Hillsdale College Hosts Journalist Mary Katharine Ham as Spring 2026 Pulliam Fellow
Ham gave a lecture titled ‘An Update on the Left’s Outrage Industry.’
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College hosted political commentator and author Mary Katharine Ham as the spring 2026 Eugene C. Pulliam distinguished visiting fellow in journalism from March 2-11. While on campus, Ham taught a one-credit journalism seminar for Hillsdale students and gave a public lecture on March 9 titled “An Update on the Left’s Outrage Industry.”
Ham said it is the duty of every citizen to figure out what is real and what is not. She argued that while circumstances have changed dramatically, the fundamental ways in which humans are misled and the tools for discerning truth are very old.
“Leave wide berth for lots of speech, work hard to take in a bunch of ideas, evaluate them with humility and pray you’re on the right track, and have what it takes to stand up for what you believe in.”
“Leave wide berth for lots of speech, work hard to take in a bunch of ideas, evaluate them with humility and pray you’re on the right track, and have what it takes to stand up for what you believe in,” Ham said. “Everything in the modern information wars points to the opposite of these old values: move really quickly, censor others and close yourself off from viewpoints, have ChatGPT summarize everything for you, and frame right and wrong based on — I don’t know — whether you’re willing to punish a gold medal-winning hockey player over the most uncharitable possible interpretation of a four-second internet video.”
Mary Katharine Ham is a journalist, author, and Fox News contributor. She is the host of two lighthearted news podcasts, “Getting Hammered” and “Normally,” and co-author with Guy Benson of “End of Discussion: How the Left’s Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun).” A former contributor at CNN and former managing editor at Townhall.com, she frequently lectures on college campuses on the issue of free speech. She has written for numerous publications, including The Atlantic, The Free Press, the Washington Examiner, The Hill, and the New York Post.
As a Pulliam fellow, Ham joins a list of notable journalists who have lent their skills to Hillsdale College, including Miranda Devine, Andrew Klavan, and Kimberley Strassel. Pulliam fellows enjoy a two-week residency on Hillsdale’s campus and teach a week-and-a-half, one-credit course in the Journalism Department. This semester, eight students took the course, which was titled “New Media.” Fellows also consult with students who work on The Collegian, the College’s student-run newspaper.
For photos from the lecture, click here. For photos of Hillsdale College, click here. For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.