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.

Gavin Newsom has been talking about homelessness for more than 20 years that he's been in office since he was mayor of San Francisco.

That was one of its top priorities in solving homelessness.

And it's only gotten spiraled out of control and gotten way worse under his

watch. This is your host, Scott Bertram. Welcome to the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour, part of the

Hillsdale College podcast network. That was Susan Crabtree, co-author of the recent book,

Fools Gold, the radicals, con artists, and traitors who

killed the California dream and now threaten us all. An in-depth discussion with Susan about

what's gone wrong in California is up next. Also, later in the program, we'll talk with

Jeremiah Regan about Hillsdale's new online course on Colonial America. First, we're joined by

Susan Crabtree. She's Senior White House and National Politics correspondent at Real Clear Politics.

Also the co-author of a new book, Fools Gold, the radicals, con artists, and traitors who killed

the California dream and now threaten us all.

Susan, thanks so much for joining us.

It's my pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

The book co-written by Jed McFatter was out earlier in 2025, but the themes are still very relevant,

especially as the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, is becoming a more national political figure these days.

How has California, you say early in the book, you know, so goes California, so goes the nation.

How has this state on the west coast so far removed from a lot of the population center of the country?

How has it had such an outsized role in the politics and the culture of the United States?

It's a really good question.

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