Claim OwnershipThe Back Room with Andy Ostroy
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The Back Room with Andy Ostroy presents a humorous, honest take on politics and pop culture featuring notable guest interviews, a shit-ton of righteous indignation, and rip-roaring repartee with co-producers Matty Rosenberg and Jen Hammoud. We're havin' a ball, and so will you!
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
Music by Andrew Hollander
Design by Cricket Lengyel
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
Music by Andrew Hollander
Design by Cricket Lengyel
451 Episodes
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John Fugelsang has been murdered on CSI and picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church. He’s a Drama League–nominated actor, comedian, and broadcaster who’s hosted many TV shows and podcasts, including the acclaimed Tell Me Everything series on SiriusXM Progress. He’s gotten George Harrison to give his final performance on VH1, debated Jerry Falwell and David Duke, and made many appearances on MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN. His epic PBS road trip film on the American Dream, Dream On was named Best Documentary at the New York Independent Film Festival.
John joins me for a truly thought-provoking, eye-opening, humorous conversation about Christian nationalism, religious hypocrisy, and his terrific new book Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds
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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
Pete Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for the entire tenure of the presidency of Barack Obama. He is the author of several books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Obama: An Intimate Portrait and Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents. A photojournalist since the late 1970s, Souza was also an official White House photographer during the Reagan administration, a freelance photographer for Life and National Geographic, and the Washington-based natural national photographer for the Chicago Tribune. A documentary about his work at the White House, The Way I See It, was nominated for an Emmy, and its Premier was the highest rated non-news, non-live program in MSNBC history. He is a professor emeritus at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. In 2021, Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.
Pete has brilliantly captured on film so many incredible moments in modern presidential history. But he also has a great way with words, and joins me for an insightful chat about Donald Trump's unconscionable architectural and design assault on The White House, the defiling of The Kennedy Center, and his utter disdain for protocol, the rule of law, and history.
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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
Eli Sharabi is a former hostage who survived 491 days in Hamas captivity following his abduction from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. He became a global advocate for the remaining hostages, meeting with world leaders, speaking at the United Nations, and sharing his story with audiences around the world. His memoir, Hostage, is the first published account by a released Israeli hostage, became an instant New York Times and UK’s Sunday Times bestseller.
Eli discusses his book and shares his harrowing story of being taken hostage, his treatment during captivity, the murder of his family, and his inspiring journey through loss and grief.
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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
Rep. Seth Magaziner proudly serves Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District. He serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security, for which he is Ranking Member on the Subcommittee for Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Law Enforcement.
The Congressman joins me for an insightful discussion of the Brown University shooting and the gun violence epidemic in America; Trump's draconian Immigration policies; Homeland Security and the fate of Secretary Kristi Noem; the latest developments with the Epstein Files; and CBS's 60 Minutes debacle
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Twitter: @AndyOstroy
Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud
@ Radio Free Rhiniecliff
Design by Cricket Lengyel
Joyce Vance is the former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, an office she held during the Obama administration. She resigned on the eve of Donald Trump’s first inauguration at the end of twenty-five years of service as a career federal prosecutor. She’s a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law. She’s also a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC, the author of the popular Civil Discourse Substack, and the cohost of two podcasts: #SistersInLaw and Cafe’s Insider. Her latest book is Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy.
Joyce discusses her terrific new book as well as the latest developments with the Epstein files; Bondi's corrupted Justice Department; Venezuela, the boat bombings and the 'double-tap strike; and Trump's vile attack on Rob Reiner.
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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
Congressman James Walkinshaw represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. He serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, focusing on protecting the nonpartisan civil service, supporting fair pay for federal employees, and holding the Administration accountable. He also serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and both its Subcommittees on Homeland Border Security & Enforcement… and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Protection.
The Congressman joins me for an insightful conversation about the latest developments in the Epstein scandal; embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's controversies; Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump's MAGA problems; Rob Reiner; and more.
