Thomas Nast, Part One: The Cartoonist Who Sha...

Vikings! Even centuries after their heyday, these seafaring Scandinavian raiders are the subject of countless works of fiction and film -- and some of the stories about them are true. And, legend has it, there was one sort of Viking even other Viking feared: the Berserker. If you ...  Show more

We all know the image of European knights: clad all over in plate armor, they conquer enemy forces and mythological creatures alike. But... how much of this historical stereotype is true? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max ask explore the nuts and bolts of historical armor: ho ...  Show more

America has a long tradition of unruly presidential brothers, none more famous than Billy Carter. He became so well-known for his antics, there was even a brand of beer named for him. Mo speaks to President Jimmy Carter and Billy's widow and six children about the surprisingly co ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Dennis Peterson shares the story of his maternal grandmother's hands which revealed a lot about her. Audie Murphy's story is one of the quintessential American stories; yet, chances are, many Americans have never even heard of his name. Su ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, the comic book superhero is an American invention. Here to tell the story is WWII historian Jeffrey Johnson, the author of Super-History: Comic Book Superheroes and American Society. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/don ...  Show more

Before there were superheroes, a Swiss teacher drew entertaining doodles for friends. As he developed his sketches into stories told with multiple captioned images, he inadvertently invented the first sequential art comics in the Western world.