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On this episode of Our American Stories, before PEZ dispensers came topped with Mickey Mouse, Santa Claus, and superheroes, PEZ was a benign Austrian peppermint marketed to adults as an alternative to smoking. Then PEZ came to America and flopped. Instead of giving up, the company decided to change course, and a candy once meant for adults found an entirely new audience in American children.

Shawn Peterson, author of PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon, shares the surprising story of how a failed product launch transformed PEZ into one of the world's most recognizable candies and an icon of American pop culture.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

On this episode of Our American Stories, before PEZ dispensers came topped with Mickey Mouse, Santa Claus, and superheroes, PEZ was a benign Austrian peppermint marketed to adults as an alternative to smoking. Then PEZ came to America and flopped. Instead of giving up, the company decided to change course, and a candy once meant for adults found an entirely new audience in American children. Shawn Peterson, author of&nbsp;<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2F146713676X%3Flv%3Dshuf%26channelId%3D500%26plpRedirect%3DmhFallback&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7C7b53ac4a5ff345667d4408df09fc1aea%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639240650807929228%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Y5nyTG6lpvUvtxXmEXozqFOD7ZSCUtubMKCc8U9FAEM%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="3">PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon</a>, shares the surprising story of how a failed product launch transformed PEZ into one of the world's most recognizable candies and an icon of American pop culture.
Support the show (<a href="https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)">https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)</a>

Our American Stories tells stories that aren’t being told. Positive stories about generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love. Stories about the past and present. And stories about ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things each and every day. Stories from our listeners about their lives. And their history. In that pursuit, we hope we’ll be a place where listeners can refresh their spirit, and be inspired by our stories.

Our American Stories

Our American Stories tells stories that aren’t being told. Positive stories about generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love. Stories about the past and present. And stories about ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things each and every day. Stories from our listeners about their lives. And their history. In that pursuit, we hope we’ll be a place where listeners can refresh their spirit and be inspired by our stories.

Our American Stories tells stories that aren&rsquo;t being told. Positive stories about generosity and courage, resilience and redemption, faith and love. Stories about the past and present. And stories about ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things each and every day. Stories from our listeners about their lives. And their history. In that pursuit, we hope we&rsquo;ll be a place where listeners can refresh their spirit and be inspired by our stories.

How PEZ Became an American Pop Culture Icon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/22dbcb80-5591-48d5-9cf1-b4ba01612141/transcript

On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. James Madison became known as the Father of the Constitution. But the man who gave the Constitution much of its final language, including the famous words “We the People of the United States,” is largely forgotten. His name was Gouverneur Morris.

Dennis C. Rasmussen, author of The Constitution's Penman and a Jack Miller Center Fellow, shares the extraordinary story of the Founding Father who spoke more often than anyone else at the Constitutional Convention, helped shape the document's final form, and delivered one of its fiercest attacks on slavery.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

On this episode of Our American Stories, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. James Madison became known as the Father of the Constitution. But the man who gave the Constitution much of its final language, including the famous words &ldquo;We the People of the United States,&rdquo; is largely forgotten. His name was Gouverneur Morris. Dennis C. Rasmussen, author of <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2F0700634142%3Flv%3Dshuf%26channelId%3D500%26plpRedirect%3DmhFallback&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7C1e430f57b1ab4f5d466708df142df756%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639251859832315715%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=rOZx7T1Ec%2BRdMif4EqazhPkpH0ZCYJrdNGRDWCHy2sI%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="5" data-ogsc="">The Constitution's Penman</a> and a <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jackmillercenter.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7C1e430f57b1ab4f5d466708df142df756%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639251859832339097%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XS4qtlPbnZVOhtzXBilA7dQjEpj1UfGF2gYB9w9jk2A%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="6" data-ogsc="">Jack Miller Center Fellow</a>, shares the extraordinary story of the Founding Father who spoke more often than anyone else at the Constitutional Convention, helped shape the document's final form, and delivered one of its fiercest attacks on slavery.
Support the show (<a href="https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)">https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)</a>

Who Wrote “We the People”? The Story of Gouverneur Morris

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cadfc164-1c23-46d1-aeac-b4c8014bfe77/transcript

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On this episode of Our American Stories, before Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court, he was wrestling with a question that would define his career: What is a judge supposed to do when the law produces a result he doesn't personally like? Scalia's answer was that judges should follow the law rather than their own preferences, an idea that helped shape his growing commitment to textualism and originalism.

James Rosen, author of Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936–1986, continues Scalia's story through his years as a lawyer, professor, government official, and federal judge. He also shares the story of Scalia's marriage to Maureen, his friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the ideas about law that would make him a distinctive figure on the bench.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court, he was wrestling with a question that would define his career: What is a judge supposed to do when the law produces a result he doesn't personally like? Scalia's answer was that judges should follow the law rather than their own preferences, an idea that helped shape his growing commitment to textualism and originalism. James Rosen, author of <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.simonandschuster.com%2Fbooks%2FScalia%2FJames-Rosen%2F9781684512324&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7C1e430f57b1ab4f5d466708df142df756%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639251859832292662%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=psAQmcVDZSr5jJ0bvlyi47xNBAoglNnAcX%2B00jI%2FhCk%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="4" data-ogsc="">Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936&ndash;1986</a>, continues Scalia's story through his years as a lawyer, professor, government official, and federal judge. He also shares the story of Scalia's marriage to Maureen, his friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the ideas about law that would make him a distinctive figure on the bench.
Support the show (<a href="https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)">https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)</a>

The Making of Justice Scalia: Faith, Family, and the American Dream (Pt. 2)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7f18828a-9c48-4716-9329-b4c8014bfe71/transcript

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Antonin Scalia became the first Italian American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, he was "Nino," the only child of an Italian American family growing up in Queens. His father had arrived from Sicily as a teenager, speaking no English, and worked his way through school to become a professor of Romance languages. His mother, the daughter of Italian immigrants, became a schoolteacher. Together, they filled their son's childhood with books, high expectations, family, and a deeply rooted Catholic faith.

James Rosen, author of Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936–1986, shares how that upbringing helped shape the future justice.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Antonin Scalia became the first Italian American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, he was "Nino," the only child of an Italian American family growing up in Queens. His father had arrived from Sicily as a teenager, speaking no English, and worked his way through school to become a professor of Romance languages. His mother, the daughter of Italian immigrants, became a schoolteacher. Together, they filled their son's childhood with books, high expectations, family, and a deeply rooted Catholic faith. James Rosen, author of <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.simonandschuster.com%2Fbooks%2FScalia%2FJames-Rosen%2F9781684512324&amp;data=05%7C02%7CUraelBlackshear%40iheartmedia.com%7C1e430f57b1ab4f5d466708df142df756%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639251859832269656%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=696ZVhXmK5pYRHW%2FyVL2rGDJ2SsWP96xCLrppGrDbUM%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="3" data-ogsc="">Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936&ndash;1986</a>, shares how that upbringing helped shape the future justice.
Support the show (<a href="https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)">https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)</a>

The Making of Justice Scalia: Faith, Family, and the American Dream (Pt. 1)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/decec632-1bb5-4cad-8f36-b4c8014bfe74/transcript

How PEZ Became an American Pop Culture Icon

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