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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
Jessica Dimmock is an award-winning director with 2 Emmy nominations, 1 Emmy award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Cinema Eye Honors and IDA nominations. She directed documentary series and films Flint Town, Captive Audience, The Texas Killing Fields, The Weekly, and Home… and the feature documentary The Pearl. And she’s with us today to discuss her new documentary THOUGHTS & PRAYERS: HOW TO SURVIVE AN ACTIVE SHOOTER IN AMERICA, which can be seen on HBO MAX
Jessica and I discuss her terrific new film, co-directed with her husband Zackary Canepari, which focuses on the gun-violence epidemic in America and how it's led to lockdown and active-shooter drills in schools; whether these realistic and terrifying drills cause more harm than good with our children; and the $3-billion preparedness products industry.
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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
Margaret Donovan is a Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and an attorney with Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC. She is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. She also served six years in the United States Army and was a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps…more commonly knows as JAGS.
Margaret walks us through the critical role of JAGS and shares her thoughts on the administration's controversial drug-boat bombings and Venezuelan war threats, embattled Sec Def Pete Hegseth, and the overall crisis at the Pentagon under his leadership.
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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
Jim Acosta hosts The Jim Acosta Show” on Substack, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. He is an award-winning broadcast journalist, with 25 years of experience in network television news, at CNN and CBS News. Perhaps best-known for his time as the Chief White House Correspondent for CNN, he has covered six straight presidential elections at the network level. He’s also as an anchor and reporter covering some of the biggest news stories of the last 30 years, including Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War and the aftermath of 9/11. In 2019, Jim’s New York Times bestselling book, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America” was published. That same year his work was recognized by the New York Press Club with its “Truth to Power” Award.
Jim's back with us to discuss Trump, Hegseth, Epstein and so much more!
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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
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and Leonardo da Vinci. Future film projects include Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
And we’re thrilled to have Ken with us to discuss his latest masterpiece, The American Revolution.
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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
Adelita Grijalva is a lifelong public servant and advocate from Tucson, Arizona, with a career dedicated to equity, education, and community empowerment. She has served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors, where she became the first Latina Chair and championed affordable housing, early childhood education, and environmental protection. In 2025, Adelita made history as the first Chicana elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, and was forced to wait nearly two months to be sworn in by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Congresswoman discusses her delayed swearing-in, being pepper-sprayed last Friday by ICE, Trump's economic and healthcare crises, the Epstein and Hegseth scandals, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the flailing Republican Party.
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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
Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships; an advisor to Protect Democracy; an MSNBC opinion columnist and television commentator; and publishes Lucid, a newsletter on threats to democracy. Her latest book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence, and machismo - and how they can be defeated.
Has Donald Trump been weakened by recent elections, scandals, and his own chaos and incompetence? Is he less of a threat to democracy today than he was in January? What might he do next as his approval continues to plummet and his desperation increases? How effective has the resistance movement been? And how concerned should we be about Pete Hegseth and Trump's grip on the military? Ruth shares her thoughts on these questions and more.
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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
James E. Clyburn represents South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he previously served as Majority Whip. A more than 30-year Congressional veteran, he has been an influential and effective legislative leader and an unwavering voice for civil rights. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, during the Jim Crow era, he has been awarded the NAACP’s highest honor – the Spingarn Medal, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation’s Liberty and Justice for All Award, the Harry S. Truman Foundation’s Good Neighbor Award, and holds honorary degrees from 40 colleges and universities. In 2024, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. And he’s here to discuss his terrific new book The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation.
The Congressman discusses his terrific new book as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's SIgnalGate and 'Double-Tap' Scandals.
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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
1Pam Hemphill is a 72-year-old former Trump supporter known as the “MAGA Granny”. She was imprisoned over her role on January 6th, refused a pardon, and has spent the last several years working to debunk the stolen 2020 election Big Lie and the lies about the Capitol riot. She is a cancer survivor, a retired Substance Abuse Counselor, and a recovering alcoholic, 46 years sober.
