The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Lee Yaron has been a journalist with Israeli newspaper Haaretz for nearly a decade. Her investigative reporting has resulted in the founding of state-level commissions and the changing of substantial bodies of Israeli policy and law. She is an elected member-representative of the Executive Committee of the Union of Israeli Journalists. She has also written and directed acclaimed theater productions notable for their use of found materials, including official governmental texts, to bring attention to marginalized communities both in Israel and throughout the Middle East. Born in Tel Aviv, Yaron splits her time between her native city and New York. Her new book is 10/7: 100 Human Stories. Lee shares in riveting detail the impact of the horrific October 7, 2023 massacre on the diverse victims, the global community, and on her own life. 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

Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of six books, including How Propaganda Works. He serves on the board of the Prison Policy Initiative and writes frequently about propaganda, free speech, mass incarceration, democracy, and authoritarianism for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and many other periodicals. His new book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, is on sale next week. Jason and I discuss his book and the existential threat to democracy of another Trump presidency 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. Ruth's back for another insightful conversation about Trump, Trumpism and the existential threat to democracy just two weeks from the most critical, consequential election in American history. 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

Jon Michaels is a UCLA professor of law specializing in constitutional and national security law. His award-winning scholarship has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, University of Chicago Law Review, and Harvard Law Review, and he has written popular essays for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and Guardian. A Yale Law graduate and Supreme Court clerk, Jon is a member of the American Law Institute and serves on the advisory board of UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project. His latest book, co-written with David Noll, is VIGILANTE NATION: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens our Democracy. Jon and I discuss his new book and the increasing use of vigilantism by the Republican Party and red states in targeting vulnerable groups in America to influence cultural, legal and political outcomes. 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

Bill Adair is the founder of the Pulitzer Prize winning website PolitiFact and is the Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University and the director of the Duke Reporters’ Lab. His awards include the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (with the PolitiFact staff), the Manship Prize for New Media in Democratic Discourse, and the Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Coverage of Congress. His new book is BEYOND THE BIG LIE The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy. Join us for this compelling chat about the breakdown of truth, facts and reality in politics, and its existential threat to democracy. 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

Joe Walsh is a former Republican Congressman from Illinois elected to Congress in the TEA Party wave of 2010. Following his service in Congress, Walsh became one of the most popular syndicated conservative talk radio hosts in the country. In August of 2019 he ran for president, waging a Republican primary challenge against Donald Trump. He is the author of the 2020 book F*CK SILENCE: Calling Trump Out for the Cultish, Moronic, Authoritarian Con Man he Is. Joe is currently Director of The Social Contract and host of “The Social Contract With Joe Walsh" podcast. He can also be seen regularly on CNN, MSNBC and News Nation and has been written up in major publications like the NYT, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Raw Story and Newsweek. Joe's back with his inimitable wit, wisdom and flowery F-bombs talkin' Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, the presidential campaign and his predictions for the upcoming election! 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

Joanne Carducci, also known as "JoJoFromJerz", is a mom living in the Jersey suburbs who, in the wake of the 2016 election, was looking for an outlet to share her frustrations and fears about Donald Trump, so she joined Twitter (X), where she now has over 1-million followers. And she hasn’t looked back since. What once was a sounding board to vent with like-minded people, has turned into a full-time commitment to standing up for democracy & against tyranny in her signature snark and sass. And, she was even played by Dakota Johnson on SNL! You can find her on all the socials, at http://Patreon.com/JoJoFromJerz, on her Are You F’ng Kidding Podcast and over on Substack with her newsletter of the same name. It's always fun and insightful when JoJo's in The Back Room! In this episode she shares poignant details of her personal life; her recent DNC convention experience and meeting one of her idols, Mark Hamill; the VP debate; her thoughts on the presidential campaign and upcoming election; and the thrill of being featured on Saturday Night Live! 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

Don Lemon is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist, and former anchor of the long-running CNN primetime program, Don Lemon Tonight, who earlier this year launched The Don Lemon Show, which is now streaming on all platforms. Don has won a variety of distinguished awards including an Edward R. Murrow award, multiple Emmys and a Peabody award, among others. He’s also been recognized as a leading influential figure by Ebony magazine, The Advocate, Out and others. And in 2011, he broke barriers by revealing he was gay in his auto-biographical book Transparent. His 2021 book This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was inspired by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. His new book is "I Once Was Lost: My Search For God in America". Don discusses his new book and shares in a brutally honest, thought-provoking manner how faith, religion and God has played a major role in his life. We also discuss the recent VP debate, Special Counsel Jack Smith's new filing, and the upcoming election. 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

George Conway is an attorney, political activist, and legal and political commentator. He is president of the Society for the Rule of Law, the executive director of the Anti-Psychopath Political Action Committee, and a founder of the Lincoln Project. He is a host of The Bulwark’s podcast George Conway Explains It All (to Sarah Longwell), and he is a contributing writer to The Atlantic. He previously worked as a litigator for three decades at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City. In his inimitable way, George dissects the mind of Trump and his followers and the impact of it all on the campaign and what lies ahead for the November 5th election. It's a truly fascinating, in-depth ,don't miss chat! 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

Actor and writer Andy Richter is best-known for his long-running role as Conan O’Brien’s announcer and sidekick throughout multiple late-night shows. He rose to fame alongside Conan in 1993 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and reprised this role on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, which premiered in 2009. In 2010, the duo moved to TBS, where Conan ran for 11 years with Richter once again acting as announcer, writer, general sidekick and participant in comedy sketches. Richter has guest-starred in popular shows such as Arrested Development and Hulu’s Love, Victor. His feature film work includes Scary Movie 2, Elf, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. Andy’s also had a prolific voiceover career across numerous projects Mort in DreamWorks Studios’ Madagascar films, as well as in the Nickelodeon series Penguins of Madagascar. Since 2019, Richter has hosted the popular podcast The Three Questions with Andy Richter, has appeared in the film 80 for Brady and recently finished production on the upcoming film First Time Female Director. Richter is a graduate of Chicago’s Improv Olympic and Annoyance Theater, and a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles. Join us for this fun, insightful, in-depth chat about Andy's life and career. 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