Advertise on podcast: Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, you may not know Tommy Tedesco’s name, but chances are you know his guitar. As one of the most in-demand session musicians in Los Angeles, Tedesco played on thousands of recordings, working with artists including the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Mamas & the Papas, and countless others. He was also part of the loose collection of studio musicians later known as the Wrecking Crew, whose playing helped define the sound of American pop music in the 1960s.Tommy’s son, filmmaker Denny Tedesco, tells the story of his father’s remarkable career, from struggling to find work after moving west to becoming one of Hollywood’s busiest guitarists. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, for generations of Boston Red Sox fans, heartbreak became part of the experience. After winning the World Series in 1918, the team sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees and went 86 years without another championship, enduring crushing losses in 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, and again in 2003.Boston Red Sox writer Sean McAdam tells how the so-called Curse of the Bambino took hold, and how the 2004 Red Sox finally broke it. Led by Theo Epstein’s unconventional roster, a clubhouse full of self-described “idiots,” and one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history, Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees before sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals to win its first World Series since 1918. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1657, Governor Peter Stuyvesant ordered residents of New Netherland to help enforce his campaign against religious dissenters, especially Quakers. Thirty residents of Flushing refused. In a petition now known as the Flushing Remonstrance, they declared that they would not persecute peaceful people simply because they worshiped differently.Larry Reed, President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education, tells the story of this remarkable early defense of religious liberty and the punishment its signers faced for defying Stuyvesant. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Deborah Sampson wanted to serve her country, but women were barred from joining the Continental Army. So in 1782, the Massachusetts woman put on men’s clothing, enlisted under the name Robert Shurtliff, and began a remarkable military career while trying to keep her true identity hidden.Marilyn Gilbert Komechak, author of Deborah Sampson: The Girl Who Went to War, shares the story of how Sampson went from an indentured servant who taught herself to read and write to a soldier in George Washington’s army. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, why do police departments in different parts of the country operate so differently? Former LAPD Sergeant Bob Alaniz argues that the answer goes back to two competing traditions: reactive policing, rooted in Sir Robert Peel’s 19th-century model, and the more proactive style that came to define law enforcement in Los Angeles and much of the American West.Alaniz explains the difference through an encounter from his own LAPD career involving Richard Ramirez, later known as the “Night Stalker.” For Alaniz, the episode raises a larger question at the heart of policing: should officers primarily respond after a crime occurs, or intervene when experience tells them something may be wrong? Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Francesca Cabrini dreamed of becoming a missionary in China. Instead, Pope Leo XIII sent the Italian nun west to the United States, where thousands of Italian immigrants were struggling with poverty, discrimination, dangerous work, and life in a country whose language many did not yet speak.Claudia Cangilla McAdam, author of Mother Cabrini: A Heart for the World, shares the story of how Cabrini overcame frail health, prejudice, and seemingly endless obstacles to build schools, orphanages, hospitals, and missions across America and around the world. An immigrant herself, Cabrini eventually became an American citizen and the first American citizen to be canonized as a saint. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, you’ve probably heard that during his famous midnight ride through the Massachusetts countryside to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the impending British occupation of Lexington and Concord, Paul Revere shouted, “The British are coming!” But that’s not quite true.Sabrina Bhattacharjya, a 14-year-old history enthusiast and founder of Lex250, shares the real story—and brings to life the first day of the American Revolution. We'd like to thank Constituting America for turning us on to this story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the late 1950s, something was happening at Malibu. Surfboards were getting lighter and faster, the waves were crowded with a new generation of riders, and a loose fraternity of beach bums, craftsmen, competitors, and characters was beginning to create a culture that would soon spread far beyond the California coast.Our regular contributor Roger McGrath returns with the story of surfing’s golden age. He remembers characters like Terry “Tube Steak” Tracy, the Malibu surfer who helped inspire Gidget, along with Phil Edwards, Mickey Dora, Marge Calhoun, and others who gave the sport its style and personality. Before long, movies, magazines, contests, and a growing surf industry carried their world into the American mainstream. That changed surf culture, for better or worse, depending on who you ask. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, for veterans struggling with PTSD, stress, or simply the difficulty of quieting the mind, sometimes a guitar can provide a few hours of peace. GuitarsforVets.org pairs veterans with free guitar lessons, patient instructors, and, eventually, an instrument of their own.Veterans and volunteers share how learning to play can build confidence, create community, and offer a welcome escape from the pressures of everyday life. Along the way, the program has provided thousands of lessons and guitars to veterans across the country. Our regular contributor, Jesse Edwards, shares the story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1803, Thomas Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to France hoping to secure New Orleans. Instead, Napoleon offered them something far bigger: the entire Louisiana Territory. For $15 million, the United States acquired roughly 800,000 square miles in one of the largest land deals in history.Hillsdale College’s Brad and Dedra Birzer explain how the Haitian Revolution, Napoleon’s ambitions, constitutional doubts, and America’s hunger for the West all came together in the Louisiana Purchase, and why Jefferson believed the nation’s future depended on securing the land beyond the Mississippi. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Millions of Americans first learned about the tragic fate of the USS Indianapolis from Quint's famous monologue in Spielberg's 1975 classic, Jaws. While the film certainly took some liberties with her story, one part remained sadly true. After the war, Captain Charles B. McVay III, a decorated and experienced combat veteran, was court-martialed for failing to zigzag and spent the rest of his life carrying the blame for one of the worst naval disasters in American history. He eventually took his own life in 1968 at the age of 70, his legacy nearly forgotten.Decades later, Navy officer Bill Toti found himself inheriting a rather interesting legacy of his own, also becoming the final captain of the USS Indianapolis. That is to say, the submarine bearing the same name as the infamous WWII cruiser. When survivors of the World War II cruiser asked him to help clear Captain McVay’s name, Toti used modern torpedo modeling to test the Navy’s case against him. What he found helped fuel the long fight that finally led Congress to exonerate McVay. Captain Toti's book is From CO to CEO, be sure to check it out. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson, our regular contributor, returns with another installment of our ongoing series exploring the curious origins of everyday expressions.Drawing from his book Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases, Andrew explains where familiar sayings such as “white elephant,” “wear your heart on your sleeve,” “up the ante,” “the upper hand,” and “wait for the other shoe to drop” came from. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Milton Hershey failed again and again before he ever became America's chocolate king. After a struggling candy shop in Philadelphia, bankruptcy, and years spent learning from confectioners around the country, Hershey finally found success with caramels. Then, at the height of that success, he took another enormous gamble: chocolate.Don Papson of the M.S. Hershey Foundation and Amy Zeigler of The Hershey Story Museum share the story of how Hershey learned to mass-produce affordable milk chocolate, built a factory and community around it in Pennsylvania, and ultimately gave much of his fortune away to ensure that the school he founded for children would endure long after he was gone. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, the director was a renegade filmmaker who'd never made a profitable picture. The producer was hired because he could stay below budget. The star had a reputation for being difficult. A formula for disaster? No, the makings of one of the greatest films of all time.Here to tell the story is Harlan Lebo, author of The Godfather Legacy. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, growing up in Bloomington, Minnesota, Paul Bauer idolized his oldest brother, Tom, a 6-foot-2 three-sport athlete everyone called “Moose.” When 10-year-old Paul watched his brother bang his head on the basement ductwork, he began ending every bedtime prayer with the same request: “Please, Lord, help me to grow to be as big as Moose.”Paul eventually grew to 6-foot-6. Looking back, he shares how that childhood prayer shaped his understanding of faith, how his own father taught him that prayer is “talking to God with love,” and how becoming a father himself helped him understand why the conversation matters as much as the answer. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.