Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). 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, he 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 ...
Nov 13, 20230•Ep. 133
Gershon Baskin is an Israeli writer, columnist, author and one of the most recognizable names in the Middle East Peace process. His dedication to creating a culture of peace and environmental awareness, coupled with his impeccable integrity, has earned him the trust of the leaders of all sides of the century old conflict. He is the Director of the Holy Land Bond, a new fund aimed at investing in housing projects for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, integrated housing projects for Jewish and Pales...
Nov 11, 20230•Ep. 132
Alexandra Pelosi has written, produced, filmed and directed 15 HBO Documentary Films. She started off her career at NBC News where she served for a decade as a field producer. Covering the campaign of future-President George W. Bush led to her first documentary, Journeys with George. Since then, she has been making films that take the temperature of the American political landscape. She is also the author of two books, Sneaking Into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaign...
Nov 09, 20230•Ep. 131
Dr. Sheila Nazarian is an Iranian-American board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills and the star of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Skin Decision. She is also a mom, wife, humanitarian and activist. Join us for this important discussion about the Israel-Hamas war, the rise in rabid anti-Semitism, and what lies ahead for Israel, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Gaza and the overall struggle for peace in the region. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a messa...
Nov 07, 20230•Ep. 130
Daniel Byman is a professor and Vice Dean at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the director of the Security Studies Program there and a Senior Fellow with the Transnational Threats Project at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He’s also a part-time Senior Advisor to the Department of State as part of the International Security Advisory Board and a senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, as well as a Professional Sta...
Nov 04, 20230•Ep. 129
Antonio Delgado is Lt. Governor of the State of New York, appointed in May of 2022 and then elected for a full term in November ’22. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving NY’s 19th Congressional District. He played basketball at Colgate, is a Rhodes Scholar, and a graduate of Harvard Law School. He spent 5 years pursuing a career as a hip-hop artist in LA, and then went on to work as an attorney focusing on complex litigation with pro-bono work in criminal justice re...
Oct 31, 20230•Ep. 128
It's a two-fer in The Back Room! Join us for two incredibly important, insightful conversations about the Maine mass-shooting and America's gun-violence epidemic; the Israeli-Hamas War and the growing tensions here and abroad; the chilling rise in anti-Semitism; the Republican House chaos and Speaker debacle; Donald Trump's legal troubles and the on-going threat to democracy of Trumpism; and more. Rep. Goldman serves New York’s 10th Congressional District. In 2019, he served as lead counsel for ...
Oct 28, 20230•Ep. 127
May Pang is the subject of the just-released documentary THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY, in which she recounts her legendary 18-month romantic relationship in ’73/’74 with John Lennon which began at 22 when she was John and Yoko Ono’s personal assistant—an affair orchestrated by Yoko herself. She is also a photographer, author and jewelry designer. Her intimate portraits of John during their time together include rare images of the former Beatle and music legend and his son Julian. In addition t...
Oct 24, 20230•Ep. 126
David Jolly is an attorney, political consultant, NBC/MSNBC political analyst and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 2014 – 2017. His work has been published in the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, Roll Call, CNN.com, NBCNews.com, NewsMax, the Washington Times, and the Tampa Bay Times. After leaving Congress he became a prominent critic of former President Trump and in 2018 announced he’d left the Republican Party. David helps unpack the Israeli/Pales...
Oct 22, 20230•Ep. 125
Tara Setmayer is a former CNN political commentator, contributor to ABC News and former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She's frequently guest-hosted ABC's The View and appears regularly on MSNBC. She’s also a Senior Advisor for the Lincoln Project and co-hosts the streaming show "The Breakdown" alongside Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson. After spending 27 years with the Republican Party, Tara publicly left the GOP in November 2020 after Donald Trump refused to concede the ele...
Oct 18, 20230•Ep. 124
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. Elected as a freshman last Fall, her district 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. Congresswoman Crockett is a Back Room favorite, and she's back with us again to discuss the barbaric Hamas attack on Israel and the war tha...
Oct 16, 20230•Ep. 123
Sarah Tuttle-singer is a writer, author of the book Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered, and works for The Times of Israel. She was born and raised in Venice beach and has lived in Israel for the past 13 years. She now lives in Jerusalem with her kids where she writes stories about people, climbs roofs, and explores the roads not taken…and loves talking with strangers. Sarah is a friend of mine. A mother of two teenagers and a toddler. And she shares her personal story of what it's like living in this...
Oct 14, 20230•Ep. 122
David Hogg is a leader in the fight to end gun violence. He is co-founder of the Leaders We Deserve PAC, a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and State Legislatures nationwide. He is also co-founder of March for Our Lives, an organization that’s helped lead one of the largest youth movements in America. David rose to prominence during the 2018 gun violence protests as a student survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL...
Oct 12, 20230•Ep. 121
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. It's always uniquely insightful and entertaining when Rick joins the conversation with his razor-sharp wit and wisdom! In this episode he shares his thoughts on Donald Trump's NY State civi...
Oct 10, 20230•Ep. 120
Elie Honig is an attorney and CNN senior legal analyst and the bestselling author of Hatchet Man and the recently released 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 is our first member of The Back Room "Five-Timers" club! And he's back to help unpack Donald Trump's New York State civil fraud trial and his myriad legal troubles going forward...
Oct 07, 20230•Ep. 119
Guy Nattiv is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker originally from Israel. His first American short film, SKIN, won the 2019 Academy Award© for Best Live Action Short, and the feature version, also titled SKIN, was released in 2019. His recent film, GOLDA, stars Academy Award©-winning actress Helen Mirren as the first female Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir. His next feature TATAMI, premiered at the Venice Int Film Festival in September 2023 to much acclaim. He co-directed the film with Irania...
Oct 03, 20230•Ep. 118
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 gives a fascinating window into Donald Trump's current state of mind as he battl...
Sep 30, 20230•Ep. 117
Victor Shi is a Gen Z speaker, writer, and organizer. He currently hosts the daily show "On the Move with Victor Shi" and co-hosts "iGen Politics" with Jill Wine-Banks. He also serves as Strategy Director for Voters of Tomorrow, is a writer for Resolute Square, and is a rising senior at UCLA. Previously, Victor was elected as the youngest delegate for Joe Biden, organized on presidential, state, and local campaigns, and interned at the DNC and the White House. Victor has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, ...
Sep 26, 20230•Ep. 116
Al Franken is a former U.S. Senator, podcaster, comedian, and one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live. During his fifteen seasons with SNL, Franken won five Emmy’s for writing and producing. He’s also the author of four #1 New York Times bestsellers, including Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations; Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them – A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right; and Al Franken, Giant of the Senate. The Al Franken Podcast is one of the nation’s top-ten...
Sep 24, 20230•Ep. 115
Peter Frampton is one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. In 2007, he won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album for Fingerprints and in 2014 was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. His album All Blues was #1 for fifteen weeks on Billboard’s Blues Chart. In 2020 Frampton was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, his autobiography Do You Feel Like I Do?: A Memoir debuted on The New York Times Bestsellers list, and his 2021 album Frampton Forgets The Words was r...
Sep 21, 20230•Ep. 114
Ted Hope has been a producer on over 70 films, CEO of a start-up streamer, co-head of 3 production companies, executive director of a film society and festival, and the former co-head of movies at Amazon Studios, leading the company to 19 Oscar nominations and 5 wins. As a producer, his films have received 25 Oscar nominations, with 6 wins. He is the author of the memoir Hope For Film and writes a Substack newsletter of the same name. Ted helped launch the feature film careers of Ang Lee, Nicole...
Sep 19, 20230•Ep. 113
Zerlina Maxwell is the Senior Director of Progressive Programming for SiriusXM. She is the host of “Mornings w/ Zerlina.” on SiriusXM Channel 127 and hosted “Zerlina.” on MSNBC on PeacockTV for 2 seasons. She’s the author of the book The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide. She was an MSNBC Political Analyst for a decade. She’s worked on both Barack Obama’s 2008 and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaigns. She’s also a keynote speaker and writer and has written for numero...
Sep 16, 20230•Ep. 112
Yareliz Mendez-Zamora currently serves as the Federal Campaign Lead at the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC)…and is earning her Master’s degree at the University of Miami in Community and Social Change. Born and raised in Miami, she grew up listening to her Nicaraguan family’s immigration stories and constantly draws inspiration from them. At the University of Florida, where she earned her bachelor’s in English and history and minored in Latin American Studies, she was a coordinator of the Lati...
Sep 12, 20230•Ep. 111
Kara Swisher is host of On with Kara Swisher and co-host of the Pivot podcast. She’s also editor-at-large of New York Magazine…and the former host of the Sway and Recode Decode podcasts and the co-founder of the technology website, Recode. Kara has been reporting on the industry since the early 1990s. Once called “Silicon Valley's most feared but revered journalist," she’s established herself as the oracle of the tech world with unrivaled access to the industry's most significant leaders. Her ne...
Sep 09, 20230•Ep. 110
Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships; an advisor to Protect Democracy; an MSNBC opinion columnist and television commentator; and publishes Lucid, a newsletter on threats to democracy. Her latest book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence, and machismo --and how they can be defeated. Ruth ...
Sep 05, 20230•Ep. 109
Who the hell is better than the inimitable George Hahn?! This actor, writer, podcaster, MSNBC commentator, social media sensation and quintessential bon vivant Manhattan man about town brings his savory snark into The Back Room for a truly fun chat about his Cleveland childhood, work and life in NYC, his nostalgic love of glamour, his big 2020 viral break, his utter disdain for Donald Trump and his MAGA cultists, his epic man-on-the-street rants, and his recent colonoscopy. Plus, a revealing lig...
Sep 03, 20230•Ep. 108
Steven Hassan is an author and mental health professional is considered one of the world's foremost experts on mind control and cults. He is the founder of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center which provides training, consulting and support to individuals who are struggling to leave or recover from a cult and to families and organizations that are concerned about cult behaviors. He has been working in the field of relationship, group, and political cults for over 40 years. His latest book is call...
Aug 29, 20230•Ep. 107
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. She is host of The Mary Trump Show podcast and is well-known as the niece and outspoken critic of former president Donald Trump. It's always a real-eye-opener when Mary's in The Back Room! Join us for this fun, insightful chat about her 4-time indicted uncle and what may lie ...
Aug 27, 20230•Ep. 106
Chrissy Carroll is one of the people I affectionately refer to as my "tragedy buddy". One of the awesome folks I've met and befriended along the way who share with me the loss of a loved one due to a sudden, tragic death such as murder. On a beautiful Summer night in August of 2017, Chrissy and her husband George--both actors and playwrights--were walking along a Brooklyn Street near their home when horror struck. They encountered a group of menacing men loitering outside an apartment building, ...
Aug 22, 20230•Ep. 105
Anthony DiMaria is an actor, director and producer. His New York theatre affiliations include Circle Rep Lab, Actors Studio and The Barrow Group. His film and TV credits include Woody Allen's Cafe Society, Ray Donovan, Deadwood, CSI and The Sopranos. In 2020 he directed and produced the documentary JAY SEBRING....CUTTING TO THE TRUTH, about his uncle who was murdered along with actress Sharon Tate and three others in the notorious Manson Family murders of August 8, 1969. He is currently writing ...
Aug 19, 20230•Ep. 104
