January 11, 2022. Lt. Col. James Harvey arrives at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada for the first time in 73 years. He’s there to accept a plaque celebrating the last time he was there—for the Air Force’s first ever weapons competition. Back then, Harvey and the other Tuskegee Airmen on his team had squared off against the best military pilots around. They ta ... Show More
Today
The Wire That Connected the World
August 17, 1858. New York City wakes to a hundred-gun salute. Church bells ring, flags fly from public buildings, and by nightfall, fireworks light up the sky. The city is celebrating a telegram from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan. Not what it says, but how it traveled: alo ... Show More
32m 55s
Aug 10
The French Monarchy Falls in a Day
August 10, 1792. At midnight, a single church bell begins to ring in Paris. Then another. And another. It's not a call to mass… it's a call to arms. For three years, King Louis XVI and his family have been living as prisoners in a palace, under virtual house arrest at the Tuileri ... Show More
34m 21s
Aug 3
Arsenic, Adultery, and an American on Trial
August 7, 1889. In Liverpool's St. George's Hall, an American woman named Florence Maybrick stands behind iron bars, dressed in mourning black… for the husband she's accused of murdering. The evidence against her is thin: James Maybrick was a longtime arsenic addict who bought th ... Show More
30m 9s
Mar 2022
EP226: A Tuskegee Airman's Story of Heroism and Service and A Sister's Love and Loss of Three Brothers
On this episode of Our American Stories, Lt. Col. Harry Stewart fought for his country in WW2, and faced discrimination and worse along the way. But he said he'd do it all over again for the country he loves. Edie Hand tells us the story of her brothers, the Blackburn boys, and t ... Show More
38m 16s
Apr 2022
EP250: The True Story of A Desert Storm “Top Gun” Pilot and St. Louie Louie: Have Pool Cue, Will Travel
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brigadier General Jim “Boots” Demarest will be telling the heroic tale of Capt. Steve Phillis from his book, Five Nickels: True Story of the Desert Storm Heroics and Sacrifice of Air Force Captain Steve Phillis. Mark O'Brian tells the stor ... Show More
38m 13s
May 2023
Honoring The History & Legacy of Black Veterans| Beyond the Scenes
In honor of Memorial Day, we observe the contributions of Black service members like The Harlem Hellfighters and the Tuskegee Airmen. In this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. chats with the cofounder of the Black Veterans Project, Richard Brookshire and the author of Half American: The ... Show More
56m 31s