In this excerpt from the "Dennis and Julie" podcast, co‑host Julie Hartman reflects on the origins of the show, her college graduation, and the ideological challenges she faced as a conservative student at Harvard. She recounts recording the first episode in her dorm surrounded by classic political texts, announces her imminent graduation and the emotional impact of leaving friends, and discusses how adopting conservative views led to the loss of several friendships. Julie highlights a perceived competitive dynamic among women, contrasting it with male rivalry, and explains how her outspoken stance—particularly her senior class speech condemning what she calls "anti‑Americanism" among privileged Harvard students—both alienated and attracted peers. The conversation also details Harvard’s tradition of senior house representatives delivering a short speech at Memorial Church, the selection process involving faculty deans, and Julie’s belief that personal example and boldness can influence others despite disagreement. Throughout, Dennis Prager interjects with observations and prompts, framing the dialogue as a mix of personal memoir, ideological commentary, and cultural critique.
Chapters
Now, this week again, you know, we're in, in, in the spirit of full honesty, figuring out how we're going to do Dennis and Julie without a particularly important part of this show. But for now, we're going to go down memory lane and continue to play some clips that stick out to me as some of the most memorable of Dennis and Julie. And we've picked 3, but the first one I think you'll get a kick out of seeing. This is from one of our earliest episodes, and I'm in my dorm room in college. I would go into the hallway and yell out to my roommates, "Be quiet for an hour. I'm going on with Dennis." And I would stack my microphone up on my school books. I think I had Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and the Federalist Papers. Pretty good books for Dennis and Julie, I might say. And I had this rinky-dink little microphone. I threw all my laundry off to the side so that you couldn't see it. And those were just the most magnificent days. I couldn't believe that this guy whose work I had become so enthralled with, whose Torah commentary made me believe in God, whose book on America made me love and appreciate my country in a way I hadn't before, I couldn't believe that I had a show with this guy. So I hope that you enjoy this first clip as well as the subsequent two, and you know that you can always email me at julie@julie-hartman.com.
I like this opening music. Hi everybody, Dennis Prager, the Dennis and Julie Podcast. Dennis Prager, Julie Hartman. And we got a big announcement, so take it away, Julie.
We do have a big announcement. Well, first of all, the big announcement is that I'm graduating from college in a week from today. I will not lie to you, Dennis, and to our viewers, that there were some tears shed before I came on this podcast today.
Really?
Yes, there were. You know what, before the big announcement Yes, there is another one, by the way.
Another announcement?
Yes, but this is the one that's happening today.
I want to just dwell on that for a moment. The sort of bittersweet tears of graduating and leaving friends and so on? Is that what you're referring to?
Yes, it's mainly about my friends.
Well, that makes sense. How many— I know it sounds a little odd task, but I am curious— how many friends would you say you made at school?
At school, close friends, I would say about 6 or 7.
That's a big deal.
Totally.
So I'll ask you another question then in light of that, and I have no idea what you'll say, but My assumption is that they don't all share your, your views on life.
Oh, definitely they do not. Many of them don't.
So this is a very nice thing to hear, actually, and it's because it's a big problem in a lot of people's lives where friendships of decades are lost, and even, even family members are alienated because of political, social, moral differences. How do you explain you and your friends?
Well, look, let me just start off by saying I have certainly suffered some losses since I've become conservative and been publicly conservative. I have lost several friends, so that has definitely happened to me. But what I will say about these friends now, as I mean, maybe this sounds self-impressed to say, but I'm a really good friend. And I think that my friends just see that. They see that I love them. They see that I'm completely supportive of them. And again, in the spirit of full honesty, Dennis Prager, women are competitive with one another. Not every woman wishes another woman well. That's just a little secret I'll let you in on. You probably already know that. Let me tell you, as a woman, it's very, very common that we're competitive with one another. And I really, really try as a friend to be supportive and look out for them and be in their corner. And I think my friends see that and they overlook the fact that we have disagreements.
These are— I'm very happy I asked you about this. That's a very— you just gave me a topic for a male-female hour: women's competitiveness. See, men are known for competing but we don't take it personally. I think that's the difference, right? So, you know, the guy beat me up, or the guy won. Okay, I fought. It's like in hockey, at the end of the, of the playoffs, they, they bang each other senseless into the boards and fall on each other and sometimes fight. And then they line up and shake each other's hands. Sometimes they hug.
I know.
That's male.
Yes. Women don't beat each other up, but we beat each other up with our words.
Right. And then, and don't hug after it.
