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 Memphis Business Leader Who Puts Business Last
Don’t Tread On Me: The Origins of the Gadsden Flag
On this episode of Our American Stories, before the Bald Eagle became America’s national symbol, the rattlesnake represented the spirit of the American colonies. After all, it was a uniquely American and dangerous animal unfamiliar to most Europeans, and the design of its rattle lent itself perfectly to political symbolism. Benjamin Franklin used the snake in his famous “Join, or Die” political cartoon, and during the Revolutionary War, the image evolved into the iconic “Don’t Tread On Me” Gadsden Flag. Our American Stories regular contributor Ashley Hlebinsky shares the surprising backstory behind one of America’s most recognizable flags.
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She Didn’t Want to Hold Her Nephew at First
On this episode of Our American Stories, it was initially hard for Joleen Lievaart to embrace her newborn nephew. After years of struggling with infertility, the trip to the hospital felt more like an obligation than a celebration. But over time, Joleen came to embrace her nephew both literally and figuratively, discovering what it truly meant to become a loving great-aunt. We'd like to thank our regular contributor, Leslie Leyland Fields, for suggesting this story.
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The Final Conversation Between NYPD Officer Jason Rivera and His Wife
On this episode of Our American Stories, after Jason Rivera was killed responding to a domestic violence call in Harlem, New York, his wife Dominique stood before mourners at St. Patrick's Cathedral and shared the story of their young marriage. In this moving National Police Week eulogy, Dominique remembers the everyday routines, arguments, laughter, and love she shared with the 22-year-old NYPD detective whose life was cut short far too soon.
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The Last Slave Ship to America and the Town Its Survivors Built
On this episode of Our American Stories, more than 50 years after the United States outlawed the international slave trade, the schooner Clotilda illegally brought captive Africans to Mobile, Alabama in 1860. After emancipation, many of those survivors pooled their money, bought land, and founded Africatown. Nick Tabor, the author of Africatown, shares the remarkable story of the last slave ship to reach America, the people aboard it, and the resilient Alabama community they built from nothing.
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Diego Moreno: The Police Officer Everyone Called When They Needed Backup
On this episode of Our American Stories, after Diego Moreno of the Kent Police Department was killed during a police pursuit in Kent, Washington, his wife and longtime patrol partner shared stories about the man behind the badge. For our National Police Week programming, they remember Moreno as a devoted father, energetic friend, relentless police officer, and larger-than-life personality who brought joy, humor, and intensity everywhere he went.
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Why Hollywood Cowboy Tim McCoy Went to War Twice
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Tim McCoy became one of Hollywood’s biggest Western movie stars and the face on the Wheaties box, he was a real Wyoming cowboy, rancher, cavalry officer, and friend of Buffalo Bill Cody. McCoy appeared in nearly 100 Western films during Hollywood’s golden age and later served in both World War I and World War II as a U.S. Army officer. For our ongoing Hollywood Goes to War series, Historian Roger McGrath shares the remarkable story of the cowboy actor who lived the life most movie stars only pretended to live.
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“I Didn’t Want Children… Then I Met Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller”
On this episode of Our American Stories, after Damon Gutzwiller of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office was killed in the line of duty in California, his wife Favi stood before mourners while pregnant with their second child and shared the story of the man she loved. In this moving National Police Week eulogy, she remembers Damon not only as a sheriff’s sergeant, but as a devoted husband, loving father, caregiver to his mother, and the kindest man she had ever known.
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Before Hollywood, Danny Trejo Was Behind Bars
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Danny Trejo became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, known for films like Machete and Heat, he spent years in prison battling addiction and violence. Speaking at the Crossroads Recovery Center's 60th Anniversary Breakfast event in Phoenix, AZ., Trejo shares how sobriety, recovery, faith, and helping others transformed his life and unexpectedly led him from prison cells to movie sets.
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How B.B. King’s Guitar “Lucille” Got Her Name
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before B.B. King became a blues legend, he nearly lost his life running back into a burning Arkansas juke joint to save his guitar. That night, after learning two men had started the fight over a woman named Lucille, King gave the guitar a name he would carry with him for the rest of his life. B.B. King’s longtime friend Myron Johnson and Daniel de Visé, author of King of the Blues, share the story.
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