
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.
Latest episodes

Nov 8, 2024 • 48min
Inside the Nixon and Reagan White Houses with Ken Khachigian
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 achievement 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.

Nov 1, 2024 • 49min
Larry O'Connor on Media and the 2024 Election
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.

Oct 25, 2024 • 46min
Michael Waltz: Leadership and the Green Berets
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.

Oct 18, 2024 • 44min
The Genius of Rodgers and Hammerstein
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.

Oct 11, 2024 • 45min
The Roots of America's Housing Crisis
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.

Oct 4, 2024 • 48min
Gary Wolfram Explains Why Price Controls Don’t Work
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.

Sep 27, 2024 • 52min
The Network Protecting the Biden Family
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 a recent report that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is rethinking his involvement in politics. We also discuss the media’s role thus far in the 2024 presidential campaign. And Miranda Devine, columnist at the New York Post and a contributor at Fox News, lays out the network of government organizations that help 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.

Sep 20, 2024 • 46min
Michael Walsh Exposes the Corporate Media
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.

Sep 13, 2024 • 50min
Joel Pollak’s Roadmap For Trump's First 100 Days
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.

Sep 6, 2024 • 50min
Victor Davis Hanson Decodes the Harris Campaign
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.