Walter Isaacson is an author, Professor of History at Tulane, and the former CEO of the Aspen Institute, chairman of CNN, and editor of Time magazine. He has written many biographies including Einstein: His Life and Universe, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life and most recently, Leonardo da Vinci.

Helen Thorpe is an author and journalist who has been a staff writer for the New York Observer, The New Yorker, and Texas Monthly. She has also been published in the New York Times Magazine, Slate and numerous other publications. Her radio stories have aired on This American Life and Sound Print. Her latest book is titled The Newcomers.

Nicole Krauss is the author of Great House, a finalist for the National Book Award; the New York Times bestseller The History of Love and most recently Forest Dark. She was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists in 2007 and named to The New Yorker’s “Twenty Under Forty” list in 2010.

Jim Gaffigan is a Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer and two-time New York Times best-selling author. He is currently on his Noble Ape international arena and theater comedy tour. This year he premiered his fifth one hour stand up special, Cinco, on Netflix. His latest film is titled Chappaquiddick.

Bob Schieffer is a CBS News political contributor and the former host of CBS’ Face the Nation. Schieffer has won eight Emmys, an Edward R. Murrow Award, a Paul White Award and in 2008 he was named a living legend by the Library of Congress. His latest book, Overload: Finding Truth in the Deluge of News, was released in October of 2017.

Pete Buttigieg is the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He was elected in 2011 at the age of 29, making him the youngest mayor of a city with over 100,000 residents in the U.S. The Washington Post called him “the most interesting mayor you’ve never heard of” and he was named national Mayor of the Year by GovFresh.com. Buttigieg also serves as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Jason Kander is a former Army Captain, Missouri’s 39th Secretary of State and the president of Let America Vote, an organization that fights against voter suppression laws. In 2016, Kander ran for the U.S. Senate in Missouri. At over $75 million, his campaign was the most expensive Senate race in state history.

Ben Domenech is the publisher of The Federalist, host of The Federalist Radio Hour, and writes The Transom, a daily subscription newsletter for political insiders. He co-founded Redstate and co-hosted Coffee & Markets, an award-winning economic podcast. His writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Politico, Commentary, Reason, and GQ, and he appears regularly on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and CBS’s Face The Nation.

Katy Tur is a correspondent for NBC News and an anchor for MSNBC. Tur is the recipient of a 2017 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Her latest book, Unbelievable, reflects on her coverage of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. She currently lives in New York City.

Al Franken is the U.S. Senator of Minnesota. Before running for the Senate, Sen. Franken spent 37 years as a comedy writer, author and radio talk show host. He is best known for his stint on Saturday Night Live during the 1970s and 1980s. Sen. Franken was first elected to the US Senate in 2008, and re-elected in 2014. His latest book, Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, was a New York Times Best Seller.