The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Jonathan Vigliotti is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award–winning CBS News national correspondent whose work has appeared on numerous platforms including CBS Sunday Morning, Face the Nation, 48 Hours, and more. His reporting has taken him to more than forty countries and territories across six continents. His just released debut book is Before It’s Gone: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America.

Join us for this important conversation about the climate crisis, its devastating consequences, and what we can do to protect and preserve the environment.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Jocelyn Benson is Michigan's 43rd Secretary of State, and has become one of the nation’s most prominent leaders in ensuring elections are secure and accessible. Her work overseeing Michigan’s 2020 and 2022 general elections, earned her national recognition, including the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal. She also implemented new voting rights for all eligible Michiganders prior to the 2020 election, including the right to vote absentee, and oversaw more than 250 audits after the election, all of which affirmed its integrity and accuracy.

At 36 she was appointed dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, becoming the youngest woman in U.S. history to lead a top-100, accredited law school, and continues to serve as vice chair of the advisory board for the Levin Center at Wayne Law, which she founded with former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. She is the author of the book State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process, and is a frequent tv news commentator.

Join us as the Secretary discusses the past, present and future of election integrity and security in Michigan and across the United States.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Don Lemon is a best-selling author, journalist and former anchor of the long-running CNN primetime program, Don Lemon Tonight. He made headlines recently when his newly launched The Don Lemon Show, originally set to launch on X, formerly Twitter, was cancelled by Elon Musk after his interview with the testy billionaire tech-bro. The show is available on YouTube and all audio and video 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.

Join us as Don and I get into it all...the old show, the new show, Musk and more. It's a truly don't-miss conversation.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, where she has worked since 2014. She has traveled the world covering two presidential administrations, writing extensively about domestic policy, foreign policy and the complicated dynamics of first families. Her just published first book is American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic. He’s an expert on international security issues who taught national security affairs for 25 years at the U.S. Naval War College, as well as at the Harvard Extension School, Dartmouth College, and Georgetown University. He is the author of several books on Russia, the Cold War, and international politics. A new, updated edition of his most recent book, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy, will be released in April.

Tom brings his inimitable wit and wisdom back into The Back Room to discuss Putin, Ukraine and the recent Russian 'election'; Trump's legal troubles; the Biden administration; the November election and the existential threat to democracy; "campus culture" and the youth vote; the MAGA cult; and more.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Jennifer Rodgers is a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at the NYU School of Law, and a Legal Analyst for CNN. She teaches, writes, and speaks about government ethics, public corruption, sports corruption, and criminal law issues. Between 2000-2013, Jennifer worked at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she served in numerous capacities, including as a Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney, the Chief of the Organized Crime Unit, and a Chief of the General Crimes Unit. She serves on the Board of Directors for the New York City Bar Association.

Join us for this informative, insightful chat as Jennifer helps unpack each of Donald Trump's civil and criminal cases and how and when he may finally be held accountable...or not.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Brian Karem is a weekly columnist for Salon. He is the former executive editor for The Sentinel newspaper group and the former senior WH correspondent for Playboy Magazine. He’s also a regular columnist for The Washington Diplomat and appears frequently on the country’s top-rated news shows. He has covered every presidential administration since Ronald Reagan, sued Donald Trump 3 times successfully to keep his press pass, spent time in jail to protect a confidential source, covered wars in the Middle East and is the author of seven books. His latest is Free the Press: The Death of American Journalism and How to Revive It. He is also the host of the podcast, “Just Ask the Question”.

Brian brings decades of experience and his humor into The Back Room for a fun, insightful chat about Trump and his existential threat to democracy; the GOP's complicity; the current political landscape; the upcoming presidential election; and more. We also discuss his rock band, and, he reveals his top 5 musical artists of all time! (finally, someone names the right #1!).

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Rachel Bitecofer is a political scientist and election forecaster turned political strategist. Bitecofer’s interviews and analysis have been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, Politico, The New Republic, Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, MSNBC, and many other prominent news sources. She's worked with Democratic Party candidates and organizations to implement negative partisanship strategy in the 2022 midterms. Her latest book is Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy By Beating Republicans At Their Own Game.

Rachel is wicked smart, funny AF and super-engaging. And she's in The Back Room discussing her new book, the current political landscape, the 2024 election, and what President Joe Biden and Democrats need to do between now and then to ensure victory.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

S.E. Cupp is a CNN political commentator and most recently host of CNN's S.E. Cupp Unfiltered. Before joining CNN she co-hosted MSNBC's The Cycle. She's a nationally syndicated political columnist, culture critic, author and consultant who regularly writes for the New York Daily News, Glamour and CNN.com. She was previously a consultant for Apple TV+'s The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell and HBO's hit series, The Newsroom.

S.E.'s back in THE BACK ROOM discussing her new Daily News opinion piece about President Joe Biden, Donald Trump and the November election.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Pete Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for the entire tenure of the presidency of Barack Obama. He is the author of several books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Obama: An Intimate Portrait and Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents. A photojournalist since the late 1970s, Souza was also an official White House photographer during the Reagan administration, a freelance photographer for Life and National Geographic, and the Washington-based natural national photographer for the Chicago Tribune.

A documentary about his work at the White House, The Way I See It, was nominated for an Emmy, and its Premier was the highest rated non-news, non-live program in MSNBC history. He is a professor emeritus at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. In 2021, Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.

As Obama‘s photographer, Pete had one of the coolest jobs on the planet. And when he left the White House, he for years threw shade on Donald Trump through his humorous and sarcastic Twitter posts. Join us for this captivating look back on Pete's illustrious life and career. He also has some interesting insights into how the Biden Administration could be handling the "age" issue more effectively through its photos. It's a truly don't-miss conversation!

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud