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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.

Hosted by Scot Bertram

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Episode length: 26m

What’s Behind the Rise of Euthanasia in the West?

Guest: John Petrakis Host Scot Bertram talks with John Petrakis, assistant professor of politics at Hillsdale College, about the history of euthanasia in the West, how countries that legalize euthanasia often start a slippery slope, and his recent essay, “What’s Behind the Rise of Euthanasia in the West?” To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 20m

The Literature, Lore, and Legends of America

Guest: Kevin Slack Host Scot Bertram talks with Kevin Slack, associate professor of politics at Hillsdale College, about the tradition of American folktales, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and the brand-new online course, “American Folktales: The Literature, Lore, and Legends of America.” To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

October 2026

Episode length: 23m

The Future of Africa and the Middle East

Guest: Victoria Coates Host Scot Bertram talks with Victoria Coates, vice president of The Heritage Foundation’s Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, about the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, the future of energy production in the Middle East, and the untapped potential of Africa. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 24m

The Idea of the Christian Soldier

Guest: Miles Smith IV Host Scot Bertram talks with Miles Smith IV, associate professor of history at Hillsdale College, about the lost American idea of the Christian soldier, the questions raised by faith and warfare, and his new book, Valiant & Pious: The Idea of the Christian Soldier in America, 1776–1918. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 21m

The Case for Cheerful Conservatism

Guest: Roger Kimball Host Scot Bertram talks with Roger Kimball, editor and publisher of The New Criterion and president and publisher of Encounter Books, about finding joy as a conservative, the history of conservative thought, and his recent essay, "Standing Athwart Despair: The Case for Cheerful Conservatism." To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 25m

A Rebirth of American Education

Guest: Matthew Mehan 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 building character in K-12 education, the growing movement to reform education, and his contribution to the upcoming book of essays, The Phoenix Principles: Toward a Rebirth of American Education. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 28m

The Vanishing Black Family

Guest: Delano Squires Host Scot Bertram talks with Delano Squires, director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing at The Heritage Foundation, about the history of the black family in America, the damages caused to the black family by feminism and the welfare state, and his new book The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 20m

Is America a Culture or a Creed?

Guest: Glenn Ellmers Host Scot Bertram talks with Glenn Ellmers, Salvatori research fellow at Claremont Institute, about the ongoing creed-versus-culture debate on the Right, the scholarship of Harry Jaffa, and his recent essay, “Harry Jaffa, America 250, and the Creed-Culture Debate.” To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode length: 21m

The History of an American Icon

Guest: D.G. Hart Host Scot Bertram talks with D.G. Hart, professor of history at Hillsdale College, about the history of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, America’s tradition of preserving historical locations, and his new book, Independence Hall: The History of an American Icon. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 21m

The Great English Poet Edmund Spenser

Guest: Patrick Timmis Host Scot Bertram talks with Patrick Timmis, assistant professor of English at Hillsdale College, about the life and accomplishments of English poet Edmund Spenser and his poem "The Faerie Queene." To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode length: 21m

Lawfare and the Tyranny of the Deep State

Guest: Robert Livingston Host Scot Bertram talks with Robert Livingston, former U.S. representative from Louisiana, about efforts by the Biden White House to punish political enemies through lawfare, his own experience as a target of the judicial system, and his new book: The Rainbow Chaser: The Man Who Gambled for Success and Broke Even. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

September 2026

Episode length: 15m

The Life and Work of Ludwig Boltzmann

Guest: Nathan Herring Host Scot Bertram talks with Nathan Herring, associate professor of physics at Hillsdale College, about the life and accomplishments of physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode length: 29m

Mollie Hemingway on the Midterms and Artificial Intelligence

Guest: Mollie Hemingway Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, senior journalism fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about the upcoming midterm elections, Big Tech and artificial intelligence, and the decision by the Trump administration to restrict the access of certain media companies from White House grounds. Mollie’s most recent book is Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. To learn more about Hillsdale College, visit www.hillsdale.edu.

Episode length: 42m

America’s 100 Years’ War With Communism

Guests: Bradley Thayer and Jeremiah Regan Host Scot Bertram talks with Bradley Thayer, American Freedom Alliance fellow and founding member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China, about the struggle against global communism and his new book, America's 100 Years' War: How to Win Against Communism. And Jeremiah Regan, executive director of online learning at Hillsdale College, discusses Hillsdale’s new online course, “Revolutionary America: From Subjects to Citizens.”

Episode length: 40m

Victor Davis Hanson on The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump

Guest: Victor Davis Hanson Host Scot Bertram talks with Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow in military history at the Hoover Institution and Distinguished Fellow in History at Hillsdale College, about the unlikely return of Donald Trump to the White House, as well as his new book, The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement.

Episode length: 58m

Make American History National Again

Guests: Matthew Spalding and J. A. Jackson 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 the ideological capture of the National Museum of American History and his recent essay, “Make American History National Again .” And J. A. Jackson, professor of English and Edrie Seward Kennedy Chair in English at Hillsdale College, discusses the art of literary analysis and his new co-authored book, Elements of Analysis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 2026

Episode length: 41m

Recovering From the Biden Era

Guests: Todd Starnes and Julio Suarez Host Scot Bertram talks with Todd Starnes, conservative columnist, commentator, writer, and radio host, about the accomplishments of the Trump administration and his new book The Golden Age: How Trump Saved America. And Julio Suarez, chairman and associate professor of art, discusses the philosophy of teaching art at Hillsdale College.

Episode length: 43m

Appreciating Homer’s Iliad

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 and statesmanship of James Monroe.

Episode length: 45m

How the Left Captures Institutions

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 professor of English at Hillsdale College, begins a series on the British literature of World War I. This week, she focuses on the emotional tone of British writing at the start of the war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode length: 43m

Launching a Second Scientific Revolution

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.

July 2026

Episode length: 46m

Exposing China’s Murderous Organ Harvesting Industry

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, continues a series on the poems of Emily Dickinson. This week, he focuses on "Tell all the truth but tell it slant."

Episode length: 50m

Life in the Reagan Administration

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 Hillsdale College, discusses her research into nanotechnology and magnetism.

Episode length: 45m

Appreciating Homer’s Odyssey

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, discusses the shortcomings of American libel law and his new book, No Liberty to Libel: The Constitutional Case against New York Times v. Sullivan.

Episode length: 49m

Suicidal Empathy and the West

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 teachings of St. Thomas More and his new book, The Last Riddle: Advice on Living and Dying Well from the Imprisoned Saint Thomas More.
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