How Antonin Scalia Changed the Supreme Court
The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour
Hillsdale College
4.8 • 649 Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2026
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Guests: James Rosen & Matthew Mehan
Host Scot Bertram talks with James Rosen, chief Washington correspondent at Newsmax, about the early years of Antonin Scalia's tenure on the Supreme Court as detailed in his new book Scalia: Supreme Court Years, 1986 to 2001. And Matthew Mehan, associate dean and associate professor at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., discusses the unique character of the American imagination and his recent report "Restoring America’s Founding Imagination."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the historic campus of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, where the good, the true, and the beautiful are taught, nurtured, and honored, this is the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour, bringing the activity and education of the college to listeners across the country. |
| 0:24.9 | The country had never seen anything like this, the idea that the presidency of the United States is going to be litigated to determine who gets to be president. |
| 0:31.4 | And moreover, that it's going to be decided on the basis of a number of votes, the same number of people that could be fit inside |
| 0:37.6 | a Texas Roadhouse on a Friday night. |
| 0:39.4 | This is your host, Scott Bertram. |
| 0:41.6 | Welcome to the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour, part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. |
| 0:47.8 | That was James Rosen, author of the new book, Scalia, Supreme Court years 1986 to 2001. We'll go in depth with James about this great biography |
| 0:57.1 | of Antonin Scalia. Also later on in today's program, Dr. Matt Meen from Hillsdale in D.C. |
| 1:02.5 | We'll talk about restoring America's founding imagination. First, we're joined by James Rosen, |
| 1:09.2 | the great chief Washington correspondent at Newsmax. |
| 1:12.5 | You can find him on X at James Rosen TV, and he has a new book out. |
| 1:18.0 | The second in a trilogy on the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Enten and Scalia. |
| 1:24.3 | The first book was Scalia, Rise to Greatness. |
| 1:27.1 | The new one is Scalia, Supreme Court |
| 1:29.5 | Years 1986 through 2001. James, thanks so much for joining us again. Scott, it's an honor to be back |
| 1:36.5 | with you and all my friends at Hillsdale. People can go back into our archives, find our |
| 1:40.9 | conversation about the first book if they wish. But you can jump right into |
| 1:44.3 | book two if you want. Early in this new book, James, you have a quote from an acquaintance |
| 1:51.7 | of Antedin Scalia who says, at Maine Justice, he did damn near everything and he did it well. |
| 1:58.8 | So book two starts the Supreme Court years. At this stage in his |
| 2:03.8 | life, at this stage in his professional career, how does Anten Scalia continue performing at a high |
| 2:11.8 | level? How does he keep his skills sharp? Well, Scott, first of all, thanks again for having me. |
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