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.
How H.J. Heinz Built the Most Famous Ketchup in the World
How Piggly Wiggly Invented the American Supermarket
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Clarence Saunders opened Piggly Wiggly in 1916, shoppers in Memphis, Tennessee, didn’t know what to make of it. Until then, groceries were ordered at a counter while a clerk gathered every item. Saunders told customers to do something new: take a basket, walk the aisles, and choose for themselves. It was the first self-service grocery store, and it changed everything about the way Americans shop. Mike Freeman, author of Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly: The Rise and Fall of a Memphis Maverick, shares the story of how one man’s bold experiment became the blueprint for the modern supermarket.
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The Panama Canal: America’s Greatest Feat of Engineering
On this episode of Our American Stories, the dream of the Panama Canal began long before it became real. For centuries, people imagined a passage that would unite the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and open the world to faster trade. The French tried first, but disease and disaster claimed their dream. When the United States took over, Theodore Roosevelt called it a mission worthy of a great nation. What followed was one of the most difficult projects in history. Men from across the world arrived to dig, blast, and clear the Isthmus of Panama, working in punishing heat and thick jungle. Malaria and yellow fever swept through the camps, and entire families lost fathers, brothers, and sons before the canal was complete. Yet from that suffering came a triumph of engineering and perseverance that reshaped global trade forever. Here to tell the story is Simon Whistler from the Today I Found Out YouTube channel and its sister show, the Brain Food Show podcast. Also contributing to this story is the late, great historian David McCullough.
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In 1838, Two U.S. Congressmen Dueled with… Rifles!
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1838, a political argument in Congress crossed a line few thought possible. Maine Representative Jonathan Cilley and Kentucky’s William Graves met on a field just outside Washington, rifles in hand. The nation watched in disbelief as two elected officials prepared to settle a dispute the old-fashioned way. When the smoke cleared, one man was dead—and House Resolution 8 soon followed, banning duels between lawmakers. Our regular contributor and firearms historian, Ashley Hlebinsky, revisits this little-known chapter in American history.
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For Nearly 20 Years, the U.S. Nuclear Launch Code Was 00000000
On this episode of Our American Stories, during the height of the Cold War, the United States worked tirelessly to stay ahead of the Soviet Union in the global arms race. Safeguards were put in place to prevent the accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, including special systems known as Permissive Action Links, or PAL codes. But for almost two decades, the launch code for America’s nuclear arsenal was just eight zeroes: 00000000. Simon Whistler, host of Today I Found Out and The Brain Food Show, explains why the most important code of the Cold War was so simple to crack.
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The Day I Played Hockey with Wayne Gretzky (Hungover)
On this episode of Our American Stories, for Sean Pronger, playing in the NHL was a dream come true. Skating beside Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, was something he’d imagined since childhood. But when that dream finally came true, he was hungover. What followed was one of the most surreal games of his life and one of the funniest stories in hockey history.
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The First Martyr to the Radio: The Story of Lester Wolf
On this episode of Our American Stories, when the radio first crackled to life in the 1920s, it transformed how Americans shared news, music, and hope. But behind those first transmissions were young innovators like Lester Wolf, who saw endless promise in a brand-new medium. Working at one of Chicago’s early radio stations, Wolf helped shape the early days of commercial broadcasting, unaware that his ambition would come at a devastating cost. His great-grandnephew Robert Anderson revisits a forgotten family story that mirrors the birth of modern communication in the United States.
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How George Strait’s “Love Without End, Amen” Was Born
On this episode of Our American Stories, before “Love Without End, Amen” became one of George Strait’s most beloved hits, it was a prayer set to music. Songwriter Aaron Barker wrote it after a painful argument with his teenage son, an experience that brought him to his knees before his guitar. Out of that moment came a song about grace, fatherhood, and the unconditional love that defines family. Our own Lee Habeeb shares the story.
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Halloween: The Strange and Storied History of an American Holiday
On this episode of Our American Stories, every October, porches glow with carved pumpkins and streets fill with costumed children, but the roots of Halloween reach much deeper than candy and costumes. The holiday began as All Hallows’ Eve, a night of remembrance that blended Christian and Celtic traditions. When Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in the United States, they carried those customs with them, reshaping the celebration into something distinctly American. Historians Lesley Bannatyne and Lisa Morton explain how an ancient ritual became a modern holiday—and why Halloween in America continues to reflect both superstition and joy. Lesley Bannatyne is the author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History, and Lisa Morton is the author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween.
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Valley Forge: George Washington’s Winter of Resolve
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1777, the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, hungry, freezing, and unsure if the Revolution would survive. Disease spread through the camp, morale collapsed, and even George Washington wondered how much longer his soldiers could endure. Then came a Prussian officer named Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a man with no English but a gift for turning chaos into order. His relentless drills, translated by aides as he barked commands across the snow, reshaped a band of volunteers into a real army. By the spring thaw, Washington’s men were transformed into disciplined and unified soldiers ready to fight the British on equal terms. Historians Bob Drury and Tom Clavin revisit this turning point in the American Revolutionary War, when perseverance and training at Valley Forge became the foundation of American independence.
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