Amanda Ripley is an investigative journalist for Time, the Atlantic, and other magazines. She is also the author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes-and Why, the basis for a PBS documentary. An Emerson Fellow at the New America Foundation, she lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and son.

Kate Reading is the recipient of multiple "AudioFile" Earphones Awards and has been named by "AudioFile" magazine as a Voice of the Century, as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by authors as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. "AudioFile" Magainze reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate s performances are a consistent pleasure.."