of Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red, shares the fascinating backstories behind the phrases “knock on wood” and “kick the bucket,” among others. These familiar sayings carry histories shaped by religion, literature, and everyday life in earlier centuries. Thompson traces how these expressions traveled through time, how their meanings shifted, and why they continue to resonate in modern speech.
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The B-24 Mission My Dad Never Talked About
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom McManus thought he understood hard work. As an NFL rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars, training camp pushed him to his limits. But during one quiet conversation with his father, he discovered what real hardship looked like.
At the same age Tom was grinding through football practice, his father was flying combat missions over Europe in a B-24 Liberator bomber during World War II.
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The Real Doc Holliday Behind the Tombstone Legend
On this episode of Our American Stories, Doc Holliday is one of the most famous figures of the American Old West, known for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Movies and television have turned him into a legend, but the real Doc Holliday was far more complicated than the popular portrayals suggest.
Historian Roger McGrath joins us to tell the true story of John Henry “Doc” Holliday—the Southern dentist who became a gambler, gunslinger, and enduring figure of frontier history.
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What Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Learned From Max Fisher
On this episode of Our American Stories, behind many successful people is someone who helped guide them along the way. For Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins and founder of Related Companies, that person was businessman and philanthropist Max Fisher.
Ross explains how Fisher’s mentorship shaped the decisions he made in business and in life, leaving an impact far greater than money or titles.
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Why 800 Irish-Americans Crossed Into Canada to Fight for Ireland’s Freedom
On this episode of Our American Stories, after the Civil War, hundreds of Irish-American veterans launched an invasion — not in Ireland, but across the Canadian border. It was a daring, chaotic attempt to pressure Britain into freeing Ireland. Author and History Channel contributor Christopher Klein shares the untold story of the Fenian Raids.
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Olivia Juliette Hooker: The First Black Woman in the U.S. Coast Guard
On this episode of Our American Stories, Olivia Hooker’s life spans some of the most important chapters of American history. A survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre as a child, she later went on to become the first Black woman to serve in the United States Coast Guard.
In her own words, Hooker reflects on the path that led her to military service and the experiences that shaped her remarkable life.
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Chuck Taylor and the Converse Shoes That Built Basketball
On this episode of Our American Stories, today the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star is one of the most recognizable sneakers in the world, worn by athletes, musicians, and everyday fans alike. But the man whose name appears on that famous ankle patch was not a superstar athlete.
Chuck Taylor was a basketball evangelist and traveling salesman who spent decades promoting the sport and the shoes that would become synonymous with it. Lee Habeeb shares the story of Charles “Chuck” Taylor and how a passionate promoter helped popularize basketball while turning Converse high-top sneakers into an American icon.
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