{"podcast":{"title":"The Back Room with Andy Ostroy","slug":"the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395","podcast_index_feed_id":5638395,"rss_url":"https://media.zencast.fm/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy/rss","website_url":"https://the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy.podcast.radiofreerhinecliff.org","image_url":"https://podcdn.zencast.fm/download/Podcast%2Fartworks%2F10316%2Flarge%2Fd96691adc1075ab252791855d22902fe070a56106b6a1a6cb38d64aad906f0a8%2F72875a20c9335ce6.jpg","author":"Radio Free Rhinecliff and Andy Ostroy","episode_count":525,"summary":"The Back Room with Andy Ostroy presents a humorous, honest take on politics and pop culture featuring notable guest interviews, a shit-ton of righteous indignation, and rip-roaring repartee with co-producers Matty Rosenberg and Jen Hammoud. We're havin' a ball, and so will you! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Music by Andrew Hollander Design by Cricket Lengyel","last_synced_at":"2026-07-05T12:17:09.795662+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395"},"episode":{"title":"Alex Vindman on Trump's Illegal Iran War and his Very Promising Florida U.S. Senate Campaign","slug":"alex-vindman-on-trump-s-illegal-iran-war-and-his-very-promising-florida-u-s-senate-campaign","published_at":"2026-03-03T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395/alex-vindman-on-trump-s-illegal-iran-war-and-his-very-promising-florida-u-s-senate-campaign","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395","url":"https://the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy.podcast.radiofreerhinecliff.org/episodes/alex-vindman-on-trumps-illegal-iran-war-and-his-very-promising-florida-us-senate-campaign","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.zencast.fm/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy/560875d9-47d9-4960-9ef9-c428c84551a0.mp3?source=feed","summary":"Alex Vindman and his family left the Soviet Union as refugees when he was three years old. He is a retired 21-year U.S. Army combat veteran who also served as a national security expert working for presidents of both parties. He was wounded in Iraq and awarded a Purple Heart. His military service took him from the battlefield to the Pentagon and the White House, where he served as a Director on the National Security Council staff. During his time on the National Security Council, he witnessed a corrupt and illegal abuse of power by a president intent on undermining an election. As was his duty under the Constitution, he reported the wrongdoing. His decision to blow the whistle led to the 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump, whose retribution ultimately cost him his military career. After he left the military, Alex dedicated himself to public service outside of uniform, helping veterans run for office so they can serve as a check on corruption and abuse of power. He’s also the author of the Why It Matters Substack and the New York Times bestselling books Here, Right Matters and The Folly of Realism. And he is now running for the U.S. Senate in Florida. Alex and I discuss Trump's illegal Iran War, the overall incompetence of the administration, and his very exciting, very promising U.S. Senate campaign in Florida. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel","meta_description":"Alex Vindman and his family left the Soviet Union as refugees when he was three years old. He is a retired 21-year U.S. Army combat veteran who also serve…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2453,"processing_state":"processed","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395/episodes/alex-vindman-on-trump-s-illegal-iran-war-and-his-very-promising-florida-u-s-senate-campaign/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-back-room-with-andy-ostroy-5638395/alex-vindman-on-trump-s-illegal-iran-war-and-his-very-promising-florida-u-s-senate-campaign.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}