The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Norman Ornstein is an author, political scientist and emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s a contributing editor and writer for The Atlantic, contributor to The Contrarian, and cohost of the podcast Words Matter. His many books include The New York Times bestseller, It's Even Worse Than It Looks written with Tom Mann, and the NYT and WAPO best-seller One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate and the Not-Yet-Deported with E.J. Dionne and Tom Mann. Is Trump planing to steal the midterms? Will there be chaos before, on, and/or after Election Day? Is a blue wave coming? Will Democrats win back the House and Senate? And if so, how aggressively should a Democrat-controlled Congress pursue holding Trump and his administration accountable for violating the law? Norm addresses these questions and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at [email protected] 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

Rob Bonta is Attorney General of the State of California. He previously spent more than eight years serving in the State Assembly. Prior to that he worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. He was sworn in on April 23, 2021, becoming the first person of Filipino descent to serve as California Attorney General. AG Bonta and I discuss Trump, the midterms, and the efforts to protect democracy before, on, and after Election Day Got somethin' to say?! Email us at [email protected] 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

Alex Gibney is an award-winning filmmaker who's been called “the most important documentarian of our time” by Esquire Magazine. His work has been the recipient of an Academy Award, multiple Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, several Peabody Awards, DuPont-Columbia Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Writers Guild Awards, and more. He is also the recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the News & Documentary Emmys. His films include TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY & THE PRISON OF BELIEF, IN RESTLESS DREAMS: THE MUSIC OF PAUL SIMON, THE BIBI FILES, WISE GUYS: DAVID CHASE & THE SOPRANOS, and THE DARK MONEY GAME. Most recently, his documentary KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE was released last month. And he joins me for a fascinating conversation about his terrific new film, the highly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed documentary MUSK, about the life and career of controversial trillionaire tech, space and automotive entrepreneur and political donor Elon Musk. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at [email protected] 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

Garlin Gilchrist is Michigan's Lt Governor and is running for Secretary of State to succeed Jocelyn Benson who's running for governor. Prior to serving as Lt Governor he worked at Microsoft as a software engineer. Join us for this important conversation about Michigan's efforts to protect the midterms, as well as Garlin's campaign for this critical position in the face of Donald Trump's assault on our elections process. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at [email protected] 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

Frank Rich is a journalist, author, and television producer. A writer-at-large for New York magazine, he was previously chief drama critic and an OpEd columnist for the New York Times. He executive produced the long-running HBO series Succession, Veep as well as the limited series White House Plumbers and The Regime. He’s also EP’s the documentaries Six by Sondheim and Becoming Mike Nichols. His books include The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina and the memoir Ghost Light. He has been awarded 6 Emmys, 3 Peabody Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards, and a Producer’s Guild Award. His journalism honors include the George Polk Award for Commentary and the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard University. He has twice been a Pulitzer Prize finalist. In 2015, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Frank joins me for a compelling discussion of his latest New York magazine essay, "Trump's Shameless Collaborators", about the sycophants in Trump's cabinet and inner circle and the accountability they may one day soon be facing, especially if Democrats take back the House and Senate. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at [email protected] 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