On this episode of Our American Stories, award-winning storyteller Joy Neal Kidney shares a deeply personal family history from the Great Depression, when common childhood illnesses could still be deadly. Drawing from her Iowa roots, Kidney recounts how mumps and whooping cough devastated two related families already struggling with poverty, farm loss, and scarce medical care. In one household, nine children fell ill at once, and twin infants did not survive. Through vivid detail and remembered hardship, Joy's story reminds us how fragile life once was, and how much modern medicine and vaccinations have changed everyday survival. 

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On this episode of Our American Stories, former Las Vegas Sands executive Mike Leven shares how an unlikely partnership helped launch the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in the 1980s. After hearing stereotypes inside the hotel industry about Indian American franchisees, Leven asked for the data and found their properties performed like everyone else, often better. Working with hotel owner H. P. Rama and organizer Lee Duschoff, he helped form an association to fight discrimination, improve access to financing, and claim a rightful place in American hospitality. 

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On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Anne Clare tells the lesser-known story of two ships lost at Pearl Harbor, the USS Utah and the USS Oklahoma. During the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, the Utah, a retired battleship used as a target ship, was torpedoed and left where it sank on Ford Island, where its quiet memorial still stands today. The Oklahoma was hit by multiple torpedoes and capsized in minutes, trapping hundreds inside. Ann recounts rescues, acts of bravery, and the memorials that honor the dead, including the 429 white pillars representing Oklahoma’s fallen crew, and what it means to remember them.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, one of the most successful blackjack teams in America was built around an unlikely bond: church friendships and trust. Colin Jones, founder of BlackjackApprenticeship.com, and David Drury, dubbed “the most notorious card counter in America,” tell how they learned to count cards, pooled bankrolls, and turned blackjack into a math-driven edge rather than pure gambling. They describe the discipline, long swings, disguises, and casino backoffs that come with winning, plus why honesty mattered when players were carrying huge amounts of cash. It is a strange double life, from church on Sunday to high-limit tables the next day.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, the late historian David McCullough explains why America’s Founding Fathers cannot be understood as ordinary people living modern lives. Drawing on his deep study of figures like John and Abigail Adams, McCullough describes a world shaped by slow communication, constant risk, and immense personal responsibility. Decisions were made without instant news, quick consultation, or shared blame, and the consequences were often life or death. McCullough argues that to understand the founders, we must understand the culture they lived in, the hardships they endured, and the moral weight they carried. It is a reminder that history is not abstract and that character is formed under pressure.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, while on a mission trip to Thailand, a modern worship band found itself playing an impromptu set inside a brothel in Pattaya, one of the world’s most notorious centers for sex tourism. In that unlikely setting, the song “God of This City” was written in real time by members of the Belfast-based band Bluetree. Our own Greg Hengler tells the story of how that moment gave birth to a powerful worship anthem that later caught the attention of Chris Tomlin and went on to be sung in churches around the world. It is a story about faith, courage, and light appearing in the darkest places.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, In the earliest days of settlement, America became a testing ground for bold ideas about faith, freedom, and self-rule. In this episode of our ongoing Story of America Series, historian Wilfred McClay, author of Land of Hope, examines the colonies founded by Puritans, Quakers, and reformers who believed the New World could perfect what the Old World could not. From Massachusetts Bay to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, these communities pursued religious liberty and social renewal, often with utopian hopes that quickly ran into human limits. McClay explains why these failed experiments still mattered, how they encouraged habits of self-government, and why idealism and adaptability became lasting traits of the American character.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Allen was born into slavery in colonial America and went on to become one of the most influential religious leaders of the early United States. After purchasing his freedom, Allen became a successful entrepreneur, a powerful preacher, and the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. His stature was such that he was chosen to deliver the eulogy for George Washington, a moment that revealed both his influence and the contradictions of the young nation. Historian Richard Newman of Rochester Institute of Technology shares the remarkable life of Richard Allen, drawing on decades of research and his book Freedom’s Prophet.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Theodore Schwartz, a neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine and best-selling author of Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery, shares how he approaches one of the most difficult responsibilities in medicine: delivering bad news to patients with terminal and late-stage brain cancer. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr. Schwartz explains how honesty, compassion, and clarity guide these conversations, even when there is no cure to offer. He reflects on what patients ask when time is short, how doctors prepare for moments medicine cannot fix, and why the way bad news is delivered can matter as much as the news itself.

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