Rosanna Arquette is an award-winning actor, film director, producer and activist. Her film credits include SOB, THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, AFTER HOURS, PULP FICTION, CRASH, NOWHERE TO RUN, NEW YORK STORIES and THE BILLIONAIRE BOY’S CLUB. She’s done a ton of television over the years, including WHAT ABOUT BRIAN, THE L WORD, RAY DONOVAN and most recently the terrific PRESUMED INNOCENT, which is streaming on APPLE TV. I've known Ro for almost 20 years now, and so it was a re...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 313
Congressman Pat Ryan represents Upstate New York's 18th Congressional District. He's a West Point graduate, former Army Captain, and Ulster County Executive. He served two tours in Iraq where he led soldiers of all backgrounds in combat and earned two Bronze Stars. Join us for this important chat about the current political landscape under Trump 2.0 and what Democrats can and should do going forward to win the 2026 midterms and the next presidential election in 2028. Got somethin' to say?! Email...
Jan 28, 2025•25 min•Ep. 312
Ron Filipkowski is a former US Marine, State prosecutor, federal prosecutor, police academy director, lifelong Republican, Republican Club President, and was appointed by Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis to the Judicial nominating committee. Ron was a Republican Against Trump in 2020 and switched parties Jan 7, 2021. He left private-practice a year ago to become Editor in Chief of Meidas Touch. And he is co-host of the podcast Uncovered ,which focuses on covering the MAGA movement. Ron's a smart, fun...
Jan 25, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 311
R.J. Cutler is an award-winning director and producer who has been making documentary film and television series for over thirty years. Cutler’s work has been nominated for an Academy Award, and he is the recipient of numerous other awards including three Emmys, two Peabody Awards, and a GLAAD Award. In 2009, the Museum of Television and Radio held a four-day retrospective of R.J.’s work. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Critic’s Choice Awards Pennebaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Doc...
Jan 23, 2025•54 min•Ep. 310
Christopher Cox is a Senior Scholar in Residence at the University of California, Irvine, a Life Trustee of the University of Southern California, Chair of the Rhodes Scholarship selection committee for Southern California and the Pacific, and a member of several nonprofit and for-profit boards. Between two decades as a practicing lawyer, he served as chair of the Homeland Security Committee in the US House of Representatives, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and senior associ...
Jan 18, 2025•55 min•Ep. 309
Juanita Tolliver is an MSNBC Political Analyst, an Opinion Contributor for theGrio, and a Contributor for SiriusXM Progress. Previously, she served as the Director of Campaigns at the Center for American Progress. She is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her new book, A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics, is on sale January 14th. Join us as Juanita take...
Jan 15, 2025•39 min•Ep. 308
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. He 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 books. T...
Jan 13, 2025•33 min•Ep. 307
Jill Wine-Banks is an attorney, author, speaker, MSNBC Legal Analyst, and co-host of the award-winning #SistersinLaw podcast. She also hosts the YouTube show, Just The Facts. Her 2020 memoir is The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against A Criminal President, about her life and work as a Watergate prosecutor, and a film adaptation of the book is in discussion. Jill is a frequent op-ed contributor to various publications including the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and Polit...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 306
Andrew McCarthy is an award-winning travel writer, television director, and actor. He’s appeared in over two dozen films including such iconic 80s movies as PRETTY IN PINK and ST. ELMO’S FIRE. His recent documentary, BRATS, debuted at #1 on Hulu. He’s directed nearly 100 hours of television, including Orange Is the New Black and The Blacklist. Andrew’s also been named Travel Journalist of the Year by the Society of American Travel Writers, and for a dozen years served as an editor-at-large at Na...
Jan 08, 2025•53 min•Ep. 305
Helen Ouyang is an emergency physician, associate professor at Columbia University, and contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. She is also a fellow at the Type Media Center. She has written for The Atlantic, Harper’s, Los Angeles Times, New York, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Her writing has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and funded by The Pulitzer Center. Join us ...
