The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

Guests: Stephen Smith, George Gilder, & Patricia R. Bart Host Scot Bertram talks with Stephen Smith, dean of humanities and professor of English at Hillsdale College, about the new Hillsdale College online course on John Milton's Paradise Lost. George Gilder, prolific author and co-founder of the Discovery Institute, describes the enriching relationship between Israel and the United States and discusses his new book The Israel Test: How Israel's Genius Enriches and Challenges the World. And Patricia R. Bart, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues an in-depth series on the history of the English language. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Kathleen O'Toole, Ken Khachigian, & Clay Travis Host Scot Bertram talks with Kathleen O'Toole, assistant provost for K-12 Education, about why classical education can reverse the damage done to learning loss during the pandemic. Ken Khachigian, director emeritus of the Richard Nixon Foundation board of directors and chief speechwriter and senior political advisor for president Ronald Reagan, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Nixon and Reagan White Houses as detailed in his new book Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan & Nixon. And we play excerpts from a recent lecture from co-host of The Clay & Buck Show and founder of OutKick Clay Travis titled "Wokeness in Sports," delivered at a Hillsdale College event in Bellevue, Washington. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Mark Moyar, Larry O'Connor, & Kevin Gerstle Host Scot Bertram talks with Mark Moyar, the William P. Harris Chair of Military History at Hillsdale College, about his recent essay on the left-wing capture of higher education. Larry O’Connor, host of O’Connor and Company on WMAL-FM in Washington, D.C., recounts his move from the world of professional theater to talk radio and provides a survey of the effect of new media on the 2024 election. And Kevin Gerstle, associate professor of mathematics at Hillsdale College, describes the relationship between mathematics and cryptography. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Michael Waltz & Patricia R. Bart Host Scot Bertram talks with Michael Waltz, congressman for Florida's sixth district and the first Green Beret elected to congress, about how the mindset he honed in military service can help anyone conquer everyday challenges and his new book Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret. And Patricia R. Bart, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues an in-depth series on the history of the English language. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Wilfred McClay & John Steele Gordon Host Scot Bertram talks with Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College, about the importance of civic education in higher education and summarizes a report on the subject he wrote for the American Enterprise Institute. And John Steele Gordon, author, historian, and nephew of Oscar Hammerstein, gives a survey of how the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein influenced the golden age of the American musical. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Richard Samuelson & James S. Burling Host Scot Bertram talks with Richard Samuelson, associate professor of government at Hillsdale College's Washington, D.C., campus, about the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress. And James S. Burling, vice president for Legal Affairs at Pacific Legal Foundation, explains how various government interventions created America's worsening housing crisis as laid out in his new book Nowhere to Live: The Hidden Story of America's Housing Crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Gary Wolfram, Hans von Spakovsky, & Patricia R. Bart Host Scot Bertram talks with Gary Wolfram, William Simon professor of economics and public policy, director of economics, and professor of political economy at Hillsdale College, about the consequences of Kamala Harris’s proposed price controls. Hans von Spakovsky, manager at the Election Law Reform Initiative and senior legal fellow at the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, discusses a report he authored accusing the Biden Administration of unlawful interference in state election administration. And Patricia R. Bart, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, begins an in-depth series on the history of the English language. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Mollie Hemingway & Miranda Devine Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, senior journalism fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about recent comments by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pertaining to the 2020 election. And Miranda Devine, columnist at New York Post and a contributor at Fox News, lays out the network of government organizations and media companies that protect the reputation of the Biden family as described in her new book The Big Guy: How a President and His Son Sold Out America. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Paul Moreno, Michael Walsh, & Elizabeth Edwards Spalding Host Scot Bertram talks with Paul Moreno, the William and Berniece Grewcock Chair in Constitutional History, professor of history, and dean of social sciences at Hillsdale College, about Kamala Harris’s proposed reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court. Michael Walsh, journalist and screenwriter, discusses the dangers of the evolving media landscape and his new book Against the Corporate Media: Forty-two Ways the Press Hates You. And Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, ’88, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and founding director of the Victims of Communism Museum, tells us about her work and accepting Hillsdale College’s 2024 Elizebeth Smith Friedman Freedom Award. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Gary Wolfram, Joel Pollak, & Dutton Kearney Host Scot Bertram talks with Gary Wolfram, the William Simon Professor of Economics and Public Policy, director of economics, and professor of political economy at Hillsdale College, about Kamala Harris’s proposed tax on unrealized capital gains. Joel Pollak, senior editor-at-large at Breitbart News, lays out his vision for a potential Trump presidency and discusses his new book The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days. And Dutton Kearney, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, concludes a series on James Joyce and the Modernist literary movement, finishing with a meditation on Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Victor Davis Hanson & Tevi Troy Scot Bertram talks with Victor Davis Hanson, the Wayne and Marcia Buske Distinguished Fellow in History at Hillsdale College and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, about efforts by Kamala Harris' campaign to keep her record out of public conversation and what he considers to be the keys to the presidential campaign. And presidential historian Tevi Troy discusses the historical relationship between American presidents and powerful CEOs as catalogued in his new book The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Charles N. Steele, Todd Bensman, & Michael Francisco Host Scot Bertram talks with Charles N. Steele, associate professor of economics and Herman A. and Suzanne S. Dettwiler Chair in Economics at Hillsdale College, about his work as chair of Hillsdale’s new Center for Commerce & Freedom. Todd Bensman, fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and author of Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History, gives a field report from his recent visit to the high-traffic Darién Gap. And Michael Francisco, ’04, partner at First and Fourteenth, discusses his time as a clerk on the United States Supreme Court and how Hillsdale helped him succeed in law. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Ivan Pongracic & Anne R. Keane Host Scot Bertram talks with Ivan Pongracic, professor of economics and William E. Hibbs/Ludwig von Mises Chair of Economics at Hillsdale College, about growing up in communist Yugoslavia and his role in Hillsdale’s new online documentary course Marxism, Socialism, and Communism. And Anne R. Keene takes us inside her recent book, The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, and discusses the art of biography. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Joseph Postell, Trent England, & Kevin Gerstle Host Scot Bertram talks with Joseph Postell, associate professor of politics at Hillsdale College, about the history of America’s most memorable and consequential political conventions. Trent England, founder and executive director of Save Our States, discusses the flawed marriage of the movements to implement a national popular vote and ranked-choice voting. And Kevin Gerstle, associate professor of mathematics at Hillsdale College, describes the history and evolution of cryptography. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Victor Davis Hanson & Newt Gingrich Host Scot Bertram talks with Victor Davis Hanson, the Wayne and Marcia Buske Distinguished Fellow in History at Hillsdale College and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, about the stakes of the 2024 presidential election and the new material in the re-release of his book The Case for Trump. And we play excerpts from a recent lecture from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich titled "What to Do About the DOJ?," delivered at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar in Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: John W. Grant & Megan Basham Host Scot Bertram talks with John W. Grant, associate professor and chairman of Politics at Hillsdale College, about the political ramifications of the works of Karl Marx and Hillsdale’s new online documentary course Marxism, Socialism, and Communism. And Megan Basham, culture reporter at The Daily Wire, discusses how progressive powerbrokers set out to co-opt evangelicals for political purposes and her new book Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Jonathan Gregg, Jennifer Strickland, & Jason Peters Host Scot Bertram talks with Jonathan Gregg, assistant professor of education at Hillsdale College, about the outdated nature of the teacher certification process. Jennifer Strickland, founder of U R More and host of the I AM A WOMAN Podcast, discusses the gender confusion in our world today and her new book I Am a Woman: Taking Back Our Name. And Jason Peters, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on novelist, poet, and cultural critic Wendell Berry, this time diving into his fiction and poetry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: John J. Miller, Jeremy Carl, & Dutton Kearney Host Scot Bertram talks with John J. Miller, Director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, about the history and importance of conservative journalism and his recent article on the subject. Jeremy Carl, senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, discusses the shifting racial regime in America and his new book The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart. And Dutton Kearney, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on James Joyce and the Modernist literary movement, this time diving into A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Joseph Postell & Randy E. Barnett Host Scot Bertram talks with Joseph Postell, associate professor of politics at Hillsdale College, about the origins and development of political conventions. And Randy E. Barnett, Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University, chronicles his own development as a constitutional scholar and champion of Originalism and discusses his new memoir A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Ronald J. Pestritto, Hadley P. Arkes, & David Azerrad Host Scot Bertram talks with Ronald J. Pestritto, dean of the Graduate School, professor of Politics, and Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution at Hillsdale College, about his lectures in Hillsdale's Constitution 101 Online Course. Hadley P. Arkes, Edward N. Ney professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions Emeritus at Amherst College, describes the natural law roots of our Constitution. And David Azerrad, assistant professor and research fellow at the Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College, shows how the Constitution's preamble serves as a "political mission statement" for the United States. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.