The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Michael Steele is the co-host of MSNBC’s ‘The Weekend’ and host of ‘The Michael Steele Podcast.’ Prior to joining MSNBC as a political analyst, he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003. Following his time as Lt. Governor, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011. He was the first African-American to hold either office. He has appeared on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Daily Show and is also the author of two books.

The always insightful and entertaining Michael is back in The Back Room pulling no punches on Trump, the GOP, Democrats, and the challenging road ahead.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Jill Wine-Banks is an attorney, author, speaker, MSNBC Legal Analyst, and co-host of the award-winning #SistersinLaw podcast. She also hosts the YouTube show, Just The Facts. Her 2020 memoir is The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against A Criminal President, about her life and work as a Watergate prosecutor, and a film adaptation of the book is in discussion. Jill is a frequent op-ed contributor to various publications including the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and Politico. She’s also appeared in films including Watergate—Or: How We Learned to Stop an Out of Control President; All the President's Men Revisited; and Fahrenheit 11/9.

Given her experience as a former Watergate prosecutor, I'm sure you'll find Jill's insights and perspective into Donald Trump, the Republican Party and the current political landscape as compelling as I did. Join us as we explore what's to come in Trump 2.0.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Andrew McCarthy is an award-winning travel writer, television director, and actor. He’s appeared in over two dozen films including such iconic 80s movies as PRETTY IN PINK and ST. ELMO’S FIRE. His recent documentary, BRATS, debuted at #1 on Hulu. He’s directed nearly 100 hours of television, including Orange Is the New Black and The Blacklist. Andrew’s also been named Travel Journalist of the Year by the Society of American Travel Writers, and for a dozen years served as an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler magazine. He is the author or four New York Times Best Selling books, including, most recently, WALKING WITH SAM.

Join us for the fun, honest, insightful in-depth chat about Andrew's life and career, and of course, his documentary BRATS, which he directed and produced. It’s a poignant, captivating journey through this pivotal era of his life as a member of the legendary Brat Pack. The film includes interviews with former castmates, producers and other key figures associated with the beloved 1980’s coming of age films which include THE BREAKFAST CLUB, ST ELMOS’S FIRE, PRETTY IN PINK and MANNEQUIN.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Helen Ouyang is an emergency physician, associate professor at Columbia University, and contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. She is also a fellow at the Type Media Center. She has written for The Atlantic, Harper’s, Los Angeles Times, New York, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Her writing has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and funded by The Pulitzer Center.

Join us for this important conversation about the state of our nation's healthcare and insurance industries.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Dawn Porter has emerged in the entertainment industry as a leader in the art of storytelling; directing and producing critically acclaimed films and series. A two-time Sundance film festival director, her work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, ESPN, Discovery, National Geographic and others. Dawn’s films include GIDEON’S ARMY, THE LADY BIRD DIARIES, THE WAY I SEE IT, SUPREME, BOBBY KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT and JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE. Her latest film is LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH, about the public and private life and music career of Luther Vandross, which premieres New Year’s Day on CNN.

Dawn joins me in The Back Room to discuss her terrific new film LUTHER which tells the story of this iconic, multi-faceted yet complicated musical genius.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Christine C. Quinn is the President and CEO of Win, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for families experiencing homelessness in New York City and the nation. Win has also been at the forefront of the city's response to the ongoing migrant and homelessness crisis. She was also the first female and openly gay Speaker of the NYC Council, ran for NYC mayor in 2013, and is a political contributor on CNN and MSNBC.

Chris joins me in The Back Room for a conversation about homelessness in New York City, the migrant crisis, and her organization's work to provide family shelter and supportive housing. We also discuss her concerns for the LGBTQ+ community under the incoming Trump administration; the health risks to New Yorkers under an RFK Jr-led HHS; and whether or not she's planning to run for NYC mayor next year. We close out the chat with Chris sharing her top 5 musical artists of all time!

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Eric J. Segall is a constitutional law scholar, professor, and author of the books Originalism as Faith, and Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court and its Justices are not Judges. His articles on constitutional law have appeared in, among others, the Harvard Law Review Forum, the Stanford Law Review On Line, the UCLA Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, the Washington University Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, and Constitutional Commentary among many others. His op-eds and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the LA Times, The Atlantic, SLATE, Vox, Salon, and the Daily Beast, among others and his television appearances include CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and France 24.

Eric's back with us to share his thoughts on the Donald Trump and his cabinet nominations and the threats they pose to the rights of Americans, our rule of law, and the future of our democracy.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Frank Figliuzzi is a national security contributor and regular columnist for NBC News and MSNBC. He was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the government. He held senior FBI leadership positions in major American cities and was appointed the FBI’s Chief Inspector by then Director Robert Mueller to oversee sensitive internal inquiries, shooting reviews, and performance audits. Following his FBI career, Frank became a corporate security executive for a Fortune 10 company and led global Investigations, Insider Threat, Workplace Violence Prevention, and Special Event security for 200,000 employees in 180 countries. He is the author of “The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence", and this year's  "Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers".

Frank and I discuss his latest book, Trump's controversial cabinet nominations, and the existential threats to our democracy as we head into Trump 2.0.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Dylan Douglas, a 2022 graduate of Brown University, has spent much of his young adult life working on a variety of political campaigns and grassroots movements. During the 2020 election, while still in college, Douglas served as deputy campaign manager for a high-profile congressional race and later co-founded a progressive political action committee called Make Room, aimed at “making room for young, progressive, generational candidates.” In the summer of 2024, Douglas launched the political program Young American with Dylan Douglas on SiriusXM, designed to engage Gen Z and other young listeners in the lead-up to the highly anticipated November elections. Originally intended as a limited series, the show has since been picked up to run indefinitely. Beyond domestic American politics, Douglas is a passionate advocate for dyslexia awareness, having struggled with the learning disability for much of his life. He is also an amateur historian.

Dylan brings a very important perspective to the conversation about what happened in the 2024 election and what Democrats must do going forward to engage and inspire not just his generation of voters, but the party's broader coalition as well.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Max Rose is a former member of Congress from New York City and a Senior Advisor to Vote Vets. He's a highly-decorated combat veteran who currently serves as a company commander in the New York Army National Guard. As a Congressman, he chaired the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counter-terrorism and served on the committees for Homeland Security and Veteran's Affairs. He also served in 2021 at the Department of Defense as Special Assistant to Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Max helps unpack the election results and what the Democratic Party must do going forward to win the 2026 midterm elections and the presidency in '28. He also discusses the DNC and whether he wants the top job, and whether he plans to run for NYC mayor next year.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud