The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Steven Levitsky is David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government and Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard. His research focuses on democratization and authoritarianism, political parties, and weak and informal institutions, with a focus on Latin America. He is co-author of How Democracies Die, which was a New York Times Best-Seller and was published in 30 languages, and Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point. He has written or edited 11 other books, including Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective, Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War, and Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism. He is currently working on a book on democratic resilience across the world. I asked Steven if our democracy is dying. Don't miss this insightful conversation where he answers this critical question and so much 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

Dr. Fiona Hill CMG is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and Chancellor of Durham University. She served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, as well as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Hill has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, regional conflicts, and strategic issues, as well as the link between deindustrialization and political populism. She is the author of the bestselling memoir "There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century" and co-author of "Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin." In December 2023, she was recognized by the United Kingdom as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to international relations and in July 2024, she was appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be an external reviewer for a Strategic Defense Review for the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom. Join us for this compelling conversation as Dr. Hill shares her keen insights into Trump 2.0's erratic, dangerous foreign policy on matters including Russia, Putin, and Ukraine and the president's autocratic threats to 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

Alexander Vindman is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and was the director for European Affairs on the National Security Council. Before that, he served as the Political-Military Affairs Officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an attaché at the US Embassies in Moscow and Kyiv. While on the Joint Staff, he authored the National Military Strategy for Russia. He earned an MA from Harvard University, where he served as a Hauser Leader, and an MA and PhD from Johns Hopkins, where he is a senior fellow. Dr. Vindman leads the national security think tank Institute for Informed American Leadership, is the president of the non-profit Here Right Matters Foundation, an executive board member for the Renew Democracy Initiative, a senior fellow at the Kettering Foundation, and a senior advisor to VoteVets. And he’s the author of the Why It Matters Substack and the New York Times bestselling books Here, Right Matters and The Folly of Realism. My chats with Alex are always quite insightful and compelling given his distinguished career in both the military and the government and the vast experience he's amassed over the last three decades. Join us as he discusses his new book and shares his thoughts on Trump 2.0 foreign policy, Ukraine/Russia, SignalGate, Iran negotiations, the tension with Israel/Netanyahu, Tulsi Gabbard's NIC firings, the Qatar plane fiasco, the SCOTUS hearing on Birthright Citizenship and jurisdiction, and the threats to habeas corpus and due process. 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

After surviving the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, David Hogg turned his grief into action, co-founding March For Our Lives, one of the largest youth movements in our country’s history. Last year, Hogg co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young people at the local and state level. Through his work, David campaigned across the country and raised over $11 million dollars for candidates nationwide. He was elected as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2025. David is a passionate, resolute young man with a clear mission: to change the Democratic Party from within. And he doesn't care if he pisses off the establishment in the process. He joins me for a pull-no-punches chat about his controversial plan to primary "less effective" democrats in safe blue districts. 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

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes represents Connecticut’s 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Agriculture Committee, where she is Ranking Member of the Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. Her legislative priorities include education, healthcare, labor, agriculture, and veterans issues. A former history teacher and the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Congresswoman Hayes was the first African-American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, elected in 2018. And she has successfully had 11 bills signed into law and advocates for equitable access to opportunity for all. Rep. Hayes discusses Trump's tariffs, trade wars, attacks on colleges and universities, spending cuts and what's at stake for public education, public broadcasting, farmers, SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security 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

Representative Ro Khanna is a leading progressive voice in the House, representing California's 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is serving his fifth term. He serves as vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on the House Armed Services Committee as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems (CITI), is a member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and on the Oversight and Accountability committee, where he previously chaired the Environmental Subcommittee. Rep. Khanna and I get into the impact of Trump's tariffs and trade wars; our broken healthcare system; DOGE's devastating federal spending cuts; the threats to our national security from SecDef Pete Hegseth and SignalGate; the Kilmar Abrego Garcia 'disappearance' case; the administration's overall attacks on the rule of law, due process, and democracy itself; and the congressman's town hall road show, where he's hitting red districts across the country to help win over disaffected Americans on both sides of the aisle in advance of the critical 2026 midterm elections. 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

Jocelyn Benson is Michigan's 43rd Secretary of State and is running in the 2026 election to be the state’s next governor. She has become one of the nation’s most prominent leaders in ensuring elections are secure and accessible. Her work overseeing Michigan’s 2020 and 2022 general elections earned her national recognition, including the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal. She also implemented new voting rights for all eligible Michiganders prior to the 2020 election, including the right to vote absentee, and oversaw more than 250 audits after the election, all of which affirmed its integrity and accuracy. At 36 she was appointed dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, becoming the youngest woman in U.S. history to lead a top-100, accredited law school, and continues to serve as vice chair of the advisory board for the Levin Center at Wayne Law, which she founded with former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. She is the author of the book “State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process”, and is a frequent tv news commentator. Her new book, "The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What's Right When the Stakes Are High”, is on sale May 6th. Jocelyn's back in THE BACK ROOM discussing the new book, which details her inspiring journey navigating through incredible challenges and triumphs. We also discuss her campaign for governor, Trump 2.0, and the fight to preserve the rule of law and Democracy itself. 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

After Googling “how to run for office” in the wake of the 2016 election, Mallory McMorrow took on an incumbent Republican State Senator and won, moving the seat 20 percentage points. When a right-wing state senator baselessly called her a “groomer”, she took to the floor in a now viral speech and declared "we will not let hate win.” NY Magazine called the speech “remarkable.” James Carville said it was “enormously effective.” The Atlantic wrote that it was “stunning.” After her viral speech, Mallory helped flip control of the Michigan Senate for the first time in 40 years, becoming the first woman Senate Majority Whip in state history. She has worked to strengthen unions and raise wages, eliminate the retirement tax on seniors, expand civil rights, repeal the state’s 1931 abortion ban, tackle gun violence, expand affordable housing, and feed kids in schools. She recently released her first book, HATE WON’T WIN Mallory is a major Democratic rising star, and she's in THE BACK ROOM sharing insights into her new book, her campaign for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, and how Americans can take action to fight tyranny, hatred, bigotry and achieve real change in Washington. Don't miss this truly inspiring chat. 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. Join us for this insightful convo about Trump 2.0, the Pentagon's Hegsistential crisis, SignalGate, and the mounting threats to National Security. 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

Jessica Tarlov joined FOX News Channel as a contributor in 2017 and serves as a rotating co-host of The Five. She also offers political analysis across FNC and FOX Business Network’s programming. In May 2024,, she was named one of Variety’s 2024 Women of Impact for her political commentary across FOX News Media. She also co-hosts the Raging Moderates podcast. Jessica's back with us sharing her awesome insights (and humor!) on a range of topics including Trump, the economy, tariffs, SignalGate, the assault on democracy and the challenging road ahead for democrats. 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