This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years, and now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. I turned off news altogether.
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we can calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. and BC News reporting for America. Uh This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org. What's up y'all? Summer's got a different tempo.
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Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen.
She starts dating Howard Hughes. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane.
So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedi Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
Goodbye. Yeah. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people, coming to you from the city where the West begins. Fort Worth, Texas. Our next story is called Mr.
Capra's Wonderful Life. It's a story for the ages. The man who brought iconic classics to the big screen, including his three Academy Award winners, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and You Can't Take It With You, has a life story that's as remarkable as any movie he'd ever made. Including Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington and his 1946 classic, It's a Wonderful Life. I wish I had a million dollars. Frank Capper's origin story is itself a classic American story. and a classic love story too. not just his love of people and the medium he would come to master, film, But his love of America.
his love of the country that adopted him. Yeah. Indeed, Capra so loved his country that he served at the height of his career directly under Chief of Staff General George Marshall. the most senior officer commanding the U.S. Army.
To help bring to life a seven-episode documentary series called Why We Fight. during World War II. The films were commissioned by our government to boost the morale of Americans in the fight overseas. and millions of Americans at home. One film in this series, Prelude to War, won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
By 1945, the year Capra was discharged as a colonel, 54 million Americans had seen the films. Camper, for his service to his country, was awarded the Legion of Merit. and Distinguished Service Medals. Francesco Rosario Capra's love affair with America began not too many years after he was born. in eighteen ninety seven in Palermo, Sicily.
Capra was named after his grandfather. who built and designed churches for a living. The youngest of seven children, his parents, Roman Catholics both, immigrated to the United States in 1903, ending up in Los Angeles. Like millions of immigrants before and after, the Campers didn't come here to change America. They came to have America change them.
and change the CAPRA's lives for the better, America did. How much did Capra love his country? In 1982, while being honored in Los Angeles by the American Film Institute with their Lifetime Achievement Award, Capper seized the opportunity to thank the American people and America itself. for the opportunities and freedom his adopted country afforded him. In a speech in front of the titans of the movie industry, Capra started by thanking the many people who guided him along the way, great writers, actors, and executives alike.
He then explained the secret to his success as a storyteller. The art of Frank Ampera is very, very simple. It's the love of people. And add two simple ideals. to this love of people.
The freedom of each individual And the equal importance of each individual. And you have the principle upon which I based All my films. This was not mere sentiment Capra was expressing, and he knew more than most how to summon sentiment in his story telling. Pop, you want a shock? I think you're a great guy.
Those words sprang from a deeper well. From his Catholic worldview and the ideals and governing principles of the country he loved. But Capra wasn't finished, saving the best part of his speech and the most personal part of his speech for the last. it started humbly and evocatively. An occasion like this Then we all get together to pay homage.
to our craft. It forces me to think. How in the hell did I get up here?
Well Nearly 79 years ago, I celebrated my sixth birthday. and the black dark hole of a creaking ship. crammed with wretching, praying, terrorized immigrants. Thirteen days of misery. And then the ship stopped.
And my father grabbed me and carried me up the steep iron stairs to the deck. And then he shouted, Cheecoat? Look at that. At first, all I saw was a deck full of people on their knees crying and rejoicing. My father cried, That's the greatest light since the sire of Bethlehem.
I looked up. and there was the statue of a great lady, Taller than a church steeple. Holding a lamp over the land we were about to enter. And my father said, It's the light of freedom. Chico.
Remember that. Freedom. The audience was mesmerized as Caper recounted this pivotal moment in the life of his family in vivid detail. Putting the audience on that ship, as only a master storyteller can do. Caper continued with stars like Bob Hope and Betty Davis on the edge of their seats.
and the edge of tears. Capra closed things out, looking up to the heavens to address his deceased family members, and this time it It was Capra himself. who was on the edge of tears.
So Finally, There is something I must say. to some other members of my family. And I believe that they will hear me. Baba Bata? Big brother bed.
Josephine, Tony, little sister Anne. Remember the day we arrived at the Southern Pacific station? Here in Los Angeles, And Papa and Bama kissed the ground. Look. The American Film Institute has given me Its Life Achievered Award.
And for that, I am thanking them. And all my friends. We'll come here. But for America Just for living here. I kiss the ground.
Thank you very much. Capper's words were preceded by then-President Ronald Reagan's words.
So the young fellow sitting in at uh Frank's table One of Frank's dearest friends. Bob Holm, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much. I wouldn't have missed this affair for our man. Frank?
There's another friend of yours that sent a telegram, and they've asked me to read it. Says, dear Frank, You have recognized and helped us to recognize all that is so wonderful about the American character, Ronald Reagan. Yeah. Camper's films also helped us recognize the character of Jesus. Here are words that Capra told to an interviewer in 1960.
Movies should be a positive expression that there is hope, love, mercy, justice, and charity. A filmmaker has the unrestricted privilege of haranguing an audience for two hours stretches. the chance to influence public thinking for good. or for evil. It is therefore his responsibility to emphasize the positive qualities of humanity by showing the triumph of the individual.
over adversities. Uh Capra died peacefully in his sleep at his home in La Quinta, California. In 1991, at the age of 94, In the country he loved, surrounded by the people he loved. and the God he loved too. They say that art mirrors life.
But sometimes life Mirrors art. That at least was Capra's hope. the headline to his New York Times obituary said it best Frank Capra whose films helped America keep faith in herself. He's dead at 94. The story of the wonderful life of Frank Capric.
An immigrant story and love story for the ages. Here. on our American stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years.
And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q.
That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks.
Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org. I'm U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all get distracted when we drive, but how we handle these distractions can be a matter of life or death. Please put your phones on silent and take a mental note to focus on driving.
Fay 4 by Nitza. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen.
She starts dating Howard Hughes. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane.
So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedi Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
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