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