The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Aziz Huq is the Frank and Bernice J. Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and associate professor of sociology. His books include How to Save a Constitutional Democracy, The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies, and The Rule of Law: A Very Short Introduction. His scholarship is published in leading law, social science, political science, and criminology journals. He also writes for Politico, the London Review of Books, and many other general interest publications. Before teaching, Aziz represented civil liberties claimants with the Brennan Center for Justice, and worked for the International Crisis Group in Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. He was also a law clerk for Appeals Court Judge Robert D. Sack and the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. His latest opinion piece in Politico is titled, Will the Supreme Court Stand Up to Trump if He Sends Troops to Chicago…The military isn’t supposed to act as a national police force. Aziz joins me for an insightful conversation about the latest Supreme Court rulings over immigration and Trump's termination of FTC Commissioner. We also discuss the recent lower court rulings on National Guard deployment in LA, Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act regarding deportations, the cuts to Harvard's research funding, and the legality of his tariff policies. 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

James Sweeney is a multi-hyphenate filmmaker. He wrote, directed, produced, and co-stars in his new film TWINLESS, and which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, winning the US Dramatic Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Acting for Dylan O'Brien. Roadside Attractions will release the movie this summer. James was recently named one of Variety's 10 Directors to Watch. His debut feature, STRAIGHT UP , a screwball romantic comedy, won the Grand Jury Prize at the San Diego Asian Film Festival and was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards. Dylan O’Brien not only stars in TWINLESS, he also Executive Produced the film. He recently wrapped production on SEND HELP from director Sam Raimi, and which will be released in January. His other recent credits include the feature films PONYBOI, SATURDAY NIGHT, NOT OKAY, THE OUTFIT, and LOVE AND MONSTERS. and guest appearances on the television shows Fantasmas, The Other Two and Curb Your Enthusiasm. James and Dylan join me in THE BACK ROOM to discuss their terrific new film! 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

Ofirah Yheskel is the External Affairs Director and senior spokesperson at the Democratic Governors Association. Prior to joining the DGA in 2023, she served as the Democratic National Committee’s Deputy Communications Director. She has worked across presidential and statewide races, acting as a spokesperson for the 2020 DNC War Room, as Director of Media Relations for the successful 2020 Democratic National Convention, and as Deputy Communications director for Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign. Prior to that, she was a Senior Advisor to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and the Wisconsin Press Secretary for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Ofirah joins me for an important conversation about her organization and the critical role governors are playing in the fight against Trump's autocratic overreach. We also discuss the extremely consequential gubernatorial elections coming up this November in New Jersey and Virginia. 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

Michael Strassner is an actor, writer, and director. His credits include Young Rock, A Spy Movie, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation and more. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the award winning short film BIG BOY. He stars in the new film THE BALTIMORONS, which he co-wrote with Jay Duplass, and which opens in theaters tomorrow, September 5th. Join us for this fun chat as Michael takes us back to his childhood, shares his early acting and filmmaker inspirations, and discusses his terrific new film and his collaboration with the Duplass Brothers. 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

Ophira Eisenberg is a standup comedian, writer, and host of the award-winning comedy podcast Parenting Is a Joke. She also regularly hosts and tours with the Peabody Awarding winning radio show and podcast, The Moth Radio Hour, and podcast. She also hosted NPR’s Ask Me Another for 9 years where she interviewed and played silly games with hundreds of celebrities including Sir Patrick Stewart, Rosie Perez, Yo-Yo Ma, Roxanne Gay, Nick Kroll, Chelsea Handler, and others. She’s appeared multiple times on CBS’s The Late Late Show, Sherri! with Sherri Sheppard, Comedy Central, HBO, The New York Festival, and is regular on The Moth Radio Hour. Her stories are included in three of The Moth’s best-selling collections. Her memoir, Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy was optioned for a TV series, and her recent comedy special Plant Based Jokes is streaming on YouTube. She is a regular at The Comedy Cellar and other New York clubs, and her solo show Leaving A Mark: A Comedy About Scars made it’s Off-Broadway review to rave reviews and won the Women in the Arts & Media Award for Solo Show Scripts. She will be recording her new 1-hour comedy special at The Comedy Cellar in NY on Sunday Nov 9th, 2025 Such a fun chat with the very funny Ophira! We talk life, love, family, stand up, storytelling, growing up in Canada, living in NYC and, as two highly inquisitive Jews, we explore some of the burning questions about Brooklyn's Hatzalah ambulance service! 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

Robin Peguero is running for Congress in Florida’s 27th District. He’s a writer, lawyer, professor and former federal prosecutor and political aide. He also served as the investigative counsel on the Select Committee Investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. And he is the author of two fiction novels, With Prejudice, a legal thriller, and One in the Chamber, a political murder mystery. Robin joins me for a conversation about his campaign to flip Florida's 2th Congressional District seat. We also chat about Donald Trump's assault on democracy and the rule of law. 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

Jess Michaels is a 3x Founder, TEDx speaker, Advocate, and 1991 Jeffrey Epstein survivor who has lived with PTSD for 30+ years. She is the founder and CEO of 3Joannes Inc and the #withyoutoo Social Safety App, which guides users to "know what to do when someone says #metoo". Jess's story is both harrowing and inspiring, which she shares in riveting detail. 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

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jonathan Capehart is a co-host of the morning edition of The Weekend on MSNBC. From 2020 until 2025 he was anchor of The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show on MSNBC. He is also an analyst on The PBS News Hour. He is a former Associate Editor at the Washington Post, where he was an opinion writer for nearly two decades.He was also deputy editorial page editor of the New York Daily News and served on its editorial board. His editorial campaign in 1999 to save the Apollo Theater earned the board the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. His new memoir, “Yet Here I Am: Lessons from A Black Man’s Search for Home,”, is a NY Times bestseller. Jonathan discusses his terrific new book about his life and career, and shares why after nearly two decades he left The Washington Post this Summer. 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

Tara Setmayer and Michelle Kinney are co-founders of the bipartisan superpac The Seneca Project, Tara’s a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill and most recently served as a Senior Advisor for The Lincoln Project. She’s a political writer and commentator who’s appeared on MSNBC and other news outlets, The View, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Her writing has been featured on CNN.com, Bloomberg, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, and NBC.com. In November 2020 she left the Republican Party after Donald Trump refused to concede the election to Joe Biden. Michelle Kinney previously she served as the Creative Director at The Lincoln Project. She's also a photojournalist, previously served as Vice President of WestSide Democrats in NYC, and was publicly elected to the New York County Democratic Committee. Michelle and Tara share their thoughts on Trump first 200 +days; the awesome Newsom trolling; Texas redistricting, mail-in voting, the attack on the 19th Amendment, and the overall assault on our voting process; the "liberal media's" role in shaping the narrative; and the need for Democrats to stay positive, engaged, strong and to fight fire with fire. 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

Nicole Foy is ProPublica’s Ancil Payne Fellow, reporting on immigration and labor. Before joining ProPublica, she was an enterprise and investigative reporter across the West, focusing on immigrants, Latino communities, farmworkers and inequality. She previously worked for CalMatters, the Austin American-Statesman, the Idaho Statesman, the Idaho Press and the Orange County Register. Nicole and I discuss Trump's draconian immigration policies and whether or not there's some light at the end of the tunnel. 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