The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Congressman James Walkinshaw represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. He serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, focusing on protecting the nonpartisan civil service, supporting fair pay for federal employees, and holding the Administration accountable. He also serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and both its Subcommittees on Homeland Border Security & Enforcement… and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Protection. The Congressman joins me for an insightful conversation about the latest developments in the Epstein scandal; embattled HHS Secretary Kristi Noem's controversies; Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump's MAGA problems; Rob Reiner; 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

Jessica Dimmock is an award-winning director with 2 Emmy nominations, 1 Emmy award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Cinema Eye Honors and IDA nominations. She directed documentary series and films Flint Town, Captive Audience, The Texas Killing Fields, The Weekly, and Home… and the feature documentary The Pearl. And she’s with us today to discuss her new documentary THOUGHTS & PRAYERS: HOW TO SURVIVE AN ACTIVE SHOOTER IN AMERICA, which can be seen on HBO MAX Jessica and I discuss her terrific new film, co-directed with her husband Zackary Canepari, which focuses on the gun-violence epidemic in America and how it's led to lockdown and active-shooter drills in schools; whether these realistic and terrifying drills cause more harm than good with our children; and the $3-billion preparedness products industry. 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

Margaret Donovan is a Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and an attorney with Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC. She is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. She also served six years in the United States Army and was a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps…more commonly knows as JAGS. Margaret walks us through the critical role of JAGS and shares her thoughts on the administration's controversial drug-boat bombings and Venezuelan war threats, embattled Sec Def Pete Hegseth, and the overall crisis at the Pentagon under his leadership. 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

Jim Acosta hosts The Jim Acosta Show” on Substack, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. He is an award-winning broadcast journalist, with 25 years of experience in network television news, at CNN and CBS News. Perhaps best-known for his time as the Chief White House Correspondent for CNN, he has covered six straight presidential elections at the network level. He’s also as an anchor and reporter covering some of the biggest news stories of the last 30 years, including Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War and the aftermath of 9/11. In 2019, Jim’s New York Times bestselling book, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America” was published. That same year his work was recognized by the New York Press Club with its “Truth to Power” Award. Jim's back with us to discuss Trump, Hegseth, Epstein and so much 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

Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and Leonardo da Vinci. Future film projects include Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. And we’re thrilled to have Ken with us to discuss his latest masterpiece, The American Revolution. 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

Adelita Grijalva is a lifelong public servant and advocate from Tucson, Arizona, with a career dedicated to equity, education, and community empowerment. She has served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors, where she became the first Latina Chair and championed affordable housing, early childhood education, and environmental protection. In 2025, Adelita made history as the first Chicana elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, and was forced to wait nearly two months to be sworn in by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Congresswoman discusses her delayed swearing-in, being pepper-sprayed last Friday by ICE, Trump's economic and healthcare crises, the Epstein and Hegseth scandals, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the flailing Republican Party. 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

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. Has Donald Trump been weakened by recent elections, scandals, and his own chaos and incompetence? Is he less of a threat to democracy today than he was in January? What might he do next as his approval continues to plummet and his desperation increases? How effective has the resistance movement been? And how concerned should we be about Pete Hegseth and Trump's grip on the military? Ruth shares her thoughts on these 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

James E. Clyburn represents South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he previously served as Majority Whip. A more than 30-year Congressional veteran, he has been an influential and effective legislative leader and an unwavering voice for civil rights. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, during the Jim Crow era, he has been awarded the NAACP’s highest honor – the Spingarn Medal, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation’s Liberty and Justice for All Award, the Harry S. Truman Foundation’s Good Neighbor Award, and holds honorary degrees from 40 colleges and universities. In 2024, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. And he’s here to discuss his terrific new book The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation. The Congressman discusses his terrific new book as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's SIgnalGate and 'Double-Tap' Scandals. 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

Pam Hemphill is a 72-year-old former Trump supporter known as the “MAGA Granny”. She was imprisoned over her role on January 6th, refused a pardon, and has spent the last several years working to debunk the stolen 2020 election Big Lie and the lies about the Capitol riot. She is a cancer survivor, a retired Substance Abuse Counselor, and a recovering alcoholic, 46 years sober. So is Donald Trump personally involved in the Epstein conspiracy and cover up? Is the MAGA fever breaking? Why has Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned? Pam shares her thoughts on these 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

Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic, an American magazine founded in 1857, which earned the top honor for magazines, General Excellence, at the National Magazine Awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Before joining The Atlantic, he was the editor in chief of Wired and an editor at The New Yorker. He has long been a competitive runner; in 2021, he set the American record for men 45+ in the 50K race. In 2025, he became the top-ranked runner in the world in his age group for the 50-mile run. His new book is “The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports”. Nick joins me for a truly enjoyable, insightful chat about his terrific new book and the many invaluable life lessons it offers. 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