Jan 04, 2025•41 min•Ep. 304
Dawn Porter has emerged in the entertainment industry as a leader in the art of storytelling; directing and producing critically acclaimed films and series. A two-time Sundance film festival director, her work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, ESPN, Discovery, National Geographic and others. Dawn’s films include GIDEON’S ARMY, THE LADY BIRD DIARIES, THE WAY I SEE IT, SUPREME, BOBBY KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT and JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE. Her latest film is LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH, ab...
Dec 31, 2024•19 min•Ep. 303
Christine C. Quinn is the President and CEO of Win, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for families experiencing homelessness in New York City and the nation. Win has also been at the forefront of the city's response to the ongoing migrant and homelessness crisis. She was also the first female and openly gay Speaker of the NYC Council, ran for NYC mayor in 2013, and is a political contributor on CNN and MSNBC. Chris joins me in The Back Room for a conversation about homelessn...
Dec 28, 2024•32 min•Ep. 302
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...
Dec 24, 2024•43 min•Ep. 301
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. Foll...
Dec 21, 2024•58 min•Ep. 300
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 pro...
Dec 18, 2024•39 min•Ep. 299
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 electio...
Dec 14, 2024•57 min•Ep. 298
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 i...
Dec 11, 2024•53 min•Ep. 297
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 cri...
Dec 09, 2024•47 min•Ep. 296
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 ...
Dec 07, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 295
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 speci...
Dec 05, 2024•21 min•Ep. 294
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, enterta...
Dec 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 293
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 ...
Dec 01, 2024•32 min•Ep. 292
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 ...
Nov 29, 2024•36 min•Ep. 291
Pete Dominick is a podcaster, stand-up comic, speaker, news commentator, host, journo activist, moderator and professional speaking consultant. For almost 12 years, Pete was the host of a daily three-hour live radio show on SIRIUSXM, “Stand Up with Pete Dominick”. After that he started his independent daily podcast. He began his career as a stand-up comic and was selected as the warmup comic, first for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, and then The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, where he worked...
Nov 27, 2024•52 min•Ep. 290
Donald Trump, Trump, Kamala Harris, Harris, GOP, Republican Party, Democrats, election, Elon Musk, politics, cabinet, RFK Jr., US Constitution, rule of law, recess appointments, separation of powers, advise and consent, congress, US Senate, midterm election, The Daily Beast, Ben Sherman, Jeff Bezos, The Washington Post, media, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, Morning Joe, Fox News, Stormy Daniels, Barry Diller, journalism, John Oliver, Linda McMahon, Pam Bondi, Bill Clinton, CNN, MAGA, Joe Bide...
Nov 25, 2024•43 min•Ep. 289
Elie Honig is an attorney and CNN senior legal analyst and the bestselling author of Hatchet Man and last year's 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, writes for CAFE, Vox Media and writes a weekly column for New York Magazine. Elie's back in The Back Room with an update on the status of Donald Trump's legal cases, his Attorney General nominations, and what lies ahead for th...
Nov 23, 2024•50 min•Ep. 288
Ashley Allison is a media entrepreneur, creator, advocate, organizer and thought leader, who seamlessly bridges the gap between culture and politics. She is the Founder and CEO of Watering Hole Media, a social impact media company. Ashley is also a political commentator for CNN. She previously served as a senior advisor in the Obama-Biden White House. As the National Coalitions Director for the Biden-Harris 2020 presidential campaign, she led nearly 500 staff to activate the most robust coalitio...
Nov 20, 2024•29 min•Ep. 287
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...
Nov 18, 2024•31 min•Ep. 286
The inimitable Rick Wilson is a renowned political strategist, infamous ad-maker, writer, speaker, political commentator, podcaster, co-founder of the political action committee The Lincoln Project and media company Resolute Square, and a two-time New York Times best-selling author. Join Rick and I for a frank discussion about the recent devastating election, Trump's crazy cabinet nominations, and the dark, challenging road ahead. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave u...
Nov 17, 2024•57 min•Ep. 285
Jamal Simmons is a political commentator on CNN and co-host of the new podcast Trailblaze. He’s previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Communications Director to Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. Before that he was a political contributor for CBS News and NPR and hosted digital interviews for HillTV. He is a veteran of the Clinton Administration, Congress and several political campaigns. He’s also been a communications consultant, digital entrepreneur, appeared...
Nov 15, 2024•30 min•Ep. 284
