The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

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 te...

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...

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.

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...

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 Grad...

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...

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, re...

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 Ri...

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 directo...

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., d...

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, discus...

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 accomplis...

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. Po...

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...

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 d...

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 H...

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, Classi...

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...

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 fr...

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 Maxw...

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...

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 playwrigh...

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 i...

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 profe...

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 s...