On this episode of Our American Stories, Gladys Gonzalez once held a senior banking position in Bogotá, earning a dollar salary and managing major financial institutions. When Colombia’s drug war forced her employer to shut down operations, she was suddenly starting over in the United States.

Her credentials didn’t transfer. The executive experience that once defined her career meant little in America, and she took whatever work she could find—cleaning offices, caring for people with disabilities, delivering newspapers—just to support her family. What followed wasn’t a single break, but a true example of the American Dream in action.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Becky Shaffer grew up in severe neglect and abuse, cycling through hunger, violence, and instability before entering foster care as a teenager. After aging out of the system herself, she built a life marked by faith, family, and hard-earned resilience.

Years later, while fostering young women, Becky recognized a familiar pattern as girls left care without support and faced the same dangers she once had. That recognition led to the creation of Saving Grace, a residential program designed to help young women aging out of foster care learn practical life skills, build stability, and find direction. Becky shares how her past shaped her purpose, and how Saving Grace grew from an idea into a refuge for girls with nowhere else to turn.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, each fall at Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, brown bears race to gain as much weight as possible before winter. Ranger Lian Law shares the story of how Fat Bear Week began as a small educational project and grew into a worldwide event, showcasing how fat equals survival for bears that must live off their reserves through months of hibernation.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, many music critics consider Duke Ellington one of the most important composers of the 20th century, in or out of jazz. The late Wall Street Journal culture critic Terry Teachout, author of Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, shares the sweeping story of Ellington’s rise from segregated Washington, D.C. to the Cotton Club and national radio, examining his creative methods, collaborative tensions, and the music that carried him from Harlem stages to Newport in 1956 and ultimately to the White House.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Cecil Wax grew up in rural Iowa in the 1920s, when a simple errand could turn into an adventure. When his family runs out of vinegar during harvest season, young Cecil and his brother are sent on horseback to the local general store. What follows is a childhood journey filled with small dangers, hard lessons, and a moment that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Portland became a destination, one businessman helped shape its future through hospitality, civic pride, and vision. Alex Adler, better known as Alex the Historian, shares the story of a logger named Simon Benson, the immigrant entrepreneur behind the iconic Benson Hotel, and explains how his investments helped put Portland on the national map.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, horse jumping was nothing new. So locals decided to see whether a mule could do better. What began as a friendly dare among coon hunters grew into an annual mule-jumping competition that blends skill, stubbornness, and small-town pride. Locals, longtime competitors, and families who helped shape the tradition share how this unlikely sport took root and why it has endured.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg was once called “the next Jerry Seinfeld,” but his comedy was unmistakably his own. A master of the one-liner in the tradition of Henny Youngman, Hedberg built a following with surreal observations and a laid-back delivery that felt effortless. Few knew that behind the calm presence was a deep fear of performing on stage. Our own Greg Hengler shares the story of Mitch Hedberg’s life, comedy, and the legacy of a performer who changed stand-up by keeping it simple.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, America’s eleventh president, James K. Polk, served just one term and reshaped the nation more than most presidents who served two. Official Texas State Historian Monte Monroe, along with historians Rachel Helvering and Anne Claire, share the story of the disciplined and relentless president who oversaw the annexation of Texas, the settlement of the Oregon boundary, victory in the Mexican-American War, and the expansion of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, every Sunday, Our American Stories host Lee Habeeb speaks with Mitchel “Big Mitch” Rutledge, who has spent more than forty years serving a life sentence in Alabama for killing a man. Mitch has never denied his crime or offered excuses for it. Instead, their conversations focus on what responsibility, faith, and accountability look like when lived out behind prison walls.
In this episode, the discussion continues with Lee’s longtime friend Bo, who is grappling with the fallout of infidelity. This time, Bo’s wife Donna joins the conversation, sharing her own struggle to remain grounded in faith while navigating betrayal and uncertainty.

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