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 Pilot Who Found God in the Sky Over Vietnam
The Road Home for Sergeant First Class Michael Schlitz
On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Schlitz had already spent more than a decade in uniform when his life changed in an instant. On February 27, 2007, during a road-clearing mission, an IED tore through his vehicle in Iraq, taking brothers in arms and leaving Michael with burns across most of his body and the long uphill work of recovery. The months that followed were measured in surgeries, setbacks, and small victories that felt enormous.
He could have turned inward. Instead, he chose to keep serving. Through years of healing, Michael found purpose in helping other wounded veterans face their own fights. Today he travels to hospitals, bases, and community halls, speaking with wounded veterans about resilience and the hard work of beginning again.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Vietnam Veteran, an Eyepatch, and the Quiet Power of Carrying On
On this episode of Our American Stories, in Abilene, Texas, Jay Moore has made a name telling the kind of stories that stay with you. None has stayed longer than the story of Dennis Holt, a quiet man with an eyepatch and a grin that seemed to outlast everything. At twenty-one, Dennis volunteered for a dangerous gunner’s post in the middle of a jungle fight and barely made it home alive. Years later, Jay rode beside him in pickup trucks and watched him build houses, joke easily, and live with gratitude instead of bitterness.
Jay joins us to tell the story of the man behind the eyepatch.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
America’s First Hero: The Story of George Washington
On this episode of Our American Stories, before the United States had a flag or a White House, it had George Washington. He led a band of farmers and tradesmen against the most powerful empire on earth and earned their loyalty by sharing in their struggle and fighting by their sides.
When the war was won, the world waited for him to take the throne they assumed was his. Instead, he laid down his sword and went home, setting a precedent for term limits that lasted until FDR took office almost 150 years later. Vince Benedetto, the CEO of Bold Gold Media Group, tells the story of a man who shaped a nation by choosing humility over glory.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Origins of the Veterans Day Symbols That Still Unite Us
On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of Veterans Day began with silence. When the guns of World War I finally stopped, the world gathered to mark peace on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day. Over time, that single moment grew into a holiday that now honors all who have worn the uniform.
Anne Clare, a regular contributor to Our American Stories, explains how the day’s symbols, like the blue and gold colors and the bright poppy blooms, came to carry so much meaning.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mad Anthony Wayne: The Story of The Revolutionary War Hero Who Defied and Defined His Nickname
On this episode of Our American Stories, he was called “Mad Anthony” for a reason. General Anthony Wayne led with grit and daring through some of the fiercest battles of the American Revolution. From the fight for independence to the campaign that secured the Northwest Territory, his name became a symbol of relentless courage. Historian Dr. Mary Stockwell, author of Mad Anthony Wayne and the Battle for America, tells the story of the general who earned his nickname on the battlefield and helped define the nation that followed.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're Holding Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald [50th Anniversary]
On this episode of Our American Stories, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in November 1975 shocked the nation and inspired one of the most haunting songs of the decade. The 729-foot freighter disappeared during a fierce Lake Superior storm, leaving behind questions that still echo through Great Lakes history. Ric Mixter, a maritime historian and diver who has explored the wreck, shares what made the Edmund Fitzgerald unique and how its story became a part of 1970s American history. Through Mixter’s firsthand perspective, we revisit the night the freighter went down and the legacy it left on the world of shipping and song
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Sunday Dinners Built the Legacy of Holiday Inn
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Holiday Inn became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), it began with a simple ritual at the Wilsons’ home in Memphis. Each Sunday, Kemmons Wilson gathered his family for dinner and conversation that shaped ideas which would later change the hotel industry. His goal was clear: clean rooms, fair prices, and a warm welcome for every traveler. His son, Kemmons Wilson Jr., shares how those lessons in consistency and care grew into one of the world’s most trusted hotel chains, including Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Resorts.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Listener's Touching Story On His Father—and Jack Kerouac
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Paul Kotz hit a wall while writing his dissertation, he turned to his father for advice. His father was sick by then, but still quick with his words. “You write like Jack Kerouac,” he said.
It was an odd comparison, and Paul didn’t understand it until he looked Kerouac up himself. What he found was a writer who chased rhythm and honesty above all else. In this touching tribute to his father, Paul reflects on how a few simple words became a quiet kind of encouragement that never left him.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The True Story of the Mason-Dixon Line and the Boundary That Divided America
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the Mason-Dixon Line came to represent a nation divided, it began as a simple question of property. In the 1760s, Pennsylvania and Maryland bitterly disputed over their shared border. To end it, two English surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, were sent across the Atlantic with a task that would test their patience and skill.
They spent years in the wilderness, charting forests and rivers, measuring each step with chains and stars. The line they drew finally brought peace to the colonies. But history had other plans. Nearly a century later, their boundary became a symbol of division between free and slave states.
Dakota Bricker tells the story of how a quiet act of measurement became a defining landmark in American history, one that still carries the weight of its past.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.