The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Co-founder and Board Member of The Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson is a renowned political strategist, infamous award-winning ad-maker and podcast host, writer, speaker, and political commentator on MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, NPR, Real Time with Bill Maher, and various American and international news national outlets. A 30-year veteran of national Republican politics, Rick got his start in the 1988 Presidential campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush and has produced groundbreaking and award-winning political advertising, strategic counsel to winning political candidates, SuperPACS, state parties, the national campaign committees, and corporate, association, and government clients across the nation and around the world. Rick has authored two New York Times bestsellers – Everything Trump Touches Dies and Running Against The Devil – A Plot To Save America from Trump And Democrats From Themselves – and often writes for The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Hill, The Bulwark, and the London Spectator. Rick brings his inimitable wit and wisdom back to The Back Room for a post-election wrap up! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Paul Begala is a CNN political commentator, consultant and NY Times best-selling author... his most recent book was the election-year hit You’re Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump. He’s also been a columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and was one of the founding contributing editors of his late friend JFK Jr’s magazine George. But perhaps most notably…he helped engineer Bill Clinton's winning presidential campaign in 1992 with his partner, James Carville. He later served as Counselor to the President, serving as one of President Clinton's closest aides, and coordinating policy, politics, and communications. In the 2012 campaign, Paul was a senior adviser for the pro-Obama Super PAC, making him one of the few people to play a critical role in electing two different presidents. Paul's back in The Back Room to unpack Election Day's blue tidal wave! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Amy McGrath is a political and national security analyst, a former fighter pilot and U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, founder of Democratic Majority Action PAC, Democratic nominee for the U.S. House and Senate from Kentucky and the author of "Honor Bound: An American Story of Dreams and Service." She, along with co-host Denver Riggleman, recently launched the brand new podcast, “Truth in the Barrel,” about politics and national security. And, she once again has launched a U.S. Senate campaign for Kentucky’s open seat Amy discusses her Senate campaign, Trump's exploitation of the military, National Guard troop deployment, nuclear testing, the shutdown and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Kate Shaw is a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where she teaches and writes about the presidency, the law of democracy, the Supreme Court, and reproductive rights and justice. Her scholarly writing has appeared, among other places, in the Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the Northwestern University Law Review, and her popular writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic. She co-hosts the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny and is a Contributing Opinion Writer with the New York Times. Kate helps unpack the legal developments involving National Guard troop deployment; Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department; the James Comey, Tish James and John Bolton indictments; the government shutdown and funding of SNAP benefits; and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

A graduate of the USC School of Cinema and Television, Andrew Durham has worked under such directors as David Lynch, Christopher Guest, Wes Craven, and Oliver Stone. He began his collaborative relationship with Sofia Coppola when he produced her first short film, LICK THE STAR, and Coppola’s television series, HI-OCTANE, for the Comedy Central Network. He went on to work for MTV Networks as Producer for Projects in Development, and later for Fox Television Studios where he served as Vice President of Production. He left television to pursue his passion for photography. He’s shot for such publications as Vanity Fair, The New York Times, French Vogue, and Elle, and advertising campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Dior. And he's in THE BACK ROOM to discuss his terrific feature film directorial debut, FAIRYLAND, which is currently in select theaters nationwide and on VOD in November. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Aidan Walker is a writer, creator, and internet culture researcher. He has covered memes and tech for the BBC, The Daily Beast, and other outlets. He posts on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram as @aidanetcetera and writes the Substack newsletter How To Do Things With Memes. What are memes, where do they come from, what's their impact today as a communications tool, and what lies ahead for this powerful medium? Aidan answers these questions and more...and also discusses his recent epic appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Janet Napolitano is currently the Founder and faculty director of the Institute for Security and Governance at UC Berkeley. In her distinguished career she’s served as former Secretary of Homeland Security, president of the University of California, Governor of Arizona, Attorney General of Arizona, and as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. In 2022, President Biden appointed her to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and also appointed her to the Intelligence Oversight Board. In 2024, Napolitano served on the Independent Review Panel to investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13,2024. She currently serves as a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Join us for this insightful conversation about Trump 2.0 and his $230-million 'restitution' demand, East Wing demolition, and DOJ weaponization; the state of our Homeland Security; immigration; the NO KINGS protests; and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Richard Reeves is the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. Before founding AIBM in 2023, he was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. While