The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

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

George Conway is an attorney, political activist, and legal and political commentator. He’s a founder of the Lincoln Project, and is a contributing writer to The Bulwark. He previously worked as a litigator for three decades at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City. He recently ran for Congress in New York’s 12th District in Manhattan.

George and I discuss all things Trump, the midterms, and whether the' inflection point' is finally here.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Cait Conley is a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native and the daughter of a postal worker and a construction worker. She applied to West Point the day after 9/11 and went on to serve in the Army, first as a military police officer and then in special operations leadership, deploying six times and earning three Bronze Stars. She concluded her active-duty career as Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, and then served as a senior executive at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Cait's back in The Back Room for an update on her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in NY’s 17th Congressional district, a critical battle against incumbent Republican Mike Lawler.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Nikki Fried is the Chair of the Florida Democratic Party. She served as Florida’s 12th Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services from 2019-2023. She is a lifelong Floridian, attorney and activist.

Nikki and I discuss her state's key House, Senate and governor's races as well as the midterms overall and Democrats' chances of winning both the House and Senate.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Marc Levin is an award-winning, independent filmmaker. He has made over 50 films, including documentaries, TV series, dramatic feature films and episodic television. He’s won four Emmys and four duPont-Columbia Awards, among other prominent accolades. Highlights include his dramatic hit SLAM; the groundbreaking docuseries Brick City; several films for HBO including Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock, Thug Life in DC; Class Divide and An American Bombing; and last year’s HARD HAT RIOT on PBS.

Marc joins me to discuss his terrific new film DAUGHTERS OF 9/11, which premiered on CBS on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and is now streaming on Paramount +. The film follows the gut-wrenching journey of two women, whose fathers were murdered that day, as they seek justice for the families while the government has yet to prosecute the mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who remains in custody at Guantanamo.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Rick Wilson is co-founder and board member of The Lincoln Project. He’s a renowned political strategist, infamous award-winning ad-maker and podcast host, writer, speaker, and political commentator on MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, NPR, Real Time with Bill Maher, and various American and international news outlets. He’s a 30-year veteran of national Republican politics who got his start in the 1988 Presidential campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush, and has produced groundbreaking and award-winning political advertising and strategic counsel to winning political candidates, SuperPACS, state parties, the national campaign committees, and corporate, association, and government clients across the nation and around the world. Rick has authored two New York Times bestsellers – Everything Trump Touches Dies and Running Against The Devil – A Plot To Save America from Trump And Democrats From Themselves – and often writes for The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Hill, The Bulwark, and the London Spectator.

Are Donald Trump and the Republican Party imploding? Are we finally at the long-awaited inflection point? Is a blue tidal wave coming? Do Democrats finally have the right candidates and messaging? Are they going to win back the House AND Senate? Will Trump "run" again in '28? Will Don Jr. run? And if so, what will J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio and other potential candidates do? Rick addresses these critical questions and more.

But first, Andy and Matty discuss the breaking Supreme Court ruling on elections; Trump's media ban and new Iran threat; and AL Sen. Tommy Tuberville's "furry" fears, Plus, this week's Winners and Losers and Andy's rant on the ban.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

S.E. is a nationally syndicated columnist, author, podcaster and TV commentator. She hosts Off the Cupp, a podcast which focuses on mental health, and which features interviews with celebrities and newsmakers. She is a columnist at the New York Daily News and has also been published in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Washington Post and many other publications. She is currently a political commentator at CNN.

Is MAGA revolting? Are Congressional Republicans finally growing a pair? Is the inflection point finally here? Is Donald Trump's presidency imploding? Are Democrats winning back the working class? Is a blue tidal wave coming? Will Democrats take back the House and Senate? S.E. addresses these critical questions, as well as Trump's media ban, as we head towards November 3rd.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Dr. Zaldy Tan is Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and the Director of the Memory & Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His aging and dementia research has been covered by The New York Times, Time, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribute, Reuters, ABC News, and NBC News. He regularly speaks at major national and international conferences and is the author of Age-Proof Your Mind and his new book, WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU ARE FORGETTING: How to Live and Thrive with Memory Loss, Alzheimer's, and Other Dementias

All of us in one way or another are profoundly effected by memory disorders. It could involve an aging parent, a spouse, a sibling or other relative, a friend or even ourselves. Dr. Tan helps us better understand the warning signs, the treatments, and what we can do to make our loved ones' lives more comfortable as they navigate these cognitive difficulties.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Tara Setmayer is co-founder of the bipartisan superpac The Seneca Project. She’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 MSNOW, CNN and other news outlets, The View, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Her writing has been featured on CNN.com, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan, and NBC.com. In November 2020 she left the Republican Party after Donald Trump refused to concede the election to Joe Biden.

At the start of this terrific conversation Tara pleads, "Please Dems don't blow it!". We discuss Donald Trump's epic chaos and failures, whether the MAGA fever's starting to break, the momentum Democrats have heading towards November, and the critical importance of the midterms.

But first, The Back Room crew discusses the interest rate hike, Republican Rep. Maria Salazar's new anti-Trump immigration ad, the new NY Times poll, and the GOP's panic and desperation over the poll's devastating numbers.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Stephanie Grisham is the New York Times bestselling author of “I’ll Take Your Questions Now, What I Saw in the Trump White House.” During the Trump Administration she served as White House press secretary and director of communications for both the President and First Lady, Melania Trump. She is the only person in history who has held three senior roles at once, while representing both the east and west wings.

Stephanie shares her keen insights into Donald Trump's second-term behavior; the integrity of the midterm elections and the role of the courts; Natalie Harp; and more.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud