The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Frank Figliuzzi is a national security contributor and regular columnist for NBC News and MSNBC. He was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the government. He held senior FBI leadership positions in major American cities and was appointed the FBI’s Chief Inspector by then Director Robert Mueller to oversee sensitive internal inquiries, shooting reviews, and performance audits. Following his FBI career, Frank became a corporate security executive for a Fortune 10 company and led global Investigations, Insider Threat, Workplace Violence Prevention, and Special Event security for 200,000 employees in 180 countries. He is the author of “The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence", and this year's  "Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers". Frank and I discuss his latest book, Trump's controversial cabinet nominations, and the existential threats to our democracy as we head into Trump 2.0. 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

Dylan Douglas, a 2022 graduate of Brown University, has spent much of his young adult life working on a variety of political campaigns and grassroots movements. During the 2020 election, while still in college, Douglas served as deputy campaign manager for a high-profile congressional race and later co-founded a progressive political action committee called Make Room, aimed at “making room for young, progressive, generational candidates.” In the summer of 2024, Douglas launched the political program Young American with Dylan Douglas on SiriusXM, designed to engage Gen Z and other young listeners in the lead-up to the highly anticipated November elections. Originally intended as a limited series, the show has since been picked up to run indefinitely. Beyond domestic American politics, Douglas is a passionate advocate for dyslexia awareness, having struggled with the learning disability for much of his life. He is also an amateur historian. Dylan brings a very important perspective to the conversation about what happened in the 2024 election and what Democrats must do going forward to engage and inspire not just his generation of voters, but the party's broader coalition as well. 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

Max Rose is a former member of Congress from New York City and a Senior Advisor to Vote Vets. He's a highly-decorated combat veteran who currently serves as a company commander in the New York Army National Guard. As a Congressman, he chaired the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counter-terrorism and served on the committees for Homeland Security and Veteran's Affairs. He also served in 2021 at the Department of Defense as Special Assistant to Secretary Lloyd Austin. Max helps unpack the election results and what the Democratic Party must do going forward to win the 2026 midterm elections and the presidency in '28. He also discusses the DNC and whether he wants the top job, and whether he plans to run for NYC mayor next year. 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 he is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Global Security Studies program and at Texas A&M’s George H.W. Bush School of Government & Public Service where he teaches on national security issues. Besides discussing our mutual passion for collecting political, historical and cultural memorabilia, Mark and I get into Donald Trump's continued threats against his opponents and perceived enemies; his representation of several high-profile government and media retribution targets; and the prospect of Trump's weaponizing the DOJ and FBI. We also discuss Mark's personal interest and professional work relating to the JFK assassination. 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. Along with his partner James Carville, he was one of the masterminds behind Bill Clinton's winning presidential campaign in 1992 and 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 Begala one of the few people to play a critical role in electing two different presidents. Paul's back in THE BACK ROOM for an election post-mortem, Trump's crazy cabinet nominations, what lies ahead for the Democratic Party, 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

Charlie Sykes is the author of nine books, including his latest, How the Right Lost Its Mind. An 'OG Never-Trumper', he is the author of the Substack newsletter, “To the Contrary,” and contributes to The Atlantic and MSNBC. He's written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time.com, USA Today, National Review, The New York Review of Books, the New York Daily News, and other national publications. Charlie joins me for fun, insightful chat about the election, the crazy Trump cabinet nominations, what Democrats need to do going forward, 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

Modi Rosenfeld was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and at 7 emigrated with his family to the United States and was raised on Long Island. After graduating from Boston University, he worked as an investment banker until he fell in love with stand-up comedy during his first open-mic performance. He’s a regular at the New York and Los Angeles comedy clubs and headlines around the country and across the globe. He’s currently performing in the US and abroad in his 'Pause For Laughter' tour. His debut special, "Know Your Audience", is available on YouTube. Modi's back in The Back Room discussing the tour, life on the road, his upcoming shows Dec 17-19 at NYC's Beacon Theater 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

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever. Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Gil Kenan & Reitman and told in real time, SATURDAY NIGHT is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Actor Dylan O'Brien is one of the film's stars, portraying the legendary cast member Dan Aykroyd. He joins me for an insightful, entertaining chat about the film, the casting process, his approach to the performance, and his upcoming projects. 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

Since 2015 Jonathan A. Greenblatt has served as the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, more commonly knows as the ADL…and is its sixth National Director. He leads all aspects of the world’s leading anti-hate organization…whose mission since its founding in 1913 is to fight the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. In 2022, Jonathan released It Could Happen Here, a book that sounds an alarm, warning that hate and systemic violence is gathering momentum in the United States – and that violence on a more catastrophic scale could be just around the corner. Jonathan's back in The Back Room discussing the heightened concerns over the precipitous rise in antisemitism in America and abroad. 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

Rachel Bitecofer is a political scientist and election forecaster turned political strategist. Bitecofer’s interviews and analysis have been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, Politico, The New Republic, Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, MSNBC, and many other prominent news sources. She worked with Democratic Party candidates and organizations to implement negative partisanship strategy in the 2022 midterms. Her latest book is Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy By Beating Republicans At Their Own Game. Rachel's back in THE BACK ROOM with a hard dose of reality about what went wrong with the election and the radical shifts in thinking and strategy Democrats must embrace if they're ever going to win critical national and statewide elections again. It's a wake-up call for the party you don't wanna miss! 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