So is Donald Trump personally involved in the Epstein conspiracy and cover up? Is the MAGA fever breaking? Why has Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned? Pam shares her thoughts on these questions and more.
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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
Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic, an American magazine founded in 1857, which earned the top honor for magazines, General Excellence, at the National Magazine Awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Before joining The Atlantic, he was the editor in chief of Wired and an editor at The New Yorker. He has long been a competitive runner; in 2021, he set the American record for men 45+ in the 50K race. In 2025, he became the top-ranked runner in the world in his age group for the 50-mile run. His new book is “The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports”.
Nick joins me for a truly enjoyable, insightful chat about his terrific new book and the many invaluable life lessons it offers.
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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
Michael Steele is the co-host of MS NOW’s “The Weeknight” and host of ‘The Michael Steele Podcast.’ Prior to joining MS NOW as a political analyst, he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003. Following his time as Lt. Governor, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011. Steele was the first African-American to hold either office. He has appeared on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Daily Show and is also the author of two books, “Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda” and “The Recovering Politician’s Twelve Step Program to Survive Crisis”.
It's always fun and insightful when Michael's in The Back Room! This time he's back for a chat about the good, the bad and the ugly with Trump, the GOP and Democrats...including the election, the latest polls, Marjorie Taylor Greene and the MAGA fissure, and whether we've hit at an inflection point.
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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
S.E. Cupp is a nationally syndicated columnist, author, podcaster and TV commentator. She hosts Off the Cupp, a podcast which focuses on mental health, and which features interviews with celebrities and newsmakers. She is a columnist at the New York Daily News and has also been published in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Washington Post and many other publications. She is currently a political commentator at CNN. She regularly interviews authors for CSPAN's BookTV, and is a regular guest on The View, Real Time w/Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Watch What Happens Live and others. SE has also consulted on Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom and AppleTV's The Morning Show, and has made cameos on House of Cards and SNL. As an author SE has written two books, Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity, and co-authored Why You're Wrong About the RIght. She is on the Advisory Board of Cornell University's Institute of Politics and Global Affairs and INARA.org, and is a No Kid Hungry ambassador.
S.E.'s back in The Back Room to discuss Trump, the election, the shutdown, MAGA, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Megyn Kelly, Mamdani, the midterms and more!
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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
Jess Michaels is a 3x Founder, TEDx speaker, Advocate, and 1991 Jeffrey Epstein survivor who has lived with PTSD for 30+ years. She is founder and CEO of 3Joannes Inc and the #withyoutoo Social Safety App, which guides users to "know what to do when someone says #metoo”.
Jess is back with us to share her thoughts on this week's emotional roller-coaster involving the monumental passage of the Epstein bill and the uncertain road ahead for getting the full files released by the Justice Department as mandated by the new law.
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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
Jonathan Freedland is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Save the World and he’s a weekly columnist for the Guardian and previously the Guardian’s Washington correspondent. He hosts the Guardian's Politics Weekly America podcast, presents BBC Radio 4's The Long View and co-hosts the Unholy podcast,. He is also the author of several thrillers under the pseudonym Sam Bourne and is a past winner of the Orwell Prize for Journalism. His new book is The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany—and the Spy Who Betrayed Them”
Jonathan and I discuss his incredible new book as well as British politics and Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, and the populist parallels to Donald Trump's MAGA movement.
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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
For forty years, Ron Reagan has been a television and radio correspondent, host and political commentator with ABC, MSNBC and Air America among others. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller My Father at 100.
Join us for this fun, insightful chat about the Epstein shitstorm, the blue wave election, the shutdown, the East Wing demolition, and Trump's meltdown over the Ontario tariff ad featuring his dad.
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
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Don't freak me out by starting this saying John Fuselgang has been murdered!