

The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour
Hillsdale College
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
Mentioned books

Mar 27, 2026 • 40min
Journalism “The Chicago Way”
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."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 20, 2026 • 48min
Mary Katharine Ham and the New World of Media
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 13, 2026 • 46min
Preparing for the Midterms with Mollie Hemingway
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 6, 2026 • 50min
Why Democracy Needs the Rich
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 27, 2026 • 39min
How Reagan Liberated Grenada and Won the Cold War
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 20, 2026 • 45min
The Problems With Government by the Unelected
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 his new book In Defense of Christian Patriotism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 13, 2026 • 44min
Mob Violence and Threats to Our Republic
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 6, 2026 • 57min
How Antonin Scalia Changed the Supreme Court
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."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 30, 2026 • 46min
The History Of Western Civilization
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 23, 2026 • 47min
The Year in Physics: 2025
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


