Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, the year was 1968, and the world below was coming apart. Wars raged overseas, cities burned, and faith in the future seemed to flicker. Yet hundreds of thousands of miles away, three astronauts aboard Apollo 8 were witnessing something extraordinary. As their capsule emerged from the Moon’s shadow, astronaut Bill Anders looked out the window and saw the Earth rising above the lunar horizon. He lifted his camera—and in that quiet instant, Earthrise was born. The image would soon be embraced by the peace movement, printed on posters, and carried in protests. But the irony is that it was born out of war—the Space Race, a direct contest with the Soviet Union that began in fear and rivalry. From conflict came a photograph that united the world in wonder. Our own Lee Habeeb shares the story behind this iconic image. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, most people would hide a smell like this. Andrew Masters and Allen Wittman decided to bottle it. Their invention, Liquid Ass, started as a laugh between friends and grew into a best-selling fart spray. With more than 36,000 reviews and a steady stream of prank-loving customers, the product turned a simple joke into a thriving company called Liquid Assets. Founders Andrew Masters and Allen Wittman share how curiosity and timing turned a teenager’s prank into an unlikely business success story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, centuries before it was called “The Big Apple,” New York was a patch of wilderness at the edge of the Atlantic. Dutch settlers built their homes along the Hudson, the British renamed it New York, and over time, it grew into the beating heart of modern America. From the brownstones of Brooklyn to the lights of Times Square, every corner tells a story of growth and grit. Our American Stories’ regular contributor, Bill Bryk, shares how a collection of small settlements became the New York City we know today, home to millions, rich in history, and constantly changing. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, two men, born generations apart, helped shape the course of American history. Booker T. Washington emerged from the aftermath of slavery, founding the Tuskegee Institute and preaching the power of education and self-determination. Decades later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. carried that torch into the modern civil rights movement, leading through nonviolent protest and faith in the promise of equality. Both faced profound racial injustice, yet neither let oppression define their spirit. Through education, courage, and peaceful resistance, they opened doors that generations still walk through today. Author James Ward reflects on their legacies and the zero-victim mentality that continues to inspire Americans today. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Brad Server grew up like millions of kids, glued to reruns of The Three Stooges and laughing at the slapstick chaos of Curly Howard, Larry Fine, and Moe Howard. What he didn’t know was that one of the most famous comedians in the world wasn’t just his hero but his grandfather. For years, his family had kept the truth hidden. Curly’s fame was complicated, shadowed by health struggles and the pressures of early Hollywood. When Brad finally learned who he was, the discovery connected him to a man he had only ever known through laughter. Today, Brad honors that legacy as “Curly G,” sharing stories about his grandfather’s life, the brilliance behind the act, and the lasting power of The Three Stooges to make the world smile. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, after the last of his children packed their bags and left, Paul found himself with too much time and an overwhelmingly quiet home. Rather than give in to empty-nest syndrome, he chose to spend his days doing something that mattered. When he first walked into the nursing home where he planned to volunteer, he didn’t expect to find friendship in its grumpiest resident. Wilbur wasn’t one for company, especially after losing his wife, but Paul kept trying to draw him out. Each visit chipped away at the silence that surrounded them both. Over time, those small moments turned into a steady friendship that helped ease the loneliness they each carried. Paul joins us to share how one simple act of showing up changed two lives. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his dark tales and haunting poems, yet his imagination stretched far beyond the macabre. Behind the tragedies that shaped his life was a writer who helped define Gothic literature, pioneered detective fiction, and even ventured into the earliest forms of science fiction. Chris Semtner, curator at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, reveals the wit, creativity, and depth of one of America’s most enduring literary voices. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before air travel became routine, flight was a dangerous experiment. In 1908, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge climbed into a fragile biplane beside Orville Wright, ready to test the limits of a new invention that had barely left the ground. When a propeller snapped midair, the airplane crashed near Fort Myer, Virginia. Wright survived with severe injuries; Selfridge did not, becoming the first man to die in a plane crash and marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of aviation. His sacrifice helped shape the safety standards that would guide every flight thereafter. Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation Project shares the story that defined the earliest days of the sky. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, James Smithson was born into wealth but denied a name. As the illegitimate son of the Duke of Northumberland, he spent his life pursuing science instead of status, studying minerals and publishing quietly across Europe. In his will, Smithson made a choice no one expected: he left his fortune to the United States, a nation he had never visited, with the condition that it be used “to increase and diffuse knowledge.” That gift created the Smithsonian Institution, a collection that would grow into the world’s largest museum complex. Wyatt Hensley, a history education major at the University of Pittsburgh and a two-time winner of Constituting America’s We the Future contest, shares the story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the hills of Vermont, a boy named Wilson Bentley fell in love with snow. Each flake, he noticed, was fleeting and perfect, gone before he could study it. Determined to keep their beauty from melting away, he began experimenting with photography in his family’s farmhouse. On January 15, 1885, at twenty years old, Bentley succeeded in taking the first photograph of a snowflake. Using a microscope and a bellows camera, he revealed a world of icy symmetry no one had ever seen. He spent the rest of his life photographing snow crystals, building a collection of more than five thousand historic photos that reshaped early photography and inspired generations of scientists and artists alike. Dr. Jerry Bergman tells the story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.