at Brookings, he focused on policies related to economic inequality, racial justice, social mobility, and boys and men. He is the author of several books, including “Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to do About It” and “Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That is a Problem, and What to do About It.” Inspired by his own experiences as a father and policy expert, Richard founded AIBM to bring awareness to the challenges facing boys and men today and to develop evidence-based solutions. Why are boys and young men struggling so much? Why are they attending college less than ever? Why is male suicide precipitously on the rise? How do we address these alarming trends? Richard shares his thoughts on these critical questions and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Nancy Schwartzman is an Emmy winning and Peabody nominated documentary filmmaker, showrunner and a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. Her latest project is the limited series Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? now streaming on Hulu. Her other films and series include Sasha Reid and the Midnight Order, the Emmy winning Victim/Suspect, and her debut feature documentary, the award-winning Roll Red Roll , which was also nominated for a Peabody award, and exposed the notorious Steubenville, Ohio high school sexual assault case. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Roll Red Roll: Rape, Power and Football in the American Heartland. For her human rights filmmaking and technology development to prevent sexual violence, she is the winner of awards from the Obama/Biden White House, the United Nations and the Avon Foundation. She is also a tech founder and created the Circle of 6 safety app. Nancy and I discuss her terrific new docuseries and this stunningly confounding case. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

In academia, private sector, government and media, Professor Juliette Kayyem is an international leader in crisis management and homeland security. She serves as the faculty chair of the Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Previously, she served as President Obama's Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and as MA Governor Deval Patrick's Homeland Security Advisor. She is an on-air CNN Senior National Security Analyst, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and contributing writer for The Atlantic and Boston's local NPR station, GBH. She also consults for governors, mayors, public and private institutions on crisis management. She is a Senior Advisor to Teneo, the global consulting firm, and founded her own consulting firm to support the preparedness needs of companies, from Fortune 500 to startups. Juliette is the author or editor of six books, including her most recent "The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters” Join us for this important, insightful conversation about Venezuela, the Argentina bailout, and Trump 2.0's foreign policy and military strategy...or lack thereof Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Andrew Weissmann is the co-host of the popular podcast Main Justice and is a frequent legal analyst for NBC/MSNBC. He serves on the board of Just Security and writes frequently for it, as well as The New York Times, The Atlantic, & The Washington Post. From 2017-2019 Andrew served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office. His memoir about the Special Counsel investigation, Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation , was a New York Times bestseller. He is also a Professor of Practice at New York University and teaches courses in national security and criminal procedure. He also served as the General Counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from 2002-2005 he served as the Deputy and then the Director of the Enron Task Force where he supervised the prosecution of more than 30 individuals in connection with the company’s collapse. And he was also a federal prosecutor for 15 years in the Eastern District of New York, where he served as the Chief of the Criminal Division and prosecuted numerous members of the Colombo, Gambino, and Genovese families, including the bosses of the Colombo and Genovese families. Andrew joins me fresh on the heels of the breaking news about his interview in London with former special counsel Jack Smith. We discuss this compelling conversation as well as the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Jill Schlesinger is the Emmy and Gracie Award winning Business Analyst for CBS News. She appears on CBS radio and television stations nationwide covering the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign. She is a weekly guest on NPR’s “Here and Now” and writes the nationally syndicated column “Jill on Money”. She is the author of two books, The Great Money Reset and The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money. Jill is also the host of the “Jill on Money” and the “MoneyWatch” podcasts and of the nationally syndicated radio show, “Jill on Money”. She is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics, including macroeconomic, market and demographic trends; workplace issues for women and LGBT employees in financial services; and how to create authentic branding. She serves on the board of the New York City Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Jill's back to discuss the shutdown, the economy, the stock market, and what investors should be doing in Q4. And, we also found time to address the Carole King vs Taylor Swift debate and whether Boomer music is better than Gen Z's/Millennials'! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Cait Conley is a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native, daughter of a postal worker and a construction worker, a decorated combat veteran and national security expert. And she’s running for the House in NY’s 17th Congressional district. Cait discusses the shutdown, affordability, national security, Trump, Hegseth, her campaign and the fight to defeat Mike Lawler Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Cass Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. He was advisor to presidents Obama and Biden, has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide, The Cost-Benefit Revolution, On Freedom, Nudge. The World According to Star Wars, Too Much Information and his new book, "On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom”. Cass joins me for an insightful discussion about his new book. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Jake Tapper wrote the NY Times bestselling nonfiction books The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, which was turned into a critically acclaimed film in 2020, and this year’s ORIGINAL SIN: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. He’s also written two New York Times bestselling novels, The Hellfire Club and The Devil May Dance, He is an Emmy Award-winning TV journalist as lead DC anchor and chief Washington correspondent for CNN. His new book, RACE AGAINST TERROR: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War, comes out Tuesday October 7th. Jake and I talk a little sports and then dive into the government shutdown and his terrific new non-fiction thriller. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for MSNBC. He has covered the last five presidents for The Times and The Washington Post. At The Post, he also served as Moscow Co-Bureau Chief and covered the opening months of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is author of seven books, including the best-selling The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021, and The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III, both with his wife, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker. He is a frequent panelist on Washington Week on PBS. Peter and I discuss the government shutdown, the Comey indictment and Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department, and Howard Lutnick's jaw-dropping new Epstein comments. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Osita Nwanevu is a contributing editor at The New Republic, a columnist at The Guardian, and the Democratic Institutions fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. He is a former staff writer at The New Republic, The New Yorker, and Slate, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, Harper’s Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, In These Times, Flaming Hydra, and Gawker. His new book is The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. Osita discusses his new book about democracy's many flaws and the desperate need to amend the Constitution to correct the inequities in representation including those in the Supreme Court, Senate, and the electoral college. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Marc Levin is an award-winning, independent filmmaker. He has made over 50 films, including documentaries, TV series, dramatic feature films and episodic television. He’s won four Emmys and four duPont-Columbia Awards, among other prominent accolades. Highlights include his dramatic hit SLAM; the groundbreaking docuseries Brick City; and several films for HBO including Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock, Thug Life in DC; and Class Divide. His most recent HBO film, An American Bombing, is streaming on Max and was recently nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary. His latest film, which premieres Sept 30th on PBS, is HARD HAT RIOT. David Paul Kuhn is a writer and political analyst and author of several books including his most recent, The Hardhat Riot: Nixon, New York City, and the Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution. He’s served as the chief political writer for CBS News online, a senior political writer for Politico, as well as chief political correspondent at RealClearPolitics. He’s also written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, National Review, New Republic, among other publications, and regularly appears on networks ranging from BBC to Fox News. Marc's new film is partly based on David's book. Join us for this super-interesting discussion about the riot, this violent end to the turbulent Sixties, and its stunning parallels to the current political chaos. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Katie Phang is an independent journalist and trial lawyer. Formerly the host of “The Katie Phang Show” on MSNBC, Katie also has served as a legal contributor/legal correspondent for several media outlets, such as NBC, MSNBC, and Fox News. She’s had a front-row seat to some of the most consequential moments in recent history, including the unsealing of multiple criminal indictments against Donald Trump, oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court on presidential immunity, and attending the only criminal trial of an American president. After several years in mainstream media, Katie departed cable tv to dive into independent media, launching her own YouTube channel (@katiephangnews) and Substack (@katiephang), leveraging her experience, including as a trial lawyer for more than 25 years, to provide compelling analysis and commentary on the latest legal and political issues across the globe. Katie shares her astute insights into Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department and overall assault on democracy; the Comey indictment; the Jimmy Kimmel debacle; Kamala Harris and her new book; the big Hegseth military gathering next week; and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel

Mark S. Zaid is a Washington, D.C. based attorney specializing in crisis management and handling administrative and litigation matters relating to national security, international law, foreign sovereign and diplomatic immunity, and the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts. His clients typically include former/current federal employees, particularly intelligence and military officers, defense contractors, Whistleblowers and members of the media who have grievances, have been wronged or are being investigated by agencies of the United States Government or foreign governments. Mark is also the Executive Director and founder of the James Madison Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization with the primary purpose of educating the public on issues relating to intelligence gathering and operations, secrecy policies, national security and government wrongdoing. And in 2017 he co-founded Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit law firm that provides pro bono legal representation to whistleblowers, particularly in the national security arena, and serves as legal counsel. Mark discusses the Jimmy Kimmel/Disney/FCC free speech debacle, RFK Jr's firing of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department, the strength (or lack thereof) of the judicial system, and the future of democracy. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel