On this episode of Our American Stories, when World War II called, the Wilson family of Iowa answered. One by one, five brothers left home to serve their country, while their parents and siblings waited anxiously for news from across the globe.

Our regular contributor Joy Neal Kidney shares the story of her uncles, the five Wilson brothers, and the sacrifices their family made during the war years. It is a deeply personal story of duty, separation, and the quiet courage required not only of those who fought, but also of the loved ones who waited for them to come home.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Jackson’s career made him one of the most recognizable and most scrutinized people on the planet. As his fame grew, so did the attention on his appearance, especially his skin color. What the public saw was a dramatic lightening over time. What they didn’t know was that Jackson was living with vitiligo, a medical condition that strips the skin of its pigment. Simon Whistler, from the Today I Found Out podcast, shares the story of how the disease shaped Jackson’s look and his life.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, no horse had claimed the Triple Crown in 25 years until Secretariat lined up at the Belmont. What happened next stunned the world. With the crowd on its feet, Secretariat sprinted into history, delivering a performance so dominant it's still studied today. This is the story of the race that made him a legend and left the sport forever changed.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1950s, a shy teenager from Southern California seemed destined for stardom. As Ritchie Valens rocketed from local dances to national fame, hits like “La Bamba” and “Donna” helped make him one of the brightest young stars in rock and roll.

Discovered and mentored by producer Bob Keane, Valens's rise was as rapid as it was remarkable. Keane shares the story of the young musician's journey from an ordinary high school student to a recording sensation whose influence on American music far outlived his tragically short life.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, few writers have ever changed the course of history the way Thomas Paine did. His pamphlet Common Sense electrified the American colonies, helped turn public opinion toward independence, and inspired ordinary Americans to support the Revolution. Later, his American Crisis essays rallied George Washington's troops during some of the darkest days of the war.

In Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence, historian Harlow Giles Unger tells the remarkable story of the man John Adams called "the first man of the Revolution" and explores how Paine's words helped shape not only the American Revolution, but democratic movements around the world. Audio courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up, Joy Neal Kidney knew her father as an Iowa farmer, a simple, kind man in overalls who drove tractors, tended livestock, and taught his children the value of hard work. But before that, he had lived a very different life. During World War II, Warren Neal commanded large bomber aircraft and prepared to fly combat missions against Japan before the war came to an end.

Years after his passing, Joy climbed aboard a restored B-17 Flying Fortress and sat in the pilot's seat. There, her perception of her father began to change. Joy shares the story of how one afternoon at an airport helped her reconcile Dad the farmer with Dad the young World War II pilot.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Rich Wingo’s football journey began under legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, whose tough, uncompromising style forged players into men prepared for more than just Saturdays in Tuscaloosa. Bryant’s influence followed Wingo beyond his college years and into the NFL, where he suited up for the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

It was in those two worlds, Alabama football and the Packers, that Wingo’s understanding of discipline, perseverance, and faith deepened. Looking back, he shares how the lessons he learned from a storied college football program and one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises transformed not just his playing career, but his entire outlook on life.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, today, nearly every major American lager traces its roots back to a revolutionary beer first brewed in 1842 in the city of Pilsen, located in what is now the Czech Republic. Clear, crisp, and unlike anything drinkers had seen before, Pilsner quickly spread across Europe before German immigrants carried their taste for the style to the United States.

Author Tom Acitelli, writer ofPilsner: How the Beer of Kings Changed the World, shares the remarkable story of how a beer from the Austrian Empire helped inspire brewing giants like Budweiser, Miller, and Pabst, survived Prohibition, and became the most influential beer style in America.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers defined late-night television. Carson ruled The Tonight Show as its steady center, while Rivers became his most trusted guest host, winning audiences with her sharp timing and fearless comedy. Night after night, viewers came to see them as a natural pairing, shaping what a late-night talk show could be. Then, in nineteen eighty-six, everything changed. Joan Rivers accepted her own late-night show, a move that fractured one of television’s most influential relationships. Mark Malkoff, author of Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, tells the story.

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