The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Rep. Jason Crow represents Colorado’s 6th Congressional District and serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Armed Services Committee, on which he is the Ranking Democrat of the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee. He’s a former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient who enlisted in the National Guard and worked construction to help pay his way through college.

It's just four days from the critical midterm elections. How much will Donald Trump and Republicans attempt to interfere? How prepared are democrats to fight off whatever drama and chaos ensues? Is a blue wave coming? Who will end up in control of Congress? How aggressively should democrats pursue accountability if they win the House and Senate? The Congressman and I discuss all this and more.

But first, Andy and The Back Room crew share their own thoughts on the midterms, Trump's obsession with men's asses, and discuss the week's winners and losers!

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

George Hahn is a humorist, satirist, social media sensation, host of The Week podcast and reader of No Mercy/No Malice, both on Prof G Media, and host of The George Hahn Show podcast.

George and I unpack Donald Trump's bizarre homoerotic behavior including his choice of YMCA as his theme song, his odd 2024 comments about golfer Arnold Palmer's penis, and his recent gushing over men's asses, hands, thighs and 'beautiful' faces. We also discuss the midterms and what lies ahead. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind chat!

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Norman Ornstein is an author, political scientist and emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s a contributing editor and writer for The Atlantic, contributor to The Contrarian, and cohost of the podcast Words Matter. His many books include The New York Times bestseller, It's Even Worse Than It Looks written with Tom Mann, and the NYT and WAPO best-seller One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate and the Not-Yet-Deported with E.J. Dionne and Tom Mann.

Is Trump planing to steal the midterms? Will there be chaos before, on, and/or after Election Day? Is a blue wave coming? Will Democrats win back the House and Senate? And if so, how aggressively should a Democrat-controlled Congress pursue holding Trump and his administration accountable for violating the law? Norm addresses these questions and more.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Rob Bonta is Attorney General of the State of California. He previously spent more than eight years serving in the State Assembly. Prior to that he worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. He was sworn in on April 23, 2021, becoming the first person of Filipino descent to serve as California Attorney General.

AG Bonta and I discuss Trump, the midterms, and the efforts to protect democracy before, on, and after Election Day

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Alex Gibney is an award-winning filmmaker who's been called “the most important documentarian of our time” by Esquire Magazine. His work has been the recipient of an Academy Award, multiple Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, several Peabody Awards, DuPont-Columbia Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Writers Guild Awards, and more. He is also the recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the News & Documentary Emmys. His films include TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY & THE PRISON OF BELIEF, IN RESTLESS DREAMS: THE MUSIC OF PAUL SIMON, THE BIBI FILES, WISE GUYS: DAVID CHASE & THE SOPRANOS, and THE DARK MONEY GAME.

Most recently, his documentary KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE was released last month. And he joins me for a fascinating conversation about his terrific new film, the highly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed documentary MUSK, about the life and career of controversial trillionaire tech, space and automotive entrepreneur and political donor Elon Musk.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Garlin Gilchrist is Michigan's Lt Governor and is running for Secretary of State to succeed Jocelyn Benson who's running for governor. Prior to serving as Lt Governor he worked at Microsoft as a software engineer.

Join us for this important conversation about Michigan's efforts to protect the midterms, as well as Garlin's campaign for this critical position in the face of Donald Trump's assault on our elections process.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Frank Rich is a journalist, author, and television producer. A writer-at-large for New York magazine, he was previously chief drama critic and an OpEd columnist for the New York Times. He executive produced the long-running HBO series Succession, Veep as well as the limited series White House Plumbers and The Regime. He’s also EP’s the documentaries Six by Sondheim and Becoming Mike Nichols. His books include The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina and the memoir Ghost Light. He has been awarded 6 Emmys, 3 Peabody Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards, and a Producer’s Guild Award. His journalism honors include the George Polk Award for Commentary and the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard University. He has twice been a Pulitzer Prize finalist. In 2015, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

Frank joins me for a compelling discussion of his latest New York magazine essay, "Trump's Shameless Collaborators", about the sycophants in Trump's cabinet and inner circle and the accountability they may one day soon be facing, especially if Democrats take back the House and Senate.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Dana Bash is CNN's chief political correspondent, anchor of “Inside Politics with Dana Bash” and co-anchor of CNN’s“State of the Union”. She is based in Washington, D.C., where she plays a key role in CNN’s political coverage, conducting high profile interviews with politicians and candidates, and regularly serves as a moderator for the network’s political debate and town hall specials. In 2024, Dana co-moderated CNN’s historic Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. She also serves as an anchor of CNN’s Election Night in America special coverage. She is the author of two books co-written with David Fischer: America’s Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History, and her new book, The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live, which is on sale now.

Dana and I discuss her terrific new book as well as the parallels it draws to today's politics. But first we take a look at the midterms, how these next three weeks may play out, and whether or not the much-anticipated blue wave is on the horizon..

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Kerry Kennedy is a human rights lawyer, activist, New York Times-bestselling author, and daughter of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Kerry is the president of the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, the organization Ethel founded in 1968 to continue Robert’s unfinished work, and served as chair for the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council for more than a decade. During her forty years working in human rights she has led hundreds of delegations and negotiated with leaders around the globe. She appears regularly on television and in the press, has written dozens of published op-eds, and is the author of the books Robert F. Kennedy: Ripple of Hope; Speak Truth to Power; and Being Catholic Now.

Kerry joins me for a conversation about her terrific new book "Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy", which is on sale now.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

James Henson teaches in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the founder and executive director of the Texas Politics Project, a hub of research and public affairs work that provides non-partisan resources for understanding Texas government and politics. He co-founded the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll, the longest running academic survey of Texas public opinion, in 2008 with Daron Shaw. His writing about Texas politics has appeared in every major Texas media outlet, as well as publications including The Washington Post, The Hill, Texas Monthly, and The Conversation.

Jim and I talk Texas politics: the Talarico v Paxton Senate race, the Abbott v Hinojosa governor's race, whether the state may finally be turning blue, and the midterms overall in terms of who’s likely to win control of the House and Senate.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud