All Authors

In these quiet days leading up to her PowerBall win, writer and editor Ann Shields lives in NYC with her family. She likes museums, road trips, local bars, getting lost and laughing.

Jordan Smith is a freelance writer, editor, and author with 10 years of experience reporting on health, wellness and news infused with pop culture trends. She’s interested in how history shapes today’s trends, which she explored in a book she authored for students on the origins, and deception, of reality TV. Her work has also appeared in Biography, Self, Peloton, and Runner’s World, among others.

Adam M. Sowards is a historian and writer based in western Washington. He is the author of several books, including the award-winning An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest and Making America's Public Lands: The Contested History of Conservation on Federal Lands. He is currently writing a history of the national park system.

Elana Spivack is a journalist with bylines in Scientific American, Slate, Popular Science and more. She lives in New York City with her tuxedo cat.

Andy St. Louis is a critic, curator and editor. His book Future Present: Contemporary Korean Art was published in 2024. He is the founder of Seoul Art Friend, an online platform dedicated to promoting contemporary Korean art. He lives in Seoul, Korea.

John Stapleton IV is an award-winning journalist and wildlife enthusiast. He is the author of Hidden Gems: Business Basics for Kids.

Laura Studarus is a freelance travel writer published in Lonely Planet, BBC, and The Daily Beast. Sometimes she can go several hours without a cup of tea. Follow her on Instagram.

Jack Tamisiea is a freelance journalist and science writer based in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, National Geographic and several other popular publications. You can read more of his work at jacktamisiea.com

Rosael Torres-Davis is a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia. Her work explores history, culture and sport, with a focus on overlooked stories, subcultures and the forces that shape how we live today. She has written for Esquire, Bicycling and Cycling Weekly, among other publications.

Marina Wang is a freelance journalist based in Victoria, Canada. She covers science, history and everything else weird and wonderful.

Vietnam veteran David T. Zabecki retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 as a Major General. He holds a PhD in military history from Britain’s Royal Military College of Science. In 2012 he was a visiting professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis.

Annie Zaleski is a New York Times best-selling author and journalist who's written books about Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Duran Duran and Christmas songs.

John J. Edwards III is a journalist based in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was a longtime senior editor at Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal. You can follow him at @johnjedwards3.

Becky Little is a journalist based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Bluesky.

Kirby Pábalan-Táyag Aráullo is a Filipino American historian and content creator. He is currently the National Coordinator for Culture and Heritage for the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON).

Raymond Arsenault, the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, is the author of Arthur Ashe: A Life.

John Avlon is senior political analyst at CNN. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast. He is the author of such books as Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics, Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America, and Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnAvlon.