“The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour,” Hillsdale College’s national radio show, surpassed 1 million downloads in 2022.  

The weekly show features interviews with Hillsdale faculty and staff, friends of the college, and sometimes alumni and students, said Scot Bertram, host of the show and general manager of Radio Free Hillsdale. 

The 1.2 million downloads in 2022 nearly tripled its 430,000 downloads in 2020, Bertram said. 

“The numbers keep rising because we have an engaged audience that enjoys the show and frequently shares the audio with others,” Bertram said. 

The audience can better understand the education at Hillsdale College from listening to the conversations and debates on “The Radio Free Hillsdale hour,” according to Bertram. 

“The show was created to advance the efforts of Hillsdale College in radiating its knowledge and teaching to the world outside of campus,” Bertram said. 

The show is captivating because of the seemingly endless topics, said Brad Birzer, professor of history. 

“It would be a crime if the show weren’t popular, especially given Scot’s dedication and tenacity,” Birzer said. 

Birzer said he has discussed many different topics on the show ranging from his vacation in Yellowstone to the deeper meanings of the War of 1812. 

“Scot is an excellent reviewer and interviewer,” Birzer said.

“He knows exactly what to ask, in part because he’s done his homework and is incredibly well read and in part because he has a natural intuition about how to bring the best out of his guests.”

Junior Anna Bassols said she was on the show to talk about her summer internship with the athletic and marketing departments. 

“It makes a difference that Mr. Bertram is a skilled interviewer who puts his guests at ease and finds interesting stories about politics, history, and interesting people,” Bassols said. “The historical component that he included in the show in which I was featured also helped connect larger issues to our local communities and how we think about that relationship.”

Bertram said audio is a powerful method to bring people from across the nation closer to Hillsdale College, creating a long-lasting relationship. 

There are no plans to change anything about the show for 2023 but to continue with what has been successful with the listeners, Bertram said.