Guests: Salena Zito & Christopher Matsos

Host Scot Bertram talks with Salena Zito, political reporter for the Washington Examiner, about the political ramifications of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and her new book, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland. And Christopher Matsos, chairman and associate professor of theatre at Hillsdale College, tells us why theatre should play a role in a liberal arts education and what we can learn by studying theatre through the centuries.

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Guests: Matthew Spalding & Robert R. Riley

We revisit two previously aired interviews for this special Independence Day episode. Host Scot Bertram talks with Matthew Spalding, vice president of Washington Operations and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale in D.C., about Thomas Jefferson's influence on the Declaration of Independence. And Robert R. Reilly, director of the Westminster Institute, gives a defense of the intellectual foundations of the American Founding as laid out in his book America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding.

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Guests: Bradley Watson & Michael Walsh 

Host Scot Bertram talks with Bradley Watson, associate professor of government at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale in D.C., about progressive jurisprudence and the growing crisis of constitutionalism. And Michael Walsh, journalist and screenwriter, discusses the nature of warfare and his new book A Rage to Conquer: Twelve Battles That Changed the Course of Western History.

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Guests: Clare Morell & Benedict Whalen

Host Scot Bertram talks with Clare Morell, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of EPPC’s Technology and Human Flourishing Project, about the long-term effects of smartphone use on children and her new book The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. And Benedict Whalen, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, continues a series on the life and work of American writer Mark Twain. This week, he discusses The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

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Guests: Ronald J. Pestritto & Christopher J. Scalia

Host Scot Bertram talks with Ronald J. Pestritto, professor of politics and Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution at Hillsdale College, about Hillsdale’s new online course, “The Federalist.” And Christopher Scalia, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, gives a defense of fiction and discusses his new book 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read).

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Guests: Adam Kissel & Christina Lamb Chakalova

Host Scot Bertram talks with Adam Kissel, visiting fellow for higher education reform in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, about the decline of American Ivy League colleges and universities and his new co-authored book Slacking: A Guide to Ivy League Miseducation. And Christina Lamb Chakalova, assistant professor of art at Hillsdale College, continues a series on the history and character of American art. This week, she dives into photography and the illustrations of Norman Rockwell.

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Guests: Bradley Birzer & Jason L. Riley

Host Scot Bertram talks with Bradley Birzer, professor of history and Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, about the writings and enduring legacy of Ray Bradbury. And Jason L. Riley, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the ramifications of affirmative action initiatives in the black community and his new book, The Affirmative Action Myth: Why Blacks Don’t Need Racial Preferences to Succeed.

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Guests: Josh Hammer & Mickey L. Mattox

Host Scot Bertram talks with Josh Hammer, host of The Josh Hammer Show and senior editor-at-large at Newsweek, about Israel’s role in the Middle East and his new book Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West. And Mickey Mattox, Flack Family Foundation Chair and professor of theology at Hillsdale College, discusses the life and writings of Augustine of Hippo.

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Guests: Kevin Portteus, Daniel J. Mahoney, & Brent Cline

Host Scot Bertram talks with Kevin Portteus, professor of politics and director of American Studies at Hillsdale College, about how the American Founders viewed the question of birthright citizenship and a recent essay he wrote on the subject. Daniel J. Mahoney, senior fellow at the Claremont Institute and senior writer at Law & Liberty, discusses his recent book The Persistence of the Ideological Lie: The Totalitarian Impulse Then and Now. 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 poets Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen.

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Guests: Andrew Klavan & Colin Brown

Host Scot Bertram talks with Andrew Klavan, author and host of The Andrew Klavan Show, about making beauty out of the world as it is and his new book, The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness. And Colin Brown, recent graduate of the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship at Hillsdale College, discusses his doctoral thesis looking at Benjamin Franklin as a revolutionary statesman.

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