In Part Two of our ongoing America 250 conversation, Dr. Matthew Spalding — Vice President for Washington Operations and Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C., Campus — returns to explore the events and ideas that led directly to 1776.

Spalding also discusses Hillsdale’s involvement with Freedom 250 and the launch of its nationwide Mobile Museum Trucks, a fleet of traveling, interactive museums bringing America’s founding story to communities across the country as part of the Semiquincentennial celebration. Plus, we examine current debates over how American history is presented, including the National Park Service’s removal of a slavery-focused exhibit in Philadelphia and the broader push to restore what the administration calls “truth and sanity” to historical interpretation.

This episode is part of America 250: A Conversation with Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C., Campus & Graduate School of Government, in partnership with WMAL.

Learn more at DC.Hillsdale.edu.

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Episode: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 / 8 AM Hour