EP161: The Only Woman to be Awarded the Medal...

On this episode of Our American Stories, today, the NBA is a global powerhouse worth billions of dollars, with superstars recognized everywhere from New York to Shanghai. But for much of its early history, professional basketball was an afterthought. Players worked second jobs, t ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1980s, Panama was at the center of global attention as strongman Manuel Noriega tightened his grip on power. Known for his brutality and ties to the drug trade, he seemed untouchable. But when a hairdresser unknowingly welcomed ...  Show more

Beloved icon of stage and screen, my guest today is the singular Sir Patrick Stewart. The knighted Shakespeare thespian, captain of the Starship Enterprise, international treasure, and master storyteller is here and brings conversational delights lifted from 83 years of life. Tod ...  Show more

Dung Ha (c. 1965-2000) was a powerful Vietnamese gangster who challenged the “Godfather of Saigon.” She broke gender expression rules and sexuality norms, creating a name for herself that lives on today. For Further Reading: Dung Ha: Vietnam’s Lesbian Mob Boss Dung Hà Police Fina ...  Show more

In the early years of the twentieth century, Madam C.J. Walker built an international, Black hair care empire from the ground floor up, transforming herself from a laundry work making $1.50 a day to the woman Guinness World Records identifies as the “first self-made millionairess ...  Show more

Ethel Hays (1892-1989) was one of the most successful women cartoonists of the 1920s. Her cartoons were featured in newspapers across the country, and often featured cosmopolitan, independent flapper women navigating the modern world – with sass. For Further Reading: Hogan’s Alle ...  Show more