John Fugelsang - Episode 11

John Fugelsang is an American actor, comedian, writer, television host, radio host, political commentator and television personality.

Andy Ostroy is an entrepreneur, film and television producer and director, podcaster, writer and non-profit founder. He spent 35 years in marketing, including 20 at Belardi/Ostroy, the firm he co-founded in 1997. He directed and produced ADRIENNE, the 2021 HBO documentary about his late wife, actor/writer/director Adrienne Shelly (WAITRESS), who was murdered in 2006. Following her death, he produced SERIOUS MOONLIGHT, a script she'd written, and which starred Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton and was directed by Cheryl Hines. He's currently working on a stage version of the script, and is also an executive producer of a scripted television series in development. In 2006 he founded and is executive director of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, which has awarded over 100 production grants to women filmmakers, including 2021 Academy Award Best Director winner Chloe Zhao (NOMADLAND), a 2012 ASF grant recipient while working on her first feature film. His writing has appeared in The Daily Beast, Huffington Post NY Times and Medium. In 2022 Ostroy created The Back Room with Andy Ostroy politics and pop culture podcast. Guests have included Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Maggie Haberman, Andrew Weissman, Katie Couric, Soledad O'Brien, Kara Swisher, Molly Jong Fast, James Carville, NY Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, Reps Pat Ryan, Dan Goldman, Eric Swalwell, Elissa Slotkin and Jasmine Crockett, Paul Rudd, Judd Apatow, Michelle Williams, Julianna Margulies, Jane Lynch, Andy Richter, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Sara Bareilles, Finneas, Peter Frampton, Blondie's Chris Stein,original Beatles drummer Pete Best and documentary filmmakers Alexandra Pelosi, Dawn Porter and Ken Burns. He also co-owns Samuel's Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, NY with Paul & Julie Rudd, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton.

Christine Pelosi began her legal career as a public interest attorney in the City of San Francisco. She then served as HUD Special Counsel in the Clinton-Gore administration, a Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill, a Democratic National Committee member elected from California, and a volunteer board member for the National AIDS Memorial Grove, the Young Democrats of America and the New Leaders Council. An avid baseball fan, she serves on the San Francisco Giants Community Fund board of directors. She is married to Emmy-nominated filmmaker Peter Kaufman. They live in San Francisco with Octavio, 16, and Bella, 7. Bella has traveled with mom advancing Democrats and democracy throughout the West and other countries.Christine holds a JD degree from University of California Hastings, College of Law and a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. A LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRACY. Christine is currently serving as the Chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus. A former Executive Director of the state party, Christine led the state party’s Platform Committee for thirteen years, and has been elected six times to the Democratic National Committee, where she cofounded the DNC Veterans and Military Families Council. A member of the DNC Resolutions Committee since 2001, Christine has co-authored dozens of DNC policy statements embracing civil rights, voting rights, economic justice, women’s equality, the Fight for 15, gun violence prevention, and veterans and military families.

Drew Carey is an American comedian, actor, and legendary game show host. Star/Host of The Drew Carey Show, Who's Line Is It Anyway, & The Price Is Right. To name a few.

Dr. 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. In Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at their Own Game political scientist turned strategist Rachel Bitecofer debunks myths about the electorate that keep Democrats from winning elections and introduces negative partisanship strategy, an electioneering strategy aimed at informing the electorate about the threats they face from MAGA extremism.

Dr. Rob Davidson is the Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, a mobilization of over 20,000 doctors and advocates across the United States that fights to expand health care access, lower costs for patients, and protect reproductive rights. He is also a board-certified Emergency Physician with more than 20 years of experience in the Emergency Department in a rural West Michigan hospital.

Born and raised in North Texas by a single mom who was a Dallas public school teacher, Congressman Colin Allred earned a full-ride football scholarship to Baylor University. He deferred his acceptance to law school to play in the NFL where he was a linebacker for five seasons before sustaining a career-ending injury that opened the door for him to fulfill his other dream -- becoming a civil rights attorney. After serving in President Obama's administration, Allred moved home to Dallas to run for Congress where he defeated an entrenched Republican incumbent and now represents Texas’ 32nd District, where he and his wife are raising their two children. Allred’s work in Congress is guided by his dedication to helping hardworking families gain the same opportunities he had to chase his version of the American dream.

