The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour is a one-hour, weekly radio show/podcast advancing the efforts of Hillsdale College in radiating its knowledge and teaching to the world outside of campus. Listeners will hear the arguments and debates that make up the liberal arts education and will experience the learning and teaching that happens on campus. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Episodes

August 21, 2026 43 mins

Guests: Stephen Smith and Sam Lair

Host Scot Bertram talks with Stephen Smith, dean of humanities and Professor of English at Hillsdale College, to preview his brand-new online course, “The Iliad.” And Sam Lair, former director of The Center for American Education at the Idaho Freedom Foundation, discusses his Hillsdale College Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship dissertation on the political thought an...

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Guests: Seth Barron and Elizabeth Fredericks

Host Scot Bertram talks with Seth Barron, editorial board member at the New York Post, who explains how the Left is moving power away from the people and into the hands of an administrative class and discusses his new book Weaponized: The Left's Capture and Destruction of America's Sacred Institutions. And Elizabeth Fredericks, associate p...

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Guests: Jay Bhattacharya and Mark Edward Lender

Host Scot Bertram plays excerpts from a lecture by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health of the United States, titled "Restoring Gold Standard Science." And Mark Edward Lender, author and historian, discusses the keys to victory in the American Revolution and his book War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution.

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Guests: Jan Jekielek and Kelly Scott Franklin

Host Scot Bertram talks with Jan Jekielek, senior editor at The Epoch Times and host of American Thought Leaders, about China's state-sanctioned harvesting of organs from living donors and his new book Killed to Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America's Biggest Adversary. And Kelly Scott Franklin, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, conti...

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July 24, 2026 49 mins

Guests: Donald P. Hodel and Stephanie Lauback

Host Scot Bertram talks with Donald P. Hodel, former secretary of energy and former secretary of the interior in the Reagan administration, about the leadership lessons he learned working for President Reagan, as well as his new biography, Called to Serve: My Path to President Reagan's Cabinet and Beyond. And Stephanie Lauback, associate professor of physics at Hil...

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July 17, 2026 45 mins

Guests: Benedict Whalen and Carson Holloway

Host Scot Bertram talks with Benedict Whalen, chairman and associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, to preview his brand-new online course, “The Odyssey.” And Carson Holloway, department chair and professor of political society at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Washington fellow at the Claremont Institute Center for the American Way of Life, di...

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July 10, 2026 49 mins

Guests: Gad Saad and Stephen Smith

Host Scot Bertram talks with Gad Saad, professor, evolutionary behavioral scientist, and host of The Saad Truth podcast, about the potential dangers of altruism and his new book, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind. And Stephen Smith, dean of humanities and Temple Family Chair in English Literature at Hillsdale College, discusses the life and teachin...

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July 3, 2026 44 mins

Guests: Khalil Habib and Wilfred McClay

Host Scot Bertram talks with Khalil Habib, associate professor of politics and Allison and Dorothy Rouse Professor in Politics at Hillsdale College, about the American Founding and his recent essay, “The Importance of the Fourth of July, According to the Adams Family.” And Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdal...

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Guest: 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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 celebratin...

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June 12, 2026 45 mins

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...

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June 5, 2026 54 mins

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 nations 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 ...

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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 se...

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May 22, 2026 54 mins

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...

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May 15, 2026 45 mins

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...

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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., discu...

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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...

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April 24, 2026 49 mins

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...

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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 Washing...

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April 10, 2026 46 mins

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,...

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