Our American Stories

In this first episode of our new series, Sunday Mornings with Big Mitch, we meet Mitch — a man serving life in the Alabama State prison system for taking another man’s life, a crime for which he takes full responsibility. Each Sunday, Our American Stories host Lee Habeeb talks with Mitch over the phone about life, faith, and redemption behind bars. In this opening conversation, Mitch shares where he came from, how he grew up, and what those first days in prison were like. What begins as a story of punishment becomes one of transformation — and the freedom he’s found through his Christian faith.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Heinz Ketchup became a fixture in American kitchens, Henry John Heinz was a young entrepreneur selling bottled horseradish from his mother’s garden in Pittsburgh. He believed that honesty and quality could build a brand, and he lived by the motto, “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.” As his brand grew, his glass bottles set a new standard for purity while the Heinz 57 varieties became a household phrase. Guided by his belief that good business begins with good character, H.J. Heinz turned an everyday product into a legacy that still endures more than a century later. Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of this American original. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, the dream of the Panama Canal began long before it became real. For centuries, people imagined a passage that would unite the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and open the world to faster trade. The French tried first, but disease and disaster claimed their dream. When the United States took over, Theodore Roosevelt called it a mission worthy of a great nation. What followed was one of the most difficult projects in history. Men from across the world arrived to dig, blast, and clear the Isthmus of Panama, working in punishing heat and thick jungle. Malaria and yellow fever swept through the camps, and entire families lost fathers, brothers, and sons before the canal was complete. Yet from that suffering came a triumph of engineering and perseverance that reshaped global trade forever. Here to tell the story is Simon Whistler from the Today I Found Out YouTube channel and its sister show, the Brain Food Show podcast. Also contributing to this story is the late, great historian David McCullough. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Clarence Saunders opened Piggly Wiggly in 1916, shoppers in Memphis, Tennessee, didn’t know what to make of it. Until then, groceries were ordered at a counter while a clerk gathered every item. Saunders told customers to do something new: take a basket, walk the aisles, and choose for themselves. It was the first self-service grocery store, and it changed everything about the way Americans shop. Mike Freeman, author of Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly: The Rise and Fall of a Memphis Maverick, shares the story of how one man’s bold experiment became the blueprint for the modern supermarket. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1838, a political argument in Congress crossed a line few thought possible. Maine Representative Jonathan Cilley and Kentucky’s William Graves met on a field just outside Washington, rifles in hand. The nation watched in disbelief as two elected officials prepared to settle a dispute the old-fashioned way. When the smoke cleared, one man was dead—and House Resolution 8 soon followed, banning duels between lawmakers. Our regular contributor and firearms historian, Ashley Hlebinsky, revisits this little-known chapter in American history. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, during the height of the Cold War, the United States worked tirelessly to stay ahead of the Soviet Union in the global arms race. Safeguards were put in place to prevent the accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, including special systems known as Permissive Action Links, or PAL codes. But for almost two decades, the launch code for America’s nuclear arsenal was just eight zeroes: 00000000. Simon Whistler, host of Today I Found Out and The Brain Food Show, explains why the most important code of the Cold War was so simple to crack. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, for Sean Pronger, playing in the NHL was a dream come true. Skating beside Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, was something he’d imagined since childhood. But when that dream finally came true, he was hungover. What followed was one of the most surreal games of his life and one of the funniest stories in hockey history. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, when the radio first crackled to life in the 1920s, it transformed how Americans shared news, music, and hope. But behind those first transmissions were young innovators like Lester Wolf, who saw endless promise in a brand-new medium. Working at one of Chicago’s early radio stations, Wolf helped shape the early days of commercial broadcasting, unaware that his ambition would come at a devastating cost. His great-grandnephew Robert Anderson revisits a forgotten family story that mirrors the birth of modern communication in the United States. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, before “Love Without End, Amen” became one of George Strait’s most beloved hits, it was a prayer set to music. Songwriter Aaron Barker wrote it after a painful argument with his teenage son, an experience that brought him to his knees before his guitar. Out of that moment came a song about grace, fatherhood, and the unconditional love that defines family. Our own Lee Habeeb 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, every October, porches glow with carved pumpkins and streets fill with costumed children, but the roots of Halloween reach much deeper than candy and costumes. The holiday began as All Hallows’ Eve, a night of remembrance that blended Christian and Celtic traditions. When Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in the United States, they carried those customs with them, reshaping the celebration into something distinctly American. Historians Lesley Bannatyne and Lisa Morton explain how an ancient ritual became a modern holiday—and why Halloween in America continues to reflect both superstition and joy. Lesley Bannatyne is the author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History, and Lisa Morton is the author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.