That's the point. And, you know, I just said what I think draws my friends to me. What draws me to my friends, first of all, they are also great friends. And I see that first and foremost. And second of all, you know, again, maybe this sounds self-impressed to say, or maybe this sounds like something I would want to think. But I do think that they are drawn to my points of view because it's— first of all, it's very unique on this campus. I don't think I've really encountered many other people who think the way that I do or who are open about it. And I think I really do have this, even though I would say overall, unfortunately, I'm a bit of a pessimist. I do have an optimistic view that if you are speaking the truth and you are being bold and brave and open about your values, I think people are drawn to that. And I've seen that with my friendships, whether or not they always overtly admit it. I think they're drawn to it. What do you think about that, Dennis?
Well, I am thinking— no, I am thinking about that. So I have a few thoughts. First, it's a credit to you because You're very strong, and we'll come to that because of your senior class speech that you gave. You're very strong. Look, you wrote an article that the average student at Harvard is somewhat of a sheep, and that was in the Wall Street Journal. I mean, you would think that that would have alienated your friends, but It's hard to be alienated from you. You're, you're, you're a kind human being. Forget the brains and this, the strength and all that. You're just a good, good human being. It's part of why I'm drawn to you. So I think that that's a credit to you. But I think there's another factor as well. Not but, and I think there's another factor as well. They will be able once they graduate, to associate only with people with whom they agree. At college, you're sort of stuck with each other, right? But once you leave the cocoon, you will really enter a bigger cocoon, or, or even I should say a more constricted cocoon. Then they will choose friends with whom they agree. So this was their last opportunity to have a conservative friend.
Yes. And you know, sometimes I, when I said that point about how people are drawn to bravery and they're drawn to openness, you know, I think about, I remember, I was going to say I remember when I was little, but this still happens to me. You know when you're in a conversation or a fight with your mom and your mom is saying something to you and you don't want to admit that she's right, but you know that it's true and it leaves an impression on you even though you would never say it. Sometimes I get that impression with my friends. Sometimes when I'm being so open, I mean, it's a nice segue into the senior speech because I gave this old senior speech about anti-Americanism. And I talked about how we members of Harvard University and we Americans have shirked our responsibility as the most privileged cohort on Earth by undermining the system that we've benefited from. Anyways, I gave this, this old senior speech and some of my close friends were giving me a hard time for it. And I remember this moment just really explaining to them and being so open and forthcoming with my beliefs. And I could just see it in their eyes. They sort of got it. And I want to tell people, I really, especially people my age, I want to encourage people, you will make an impression on people even if they will never admit it. I really believe the most powerful thing that you can do in life, the most lasting thing you can give to a person— you can give them money, you can give them opportunity, but the thing that will stick with them the longest is the power of your example. And that's what I try to do. I try to be a good example. And I, again, maybe I would just like to think this, but I really, really do believe it influences people.
There's no doubt about it.
Right.
Oh, so Sean wants to know, should we play your speech? So it's an interesting question. Hey, what is it, 8 minutes? 6? Is that right, Jules?
It is. We can also play excerpts too, or I can—
Do we have excerpts? Do we have prepared excerpts? All right, we'll start and stop. So explain the circumstances, why you were even— how many were asked, why you were asked to give a talk representing the senior class at Harvard.
Sure. So there is this tradition at Harvard where— so let me start off by saying that there are 12 upperclassmen houses. So freshman year you live in Harvard Yard, and then you're assorted for your remaining 3 years into one of 12 upperclassmen houses. And Harvard has this tradition when you're graduating that they select a member of each of the 12 upperclassmen houses to deliver a 5-minute speech at Memorial Church, which is the church in Harvard Yard. Every morning they have these morning prayer exercises. And in the month of May, you are assigned to a day. And because I'm in Winthrop House, one of the upperclassmen houses, I'm the representative for Winthrop.
Who determined that you would be?
My faculty dean. So each house has a pair of faculty deans, and they sent out this email saying, you know, if you'd like to give a speech, they said, you know, you can give it really on anything. I remember this line in the speech: nothing is too trivial, nothing is too profound. And I wrote to them, and I wrote this really long email saying how much I wanted to talk about it. I said in the email— actually, I really don't remember what I wrote. I said that I didn't have a definitive topic in mind, but I love public speaking and I really wanted the opportunity to do it. All right, so they didn't know I would give a speech like this.
To Harvard's credit then, and I just want to be fair, but tell me if I'm right, I assume they knew you're conservative and still chose you.
Right. Well, I don't know, because this email, I mean, I was selected in March. I remember I was in Israel when I got the email. So that's just to say this was a long time ago. I can pull up the email, but I wrote to them and I expressed my interest, but I did not say that I was going to give a conservative speech.
Right.
But still, you're right.
And wasn't your Wall Street Journal article already printed?
It was already printed. Yes. So, yes, kudos to them.
