Guests: Paul T. Hosmer & William Elliott Hazelgrove

Host Scot Bertram talks with Paul T. Hosmer, chairman and associate professor of physics at Hillsdale College, about the various advances in physics in 2024. And William Elliott Hazelgrove, a national best-selling author, gives an account of Orson Welles’ famous War of the Worlds broadcast and discusses his new book Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America.

Host Scot Bertram sits down with Bill Gray, vice president for institutional advancement, and discusses why the Hillsdale College Podcast Network exists, what the plans are for the future, and how you can help support podcasts and audio at Hillsdale College in 2025.

To learn more about Hillsdale’s commitment to defend and uphold the principles and practices of liberty and to preserve free government for future generations, and to find out how you can get a Hillsdale College Christ Chapel Ornament, please visit hillsdale.edu/yearend.

Guests: Adam Lovinger, Timothy McDonnell, & Patricia Bart

Host Scot Bertram talks with Adam Lovinger, vice president for strategic affairs at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, about how the deep state worked to diminish the influence of the United States around the world and takes us inside his new book The Insider Threat: How the Deep State Undermines America from Within. Timothy McDonnell, associate professor of Music at Hillsdale College, continues a discussion about the history of some of the most popular Christmas carols. This week: the strange history of “Good King Wenceslas.” And Patricia R. Bart, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues an in-depth series on the history of the English language.

Guests: Kevin Roberts & Timothy McDonnell

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, about the future of the American republic and his new book Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America. And Timothy McDonnell, associate professor of Music at Hillsdale College, begins a series on the history of some of the most popular Christmas carols. This week: the complicated story of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

Guests: Matthew Mehan & Sean McMeekin

Host Scot Bertram talks with Matthew Mehan, associate dean and assistant professor of government at Hillsdale’s Washington, D.C. campus, about how the ancients viewed virtuous leadership. And Sean McMeekin, the Francis Flournoy Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College, explains the violence inherent in communism and discusses his latest book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism.

Host Scot Bertram talks with Bill Gray, vice president for institutional advancement at Hillsdale College, about the culture of thanks at Hillsdale, the College’s national impact, and how to include Hillsdale in your Giving Tuesday plans.

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Guests: Victor Davis Hanson & Steven Gow Calabresi

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 roots of Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory. And Steven Gow Calabresi, the Clayton J. and Henry R. Barber Professor of Law at Northwestern University and co-chairman of the Federalist Society, summarizes the illustrious career of Edwin Meese and describes his new book The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.