The Back Room with Andy Ostroy

Jaclyn “Jackie” Corin is a co-founder and Executive Director of March For Our Lives, a leading youth-led advocacy organization working to end gun violence in the United States. A survivor of the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, she helped catalyze one of the largest youth protests in American history and elevate gun violence as a central national issue. In the years since, she has led high-impact campaigns to hold the gun lobby and elected officials accountable and built one of the largest youth organizing networks in the country, supporting hundreds of student-led groups nationwide. As Executive Director, she leads March For Our Lives’ work at the intersection of advocacy, narrative change, and youth organizing, equipping young people across the country to drive political and cultural change in their communities.

Jackie and I discuss her organization's efforts to mobilize young people, fight gun violence and achieve gun-reform legislation.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Isabel Vincent is an award-winning investigative journalist currently working for The New York Post and a critically acclaimed author of seven books. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The Independent, Marie Claire, L’Officiel (Paris), and many other international publications. Her new book, RFK Jr: The Fall and Rise, is now on sale.

'Raccoon penis and bear cub and brain worm, OH MY!'

Bobby Kennedy Jr.'s storied life has been filled with both privilege and opportunity as well as tragedy, addiction, controversy and scandal. Isabel and I discuss his very complicated life and the explosive anecdotes and crazy revelations in her bombshell new biography about the Kennedy family's wayward son.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Josh Turek is running for US Senate in Iowa. He is a four-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist for Team USA in wheelchair basketball. He’s the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa legislature and the Democrat who represents the reddest district won in 2024. He is now running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Joni Ernst.

Josh and I discuss the campaign and his incredibly inspiring journey.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Since 2015 Jonathan A. Greenblatt has served as the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, more commonly knows as the ADL…and is its sixth National Director. He leads all aspects of the world’s leading anti-hate organization…whose mission since its founding in 1913 is to fight the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. In 2022, Jonathan released It Could Happen Here, a book that sounds an alarm, warning that hate and systemic violence is gathering momentum in the United States – and that violence on a more catastrophic scale could be just around the corner.

Jonathan's back with us to discus the alarming rise of antisemitism and hate crimes in the U.S. and abroad; the impact of October 7, the Israel-Gaza war, and the wars in Iran and Lebanon on this increase; NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's response (or lack thereof) to the rise of antisemitism in the city; and more.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Adrian Fontes was elected in 2022 as Arizona's 21st Secretary of State. He’s a Marine Corps veteran who served from 1992 to 1996. After graduating from law school, he worked as a prosecutor with the Denver District Attorney and then at the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. He later led the International Prosecution Unit at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. He practiced law for 15 years before running for office in 2016 when he was elected Maricopa County Recorder, where he revolutionized the election system through enhanced ballot tracking technology and increased process transparency, winning him recognition and awards from election organizations across the country. In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 crisis and amidst violent protests, Maricopa County saw record voter turnout, as well as record numbers of new voters registered for both parties. He later testified before Congress about threats facing election officials.

Adrian and I discuss the lingering 2020 "rigged election" claims; Trump and the Republican Party's current assault on the election process; what he and his state are doing to protect voters in November; and what individual Americans across the country can do to help ensure free and fair midterm elections.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Co-founder and Board Member of The Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson is 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 national outlets. A 30-year veteran of national Republican politics, Rick got his start in the 1988 Presidential campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush and has produced groundbreaking and award-winning political advertising, 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.

Rick and I discuss the Iran war, Trump's unconscionable 'genocide' threat, the Epstein cover-up, MAGA, the midterms, and the Trump's bizarre assault on the Pope and the Vatican.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Andrew Goldberg is an Emmy Award-winning investigative producer, has directed 14 prime-time documentary specials for PBS, and both long and short-form segments for CBS Sunday Morning, ABC News, Live From Lincoln Center, NPR and others. His films include The Armenian Genocide, Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence, and The Iranian Americans. His work has appeared on major networks on every continent and has been supported by more than 250 foundations, corporations and major donors around the world. His new film is the documentary WHITE WTH FEAR, which he wrote, produced and directed, and is now streaming on PBS, Apple, Amazon and other platforms.

Andrew joins me to discuss the film and the current state of race and fear in America

For more info on Andrew, this film, and his other work please visit www.somuchfilm.com

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Cait Conley is a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native, daughter of a postal worker and a construction worker, a decorated combat veteran and national security expert. And she’s running for the House in NY’s 17th Congressional district.

Cait and I discuss her campaign, the June 23 primary, the goal of taking on Republican Mike Lawlor and flipping this seat in November. We also discuss the Iran war and how its being illegally and incompetently waged by Donald Trump and SecDef Pete Hegseth and is making America, the Middle East and the world less safe.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Shawn Harris spent 40 years in the military and retired as an Army Brigadier General. He and his wife Karla have five children and four grandchildren. They live in Rockmart, Georgia, where together they run their first-generation grass-fed cattle farm. He's running for Congress in Georgia's 14th district, the seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Shawn and I discuss his stellar background, his reasons for running, the issues most important to his district's voters and voters throughout Georgia and the U.S., and how the campaign is effectively reaching across party lines to attract supporters with the goal of flipping this critical House seat.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud

Elie Honig is CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst. He previously worked for 14 years as a federal and state prosecutor. He is also the national bestselling author of two books, “Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor’s Code and Corrupted the Justice Department” and “Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It”. He writes a weekly column for New York magazine and for Cafe.com, and he hosts two podcasts for Vox Media. He teaches at Rutgers University and is special counsel to New Jersey law firm Lowenstein Sandler. His latest book is, When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ’s Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump, will be published September 16th.

Elie and I discuss the legality of the Iran war, Birthright Citizenship and this week's Supreme Court arguments, Attorney General Pam Bondi's Epstein subpoena, Trump's relentless pursuit of NY Attorney General Letitia James, and the future impact of last week's META negligence court rulings.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud