James Madison, the pen name of Charles Aronstein (August 27, 1870 – March 27, 1943), was an American theatre manager, writer, and publisher, best known for writing and publishing the periodical *Madison's Budget*.

Walter Seff Isaacson is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna, and Elon Musk.

Steven David Levitt is an American economist and co-author of the best-selling book Freakonomics and its sequels.

Stephen Joseph Dubner is an American author, journalist, and podcast and radio host.

David Rolfe Graeber was an American anthropologist and anarchist social and political activist.

Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, and science communicator born in Brooklyn, New York. Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, he later moved to Cornell, where he held the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy position. He authored works including *The Demon-Haunted World* (1995), aiming to explain the scientific method to general audiences.