Michael Cohen is the former personal attorney for Donald Trump and served for years as an executive in the Trump Organization. He is host of the Mea Culpa With Michael Cohen podcast and co-host of Political Beatdown with Michael Cohen and Ben Meiselas podcast. He’s a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His latest book is “Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics. He’s also Principal of crisis management firm Crisis-X. Michael's back in The Ba...
Jun 29, 2024•47 min•Ep. 223
Judy Gold is a film, television and theater actor and writer and comedian. Her stand-up specials have appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, and LOGO, and she’s appeared on Netflix's Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She’s the host of the podcast It’s Judy’s Show with Judy Gold; and is featured in the new Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, which explores the history of LGBTQ+ standup comedy. Her recent film credits include She Came To Me, Tripped Up, and Love Reconsidered. And her T...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 222
Peter Strzok served in the FBI from 1996 to 2018, rising to the deputy of its Counterintelligence Division. During his career, he worked around the world against national security threats from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and others, including countering state-sponsored disinformation, prosecuting acts of economic espionage and theft of intellectual property, and combatting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Prior to the FBI, he spent four years on active duty in the US Army’s 101st ...
Jun 24, 2024•30 min•Ep. 221
Michael Steele is the co-host of MSNBC’s ‘The Weekend’ and host of ‘The Michael Steele Podcast.’ Prior to joining MSNBC 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 book...
Jun 22, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 220
Ryan Hamilton is a husband, father, acclaimed singer/songwriter-turned-radio host, and unexpected women’s rights activist who’s been speaking out after he and his wife Jess experienced a nightmarish miscarriage-related situation at a Texas hospital back in May. Please join us for this incredibly moving (and infuriating) conversation as Ryan emotionally recounts their harrowing ordeal in riveting detail. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Tw...
Jun 19, 2024•42 min•Ep. 219
LaDoris Hazzard Cordell was the first lawyer to open a law practice in East Palo Alto, CA, a low-income community of color. In 1978, she was appointed Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Stanford Law School, where she implemented a successful minority admissions program. In 1982, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the Municipal Court of Santa Clara County making her the first African American woman judge in northern California. In1988, Judge Cordell won election to the Superior Court of San...
Jun 18, 2024•58 min•Ep. 218
Mark McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, columnist, and television producer. He was the creator and co-host of Showtime's Emmy-nominated hit documentary series "The Circus”. He’s worked for many causes, companies, and candidates, including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards, and Bono. He was the chief media advisor for five winning presidential primary and general election campaigns. Dedicated to bipartisanship, McKinnon helped start No Labels...
Jun 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 217
Jordan Matthew Horowitz is an Emmy-winning writer/director of both documentary and narrative film. His recent documentary, JACK AND SAM, about Holocaust survivors Jack Waksal and Sam Ron, was executive produced by Julianna Margulies and Sarah Silverman, and was shortlisted for a prestigious IDA Award. His other films include the documentary ANGEL OF NANJING and the narrative feature film PAINLESS. He is currently in development on a feature narrative of JACK AND SAM. Jordan joins me for a truly ...
Jun 13, 2024•44 min•Ep. 216
Frank Bruni has been a prominent journalist for more than three decades, including more than twenty-five years at The New York Times, in roles as diverse as op-ed columnist, White House correspondent, Rome bureau chief, and chief restaurant critic. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers. In July 2021, he became a full professor at Duke University, teaching in the school of public policy. He currently writes his popular weekly newsletter for the Times and produces additional essays a...
Jun 10, 2024•29 min•Ep. 215
Maggie Haberman is a journalist who joined The New York Times in 2015 and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on the investigations into Donald Trump’s, and his advisers’, connections to Russia. She has twice been a member of a team that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, in 2021 for reporting on the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus, and in 2022 for coverage related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol. Before joining The New York Times as a ...
Jun 08, 2024•53 min•Ep. 214
Ferne Pearlstein is a director, cinematographer, and editor based in New York City. Her most recent film is “XCLD: THE STORY OF CANCEL CULTURE,” a nuanced look at this controversial topic, produced by Trevor Noah and Time Studios for MSNBC’s Turning Point series. As a director and producer, with husband and producing partner Robert Edwards, she has had four features premiere at Tribeca, including SUMO EAST AND WEST and the narratives LAND OF THE BLIND starring Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland...
Jun 06, 20240•Ep. 213
S.E. Cupp is a CNN political commentator and most recently host of CNN's S.E. Cupp Unfiltered. Before joining CNN she co-hosted MSNBC's The Cycle. She's a nationally syndicated political columnist, culture critic, author and consultant who regularly writes for the New York Daily News, Glamour and CNN.com. She was previously a consultant for Apple TV+'s The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell and HBO's hit series, The Newsroom. Her new syndicated show, Batt...
Jun 03, 20240•Ep. 212
Jennifer Rodgers is a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at the NYU School of Law, and a Legal Analyst for CNN. She teaches, writes, and speaks about government ethics, public corruption, sports corruption, and criminal law issues. Between 2000-2013, Jennifer worked at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she served in numerous capacities, including as a Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney, the Chief of the Organiz...
Jun 01, 20240•Ep. 211
Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of global investment firm SkyBridge and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. He’s also an author, hosts the OPEN BOOK podcast, and is best known for the 11 roller-coaster days he served in the Trump White House as Communications Director. Join us as Mooch discusses his new book From Wall Street to the White House and Back; the presidential campaign and Trump's 'veepstakes'; the Novem...
May 30, 20240•Ep. 210
The inimitable Rick Wilson's back in The Back Room! Rick's a renowned political strategist, infamous ad-maker, writer, speaker, political commentator, co-founder of the political action committee The Lincoln Project, co-founder of media company Resolute Square and a two-time New York Times bestselling author. Rick is on fire! Join us as he riffs on Trump, his sons "Uday and Qusay", 'his GOP sycophants, and 'veepstakes'; 'Nikki Haley; the November election; the NY trial; and more! Got somethin' t...
May 29, 20240•Ep. 209
Jasmine Crockett is an attorney, former member of the Texas House of Representatives and currently serves as the US Representative for Texas’s 30th Congressional District, which covers much of the city of Dallas and parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties. She is a member of the House Oversight and Agriculture Committees. Rep. Crockett is back in THE BACK ROOM discussing her epic "Bleach-Blonde Bad-Built Butch-Body" clapback of Marjorie Taylor Greene (and does she think Greene's a racist?); her vir...
May 25, 20240•Ep. 208
Donna Pescow is a film, television and theater actor, director and producer with a career spanning five decades . She was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, graduated from New York's prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Shortly after graduation she was cast as Annette in the iconic film SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977), and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle. She followed that up with her starring role in the sitcom Angie (1979), for which she receive...
May 23, 20240•Ep. 207
Eugene Vindman is an immigrant, a husband, a father of two, a human rights lawyer, and a former Colonel in the U.S. Army. He and his twin brother Alex were born in the Soviet Ukraine. Following the death of their mother, the family immigrated to America as refugees with $759 to their name. In 2019, after serving 22 years in the Army, he served on the National Security Council as the senior ethics attorney when he blew the whistle on the infamous phone call in which President Trump attempted to e...
May 20, 20240•Ep. 206
Elie Honig is an attorney and CNN senior legal analyst and the bestselling author of Hatchet Man and Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It. He’s a former assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. He also hosts podcasts and writes for CAFE and Vox Media. Elie's back in The Back Room, this time helping unpack the latest from Donald Trump's New York election-interference ("hush-money") trial. As always, it's a fun, insightful chat. Got somethin' to say?! Em...
May 18, 20240•Ep. 205
Liora Rez is the Founder and Executive Director of Stop Antisemitism, a national watchdog organization working to expose the hate, threats, and outright violence Jews in America are facing each day. Liora herself is a political refugee, who fled the Soviet Union with her family as a young girl due to escalating antisemitism. Join us for this important conversation about the huge rise in antisemitism and antisemitic hate crimes in America in the wake of the October 7th massacre in Israel by Hamas...
May 13, 20240•Ep. 204
Democrat Elissa Slotkin represents Michigan’s 7th Congressional District and serves on the Armed Services and Agriculture Committees. Following grad school after the September 11 attacks, she was recruited by the CIA to be a Middle East analyst, and within a year she was sent on the first of three tours in Iraq alongside the U.S. military. She’s held national security roles in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. For President Obama she helped negotiate some of the Pentagon’s mos...
May 11, 20240•Ep. 203
Stephanie Grisham is the New York Times bestselling author of “I’ll Take Your Questions Now, What I Saw in the Trump White House.” During the Trump Administration she served as White House press secretary and director of communications for both the President and First Lady, Melania Trump. She is the only person in history who has held three senior roles at once, while representing both the east and west wings. Steph's back in THE BACK ROOM to help unpack the first two weeks of Donald Trump's New...
May 08, 20240•Ep. 202
Gershon Baskin is an Israeli writer, columnist, author and one of the most recognizable names in the Middle East Peace process. He is the Middle East Director of ICO…International Communities Organization and is the Director of the Holy Land Bond. Ad he is the co-founder and former co-director of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. During the Premiership of the late Yitzhak Rabin, he served as a special advisor on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to a secret team of in...
May 06, 20240•Ep. 201
Susan B. Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she writes a weekly column on life in Washington. She’s served as the top editor of several Washington publications, including Politico, where she founded the award-winning Politico Magazine, and Foreign Policy, which won three National Magazine Awards, among other honors, during her tenure as editor in chief. Before that, she worked for a decade at the Washington Post, where she was the editor of Outlook and national news. She also ove...
May 04, 20240•Ep. 200
Eric J. Segall is a constitutional law scholar, professor, and author of the books Originalism as Faith, and Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court and its Justices are not Judges. His articles on constitutional law have appeared in, among others, the Harvard Law Review Forum, the Stanford Law Review On Line, the UCLA Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, the Washington University Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, the Northwestern Univ...
May 02, 20240•Ep. 199
It was a dizzying week in court for Donald Trump, from the Supreme Court's hearing on immunity to the New York election-interference ("hush-money") trial. Criminal defense attorney and MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos makes his first appearance in THE BACK ROOM to help unpack it all 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 Desi...
Apr 29, 20240•Ep. 198
Mary L Trump is a trained Clinical Psychologist with a PhD from The Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies. She’s the author of two New York Times best-selling books… Too Much and Never Enough and The Reckoning. her next BOOK, Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir, will be published in September. She publishes The Good In Us newsletter on Substack, and is well-known as the niece and outspoken critic of former president Donald Trump. Join us as Mary helps unpack the week's dizzying...
Apr 27, 20240•Ep. 197
If you're a 21st Century parent you likely know what KIDZ BOP is! My close pal of 30 years Cliff Chenfeld co-founded this wildly popular and successful music franchise, and he joined me in THE BACK ROOM for a fun, intimate chat about his illustrious career and the ever-changing music business. Cliff's an NYU law school graduate, music entrepreneur, writer, radio host, and film producer. He co-founded and was co-CEO of Razor & Tie, an independent music company that included a label, a music p...
Apr 25, 20240•Ep. 196
Yes, it's true! At 13 Jonathan worked as a camera operator at a television station on Nantucket for its 5:30pm newscast and then was promoted 2 years later to news director. After college he worked as a cameraman for film and tv. His film credits include Spike Lee's “Do the Right Thing” and “Mo' Better Blues,” “Mountain View” for John Sayles, “A Better Tomorrow” for John Woo, and “Dazed and Confused” for Richard Linklater. He later produced independent films, television, and theater, including t...
Apr 23, 20240•Ep. 195
Tonya Mosley is an Emmy award-winning journalist and co-host of Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley. She is also the founder of TMI Productions, an audio documentary production company that produces the award-winning podcast Truth Be Told and the documentary She Has A Name in collaboration with American Public Media. Previously, Tonya was a television correspondent for various news outlets, including NBC and Al Jazeera America. She also served as the LA-based co-host of Here & Now, a...
Apr 20, 20240•Ep. 194
