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.
Texas Wanted Him to Spend 750 Hours Learning the Wrong Job
My Dad Died Saving a Stranger, but He Never Stopped Saving Lives
On this episode of Our American Stories, ten days after Caleb Bailey was born, his father, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Joseph Dupee, was killed in the line of duty while trying to rescue one of his own firefighters during a warehouse fire in California. His death left behind a young widow and two small sons, and seemed to mark the beginning of a lifetime of heartbreak.
Instead, it became the beginning of an extraordinary story of redemption. Caleb shares how his father's sacrifice transformed his uncle's life, how another firefighter stepped in to become the father he never had, and why, more than two decades later, his family remembers that tragedy not for what was lost, but for everything God built from it
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Calvin Coolidge: The Farm Boy Who Became America's 30th President
On this episode of Our American Stories, born on the Fourth of July in the tiny village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Calvin Coolidge grew up surrounded by hardworking neighbors who prized honesty, humility, thrift, and service above wealth or status. Those lessons stayed with him from the family store to the governor's office, and ultimately to the White House.
Matthew Denhart of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, along with acclaimed Coolidge interpreter Tracy Messer, reading from Coolidge's autobiography, share the remarkable story of America's 30th president, from his rural upbringing and dramatic midnight swearing-in by his father to the principles that shaped one of the most distinctive presidencies in American history.
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The Hidden Work Behind Every Horse
On this episode of Our American Stories, Bill Bryk has spent years in the saddle, but in this story, he takes us to a place most riders overlook: the quiet, deliberate work of caring for a horse. Before a hoof hits the trail or a rider lifts the reins, there are coats to brush, manes to comb, and hooves to clean.
Even a horse's teeth require attention, a reminder that its strength begins with small acts of care.
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How One Small-Town Woman Lived Nine Lives
On this episode of Our American Stories, born in rural Missouri in 1934, Rebecca "Cubby" Hall grew up without electricity, joined the Women's Army Corps, learned to ride a Harley-Davidson, taught in a one-room schoolhouse, served as mayor of Neosho, owned a liquor store, worked as a garbage collector, and never stopped finding ways to serve her community.
In her own words, Cubby looks back on a life that spanned extraordinary changes in America, sharing stories of hard work, small-town life, unforgettable mentors, and the adventurous spirit that led her to try just about everything.
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Was Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan Necessary to End World War II?
On this episode of Our American Stories, few decisions in American history remain as controversial as the choice to drop atomic bombs on Japan in the final days of World War II. Supporters argue the attacks hastened the war’s end and saved lives. Critics say they crossed a moral line that reshaped warfare forever.
Ken LaCorte, host of the YouTube channel Elephants in Rooms, examines the historical context, military calculations, and ethical questions surrounding Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and why the debate over whether the bomb was necessary continues decades later.
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Dick Bong: America’s Greatest Fighter Pilot
On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard "Dick" Bong was a farm boy who learned to fly and never stopped pushing the limits of what a pilot could do. Flying the P-38 Lightning, he downed 40 enemy aircraft, making him the nation's Ace of Aces and one of the most decorated World War II aviators in history. Yet behind the record was a quiet Midwestern pilot who wrote letters home, worried about his friends, and carried the weight of fame he never sought.
The History Guy shares the story of how Major Richard Bong rose from his rural Wisconsin roots to become a national hero and America's highest-scoring fighter ace of World War II.
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David McCullough: The Constitution Was Written by Serious People
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the summer of 1787, the United States was deeply in debt, politically divided, and struggling to survive under the weak Articles of Confederation. Behind closed doors in a sweltering room in Philadelphia, a remarkable group of Americans spent three months debating, compromising, and ultimately creating the United States Constitution.
At a Constitution Day event at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the late historian David McCullough explains why the Founding Fathers were not soundbite men with soundbite minds, what they were reading, what inspired them, and why the Constitution remains one of the greatest achievements in American history.
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Why a Billionaire Founder Encouraged Office Pranks
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom Golisano didn't build Paychex by creating a joyless workplace. He believed people did their best work when they enjoyed coming to the office, and that meant making room for laughter, practical jokes, and a culture where even the CEO wasn't off limits.
The Paychex founder shares some of the company's most legendary office pranks and explains why fun, trust, and camaraderie became part of the culture that helped grow one of America's most successful payroll companies. His book is Built Not Born: A Self-Made Billionaire's No-Nonsense Guide for Entrepreneurs.
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How the Beastie Boys Took Hip-Hop From New York to the Nation
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early days of hip-hop, the music grew out of Black and Latino communities in New York City. It was local, raw, and deeply rooted in the neighborhoods where it began. So when three white, Jewish kids from New York entered that world, it raised more than a few eyebrows.
Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of the Beastie Boys, how they found their place in a culture that wasn’t originally their own, and how their music helped carry hip-hop to audiences far beyond the city.
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