The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

Guests: Brad Birzer

Host Scot Bertram talks with Brad Birzer, professor of history and Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, about the years leading up to 1776, the importance of the common law tradition to the American Founders, and his new book, The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Experiment in Liberty.

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Guests: Scott W. Rasmussen and Richard Samuelson

Host Scot Bertram talks with Scott W. Rasmussen, legendary pollster and political analyst, about the character of American elites and his new book, Out of Touch: The Elite One Percent and the Battle for America's Soul. And Richard Samuelson, associate professor of government at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus, continues a series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. This week, the lead-up to the Declaration of Independence.

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Guests: Arthur Herman and Bradley C.S. Watson

Host Scot Bertram talks with Arthur Herman, New York Times bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist, about the impact of the Founders throughout American history and his new book, Founder’s Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump. And Bradley C.S. Watson, associate professor of government at Hillsdale’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C., discusses the shortcomings of the conservative legal movement and his recent essay “Shock Therapy for Our Lawless Legal System.”

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Guests: Eric Metaxas and Batya Ungar Sargon

Host Scot Bertram talks with Eric Metaxas, New York Times bestselling author and the host of Socrates in the City and The Eric Metaxas Show, about the events leading up to our nation’s founding and his new book, Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World. And Batya Ungar-Sargon, columnist for The Free Press and the host of Batya! on NewsNation, joins the show to tell us why Jews become devoted Democrats and why Democrats turned on them. Her latest book is The Jews and th...

Guests: Mary L. G. Theroux and Mardi Billman

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mary L. G. Theroux, chairman and chief executive officer at the Independent Institute, about working toward practical solutions to the homelessness crisis and her book, Beyond Homeless: Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Transformative Solutions. And Mardi Billman, associate professor of chemistry at Hillsdale College, returns for another series on drama in scientific discovery. This week, she concludes a discussion on fire and how combustion works.

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Guests: Heather Mac Donald and Richard Samuelson

Host Scot Bertram talks with Heather Mac Donald, the Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor at City Journal, about efforts by the Trump administration to curb DEI programs and her book When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives. And Richard Samuelson, associate professor of government at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus, continues a series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. This week, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and Abigail Adams’ admonition to “remember the l...

Guests: Matthew Mehan and Randy Barnett

Host Scot Bertram talks with Matthew Mehan, associate dean and associate professor at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., about the pedagogical power of fables and his new book, The American Book of Fables. And Randy Barnett, professor of constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center and director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, discusses his time as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and his new book, Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in C...

Guests: John Tillman and Luke Foster

Host Scot Bertram talks with John Tillman, CEO of the American Culture Project, about the Left's strategies for influencing elected officials and his new book The Political Vise: How the Radical Left Controls America and the Path to Regaining Our Liberty. And Luke Foster, assistant professor of government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., discusses the spirit of a gentleman.

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Guests: Mollie Hemingway and Janie Nitze

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, senior journalism fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about Justice Samuel Alito's impact on the Supreme Court and her new book Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. And Janie Nitze, lawyer and New York Times best-selling author, discusses her new children’s book, co-authored with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch: Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence. 

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Guests: E.J. Antoni and Nathan Herring

Host Scot Bertram talks with E.J. Antoni, chief economist of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, about the economic impact of the Iran war and his recent co-authored report on the future of Social Security. And Nathan Herring, assistant professor of physics at Hillsdale College, discusses the life and accomplishments of physicist Michael Faraday. 

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Guests: Jeremiah Regan, Anna Giaritelli, & Scott Jennings

Host Scot Bertram talks with Jeremiah Regan, executive director of online learning at Hillsdale College, about Hillsdale’s upcoming documentary film Revolutionary America. Anna Giaritelli, homeland security reporter for the Washington Examiner, discusses her sexual assault, the efforts by the Washington D.C. Police Department to obscure crime statistics, and her new book, Under Assault: A Crime Reporter’s True Story of Overcoming Sexual Trauma and Exposing Injustice. And we play excerpts from a speech by Scott Jennings, senior political commentator at CNN, given at a recent Hillsdale National Leadership Seminar. ...

Guests: Kelly Shackelford & Kelly Scott Franklin

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty Institute, about the current state of religious liberty in the United States and his work on President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. And Kelly Scott Franklin, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, returns for a new series on the poems of Emily Dickinson. This week, he focuses on "Death sets a Thing significant." 

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Guests: Kathleen O'Toole & Mardi M. Billman

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kathleen O'Toole, associate vice president for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College, about the importance of education in forming citizens and her essay "Citizenship Starts in the Classroom." And Mardi Billman, associate professor of chemistry at Hillsdale College, returns for another series on drama in scientific discovery. This week, she begins to discuss the discovery of fire. 

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Guests: John Kass & Matthew Mehan

Host Scot Bertram talks with John Kass, an independent Chicago-based columnist and host of The Chicago Way podcast, about his legendary journalism career in Chicago and what the city’s mistakes can teach the rest of the country. And Matthew Mehan, associate dean and associate professor at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., discusses the importance of children in American political life and his report "The Higher Purpose of Children in American Society."

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Guests: Mary Katharine Ham & Benjamin Beier

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mary Katharine Ham, host of the Getting Hammered and Normally podcasts and writer at Fox News and OutKick, about her career in journalism and the changing landscape of media in America. And Benjamin Beier, chairman and associate professor of education at Hillsdale College, previews the new Hillsdale online course, Classical Logic and Rhetoric.

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Guests: Mollie Hemingway & Christina J. Lambert

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, Senior Journalism Fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about the political issues that will affect the results of the upcoming midterm elections and her upcoming book Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. And Christina J. Lambert, assistant professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on the life and work of poet and playwright T. S. Eliot. This week, she discusses Eliot's The Waste Land.

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Guests: John O. McGinnis, Maria Servold, & John Seiffertt

Host Scot Bertram talks with John O. McGinnis, law professor at Northwestern University, about the important role that the wealthy play in our republic and his new book Why Democracy Needs the Rich. Maria Servold, assistant director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, discusses the tension between student press freedom and institutional support from a college or university and her recent essay “The Complex World of Student Journalism.” And John Seiffertt, associate professor of computer science at Hillsdale College, explains the nature of Artificial Intelligence.

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Guests: John Bachman & Nathan Herring

Host Scot Bertram talks with John Bachman, host of John Bachman Now on Newsmax, about Ronald Reagan's successful invasion of Grenada and his new book Turning Point: How Reagan Liberated Grenada and Won the Cold War. And Nathan Herring, assistant professor of physics at Hillsdale College, discusses the life and accomplishments of physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

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Guests: Ronald J. Pestritto & Daniel Darling

Host Scot Bertram talks with Ronald J. Pestritto, dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship and Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution at Hillsdale College, about the rise of the administrative state and his recent provocation Government by the Unelected: How it Happened, and How It Might Be Tamed. And Daniel Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and fellow at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, discusses the Christian obligation to patriotism and hi...

Guests: Shaun Rieley & Christina J. Lambert

Host Scot Bertram talks with Shaun Rieley, director of educational programs and teaching fellow at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., about his recent essay "Mob Violence Is Fatal to Republican Government". And Christina J. Lambert, assistant professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on the life and work of poet and playwright T. S. Eliot. This week, she discusses Eliot's Four Quartets.

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Guests: James Rosen & Matthew Mehan

Host Scot Bertram talks with James Rosen, chief Washington correspondent at Newsmax, about the early years of Antonin Scalia's tenure on the Supreme Court as detailed in his new book Scalia: Supreme Court Years, 1986 to 2001. And Matthew Mehan, associate dean and associate professor at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., discusses the unique character of the American imagination and his recent report "Restoring America’s Founding Imagination."

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Guests: Allen C. Guelzo & Michael P. Foley

Host Scot Bertram talks with Allen C. Guelzo, professor of humanities at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, about the unique character of western civilization and his co-authored two-part book series The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition. And Michael P. Foley, mixologist and professor of Patristics in the Great Texts Program at Baylor University, discusses his collection of alcohol-free cocktails based on the lives of Catholic saints: Abstaining with the Saints: No and Low Alcoholic Beverages for Sober Souls.

Guests: Paul T. Hosmer & Ivan Pongracic

Host Scot Bertram talks with Paul T. Hosmer, chairman and associate professor of physics at Hillsdale College, about the important events in physics in 2025 and why they matter. And Ivan Pongracic, professor of economics and William E. Hibbs/Ludwig von Mises Chair of Economics at Hillsdale College, discusses the history of surf rock and his career as a surf rock guitarist.

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Guests: Miles Smith IV & Steven F. Hayward 

Host Scot Bertram talks with Miles Smith IV, assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College, about his recent essay on the cultural crisis reducing the effectiveness of the U.S. Navy. And Steven F. Hayward, professor of public policy at Pepperdine University and senior fellow at Pacific Research Institute, discusses how Jimmy Carter shattered American confidence in the presidency as described in his book The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry.

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Guests: John J. Miller & Jonathan Butcher

Host Scot Bertram talks with John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, about his recent essay on why journalism suffers when journalists lack curiosity. And Jonathan Butcher, acting director at the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, discusses how Americans are far more united than the media portrays and dives into his new book The Polarization Myth: America's Surprising Consensus on Race, Schools, and Sex.

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Host Scot Bertram sits down with Hyperion Knight, concert pianist and distinguished fellow at Hillsdale College, and discusses the newest Hillsdale College online course: "The History of Classical Music: Chopin through Gershwin." Also, we count down the most popular episodes of 2025.