Professor Greer Donley is a national expert on abortion and the law. Donley has published widely and been quoted extensively in the media, especially on topics related to medication abortion, interjurisdictional abortion conflicts, and the impact of abortion bans on other aspects of reproductive healthcare. Donley’s scholarly works have been published in the Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, and Minnesota Law Review. Her popular writing often appears in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and Slate. Her paper, The New Abortion Battleground, co-authored with David S. Cohen and Rachel Rebouché, was downloaded over 20,000 times, covered widely in the media, and cited by the Supreme Court’s dissent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, Professor Donley has regularly applied her expertise to advocacy work. Professor Donley helped design, draft, and pass the first abortion shield law in Connecticut, which has now been replicated in many states and cities. She also helped draft an FDA Law Scholars amicus brief in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case and was one of two primary drafters of a citizen petition to the FDA to add miscarriage management to the mifepristone label. Donley’s scholarship, advocacy, and teaching have been recognized through a variety of awards, including a Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (junior category), Marion Young Award for Political Engagement, Robert T. Harper Excellence in Teaching Award, Haub Law Emerging Scholar Award in Women, Gender & Law, and SLU & ASLME Health Law Scholar Award. In 2022, she was the 11th most downloaded law professor on SSRN.

Rachel Vindman is a co-host of the Suburban Women Problem podcast. She is married to retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and during her time as a military spouse they lived in twelve homes in four U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Germany, Ukraine, and Russia. As is typical for military spouses, she worked a variety of jobs from flight attendant to teacher to retail employee always serving in her community as a volunteer wherever she lived. Rachel and Alex experienced infertility and infant loss so she feels it is her responsibility to speak out about the consequences of the assault on women’s reproductive rights in addition to sharing her family’s story to raise awareness to the dangers of encroaching authoritarianism and extremism. Rachel found her voice as an activist and plain-spoken political commentator on Twitter/X, where you can follow her @natsechobbyist.

The Seneca Project is a bipartisan superPAC, led by women, dedicated to mobilizing women voters in key swing states in support of Kamala Harris' election. With a focus on safeguarding women’s rights, healthcare access, and the preservation of democracy, we are galvanizing this crucial demographic to vote for Vice President Harris and defeat the extremist MAGA agenda. Tara Setmayer is a former CNN political commentator, contributor to ABC News and former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. Since its inception, Setmayer served as a Senior Advisor for The Lincoln Project and hosted the live show The Breakdown. Setmayer currently serves as a University of Virginia, Center for Politics, Resident Scholar. In collaboration with the Center for Politics, she narrated the Emmy nominated 3-part documentary, Dismantling Democracy which aired nationally on PBS stations and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Prior to joining UVA, she was named a Harvard Institute of Politics Resident Fellow in 2020. Today, she regularly appears as an on-air commentator on MSNBC and various other news outlets in the US and abroad. Setmayer has also been a frequent guest host on ABC’s The View and has several appearances on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. She’s a regular guest host for one of Sirius XM’s top-rated political shows, The Michael Smerconish Program on the P.O.T.U.S channel. Tara has written for CNN.com, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan, and NBC.com. After spending 27 years in political communications with the Republican Party, Setmayer publicly left the GOP in November 2020 after Donald Trump refused to concede the election to Joe Biden. Michelle Kinney is an award-winning creative director known for her innovative and impactful work. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University, Kinney has a diverse background in entertainment, politics, visual and performing arts. Kinney entered the pro-democracy space to help elect President Joe Biden in 2020 and has served as a Creative Director since 2021. Her impactful ads and integral role in this work have earned her multiple prestigious industry awards. As a photojournalist Michelle has been on assignment for outlets like Vice, Mic, Out and NowThis. Many of her photographs have been featured in The Washington Post, TimeOut NY, Washingtonian Magazine, Playbill, and Broadway World. Michelle’s political journey began in 2016 with New York Young Democrats, later served as Vice President of WestSide Democrats in NYC, and was publicly elected to the New York County Democratic Committee for two terms. Prior to entering the political arena, Kinney had a career in the entertainment industry for over 15 years, as both a performing artist and producer. Inspired by her Suffragist great-grandmother Mae’s courage and determination driving newly legalized women to the polls for the 1920 presidential election in upstate New York. Michelle honors her legacy through her work and commitment to The Seneca Project mission.