

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 14, 2025 • 49min
William F. Buckley Jr. and the American Character
Guests: Joseph Postell, Lawrence Perelman, & Michael Tripepi Host Scot Bertram talks with Joseph Postell, associate professor of politics at Hillsdale College, about the origins of the bureaucratic state as laid out in his book Bureaucracy in America: The Administrative State’s Challenge to Constitutional Government. Lawrence Perelman, founder & CEO of Semantix Creative Group, shares the lessons he learned as a close friend of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. and takes us inside his new book American Impresario: William F. Buckley, Jr., and the Elements of American Character. And Michael Tripepi, assistant professor of physics at Hillsdale College, explains why physicists study infrared light.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 7, 2025 • 51min
How Transparency Weakens the Deep State
Guests: Khalil Habib, Kevin M. Shipp, & Brent Cline Host Scot Bertram talks with Khalil Habib, associate professor of politics and Allison and Dorothy Rouse Chair in Politics at Hillsdale College, about how examples of statesmanship in the Roman Republic can teach us about good government. Kevin M. Shipp, former CIA officer and anti-terrorism expert, lays out the history of the CIA and gives an overview of his new book Twilight of the Shadow Government: How Transparency Will Kill the Deep State. And Brent Cline, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a short series on the Harlem Renaissance. This week, the life and work of writer James Weldon Johnson.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 28, 2025 • 45min
Digital Currency and the End of Freedom
Guests: Richard M. Langworth, Catherine Austin Fitts, & Tori Hope Petersen Host Scot Bertram plays a previous interview with the late Richard Langworth, writer, historian, and senior fellow at the Hillsdale Churchill Project, about common misconceptions and myths about Winston Churchill. Catherine Austin Fitts, president of Solari, Inc., warns of the potential consequences of efforts by central banks to impose the use of digital currencies. And Tori Hope Petersen, author, speaker, and Hillsdale graduate, talks about the process of recovering from past traumas and her new book Breaking the Patterns That Break You: Healing from the Pain of Your Past and Finding Real Hope That Lasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 21, 2025 • 42min
How DOGE is Reshaping the Administrative State
Guests: Mollie Hemingway & Mark P. Mills Host Scot Bertram talks with Mollie Hemingway, senior journalism fellow at Hillsdale College and editor-in-chief at The Federalist, about the first month of President Donald Trump's second term in office. And Mark P. Mills, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and director of the National Center on Energy Analytics, talks about the economics and future of electric vehicles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 14, 2025 • 50min
The Dark Money Influence on the Federal Government
Guests: Wilfred McClay & Tyler O'Neil Host Scot Bertram talks with Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson chair in classical history and western civilization at Hillsdale College, about the distinction between speech and free expression as detailed in his recent essay in The New Criterion. And Tyler O'Neil, a Hillsdale graduate and managing editor at The Daily Signal, reveals the link between left-wing dark money groups and American bureaucracy and discusses his new book The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 7, 2025 • 40min
Christianity and the American Political Tradition
Guests: John J. Miller & Daniel Dreisbach Host Scot Bertram talks with John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, about the decrease in local news sources and whether “news deserts” are a real thing. And Daniel Dreisbach, professor of Justice, Law, & Criminology at American University, outlines how the Christian faith informed the political principles of the American Founding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 31, 2025 • 51min
Why Israel’s Success Is America’s Success
Guests: Jeremiah Regan, Victoria Coates, & Eric Hutchinson Host Scot Bertram talks with Jeremiah Regan, executive director of online learning at Hillsdale College, about Hillsdale’s upcoming “Totalitarian Novels” online course. Victoria Coates, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, outlines the benefits of the American-Israeli relationship and discusses her new book,The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel―And America―Can Win. And Eric Hutchinson, associate professor of classics and director of the Collegiate Scholars Program at Hillsdale, summarizes the relationship between Augustine and the classics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 24, 2025 • 45min
The Ugly Truth About Stakeholder Capitalism
Guests: Andrew F. Puzder & Patricia Bart Host Scot Bertram talks with Andrew F. Puzder, former executive officer of CKE Restaurants, distinguished visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and Senior Fellow at America First Policy Institute, about how asset management firms use their unprecedented levels of stock ownership in major US companies to force their own "ESG" agenda on the corporate sector. They also discuss Puzder's new book A Tyranny for the Good of its Victims: The Ugly Truth about Stakeholder Capitalism. And Patricia R. Bart, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, concludes an in-depth series on the history of the English language.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 17, 2025 • 47min
Larry P. Arnn: Three Reasons to Study Churchill
Guests: Larry Arnn, Conn Carroll, & Brent Cline Host Scot Bertram talks with Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, who gives three reasons you might want to study Winston Churchill. Conn Carroll, commentary editor at Washington Examiner, outlines the social ramifications of eroding traditional marriage and gives an overview of his new book Sex and the Citizen: How the Assault on Marriage Is Destroying Democracy. And Brent Cline, associate professor of English, starts a short series on the history and cultural influence of the Harlem Renaissance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 10, 2025 • 42min
How Orson Welles Terrified America
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.