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Guests: Kenneth Calvert & Timothy McDonnell

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kenneth Calvert, professor of ancient history at Hillsdale College, about the biblical significance of Christmas. And Timothy McDonnell, associate professor of music at Hillsdale College, gives a survey of the history of the Christmas carol "Good Christian Men Rejoice."

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Guests: Kenneth Calvert & Chloe Carmichael

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kenneth Calvert, professor of ancient history at Hillsdale College, about the historical origins of Christmas. And Chloe Carmichael, clinical psychologist and USA Today best-selling author, discusses how free speech makes people healthier and happier and her new book Can I Say That? Why Free Speech Matters and How to Use It Fearlessly.

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Guests: Mathew Spalding

Host Scot Bertram talks with Matthew Spalding, vice president of Washington Operations and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., about his new book, The Making of the American Mind: The Story of our Declaration of Independence, and the intellectual tradition that inspired the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

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Guests: Scott Jennings & Ava Downs

Host Scot Bertram talks with Scott Jennings, senior political commentator at CNN, about his new book, A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization, and the character of President Trump's first year back in office. And Ava Downs, a junior at Hillsdale College and a 2025 junior Olympic champion in international trap shooting, discusses how she trains to compete at a global level and how her Hillsdale experience has helped her.

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Guests: Mark Moyar, Jason M. Gehrke, & Tom Conner 

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mark Moyar, the William P. Harris Chair in Military History at Hillsdale College, about his recent essay on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Jason Gehrke, assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College, discusses his recent essay on the nature of America First foreign policy. And Tom Conner, professor emeritus of history at Hillsdale College, gives a survey of the history of the Luxembourg American Cemetery.

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Guests: Susan Crabtree & Jeremiah Regan

Host Scot Bertram talks with Susan Crabtree, senior White House and national political correspondent for RealClearPolitics, about her recent book Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All. And Jeremiah Regan, Executive Director of Online Learning at Hillsdale College, previews the new online course documentary, Colonial America.

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Guests: John J. Miller & Benedict Whalen

On this Halloween weekend, John J. Miller, director of the Herbert H. Dow II Program in American Journalism at Hillsdale College, joins the show to talk about his course on great ghost and horror stories. And Benedict Whalen, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, concludes a series of interviews celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby by discussing the novel’s long-lasting legacy.

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Guests: Dr. Larry P. Arnn, Ryan P. Williams, & Nathan Herring

We hear excerpts from a speech delivered by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn titled “Defending the American Way of Life.” Host Scot Bertram talks with Ryan P. Williams, president of The Claremont Institute and publisher of the Claremont Review of Books, about American scholar Angelo Codevilla and Williams’ new edited collection of tributes to Codevilla, Fighting Enemies Foreign and Domestic: The Legacy of Angelo Codevilla. And Nathan Herring, assistant professor of physics at Hillsdale College, discusses the life and accomplishments of physicist Sir Isaac Newton.

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Guests: Catherine Herridge & James Webb

Host Scot Bertram talks with Catherine Herridge, Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and founder of Catherine Herridge Reports, about the state of modern journalism and the importance of journalistic integrity. And James Webb, associate professor of accounting at Hillsdale College, tells us what’s fun about accounting.

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Guests: Aaron Kheriarty & Wilfred McClay

Host Scot Bertram talks with Aaron Kheriarty, director of the Program in Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, about America's failing healthcare system and his new book Making the Cut: How to Heal Modern Medicine. And Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson chair in classical history and western civilization at Hillsdale College, discusses how the Hebrew tradition influenced the American Founding and his co-edited collection of essays Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story.

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Guests: Mollie Hemingway & Benedict Whalen

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, senior journalism fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about the recent Comey indictment and revelations in a recent letter from YouTube officials to Rep. Jim Jordan. And Benedict Whalen, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

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Guests: Mark Krikorian, Christina J. Lambert, & John T. Seiffertt

Host Scot Bertram talks with Mark Krikorian, executive director at the Center for Immigration Studies, about a recent essay on how America makes assimilation more difficult for immigrants. Christina Lambert, assistant professor of English at Hillsdale College, begins a series on the life and work of poet T. S. Eliot. And John Seiffertt, associate professor of computer science at Hillsdale College, discusses the unique ways that Hillsdale College teaches computer science.

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In this special edition of The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour, we honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA. Through reflections from Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn, Hillsdale students, professors, and Charlie himself, we remember a voice that shaped a generation of conservatives and was silenced far too soon.

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Guests: Max Primorac & Christopher D. Heckel

Host Scot Bertram talks with Max Primorac, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, about the history of U.S. foreign aid and how the Trump administration is charting a different path. And Christopher D. Heckel, associate professor of biology at Hillsdale College, gives a primer on invasive plant species across the United States.

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