Jonathan Martin is the politics bureau chief and senior political columnist at POLITICO, where he writes a reported column.  Prior to starting his column in 2022, Martin was the national political correspondent for The New York Times, where he served as the publication’s top political reporter for nearly a decade.  He is the co-author of the New York Times best-seller This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, which gave readers in-the-room access to the extraordinary events of the 2020 election and i

Don Lemon spent three decades on local and national TV, a trusted voice after the Sandy Hook massacre, in war-torn Eastern Europe, and during the riots of 2020. Anchoring Don Lemon Tonight on CNN, he was known for hard-hitting interviews with public officials and compassionate dialogue with everyday people. The Don Lemon Show is now streaming on all platforms. His latest book, I Once Was Lost, is a deeply personal follow-up to his #1 bestseller This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends about Racism. 

Nicholas Lemann was born, raised and educated in New Orleans. He began his journalism career as a 17-year-old writer for an alternative weekly newspaper there, the Vieux Carre Courier. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1976, where he concentrated in American history and literature and was president of the Harvard Crimson.

Howard Hunter is a native of New Orleans and a history teacher of forty-two years. He has published articles on New Orleans history and why history matters for both academic and general audiences.

Edgar “Dook” Chase, IV is a proud New Orleans native, and business owner. He is Owner/President of Chase Concessions, LLC, Executive Chef at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, proprietor of Leah’s Kitchen and Dook’s Burgers and a partner in a number of other restaurants in the New Orleans International Airport. Chase holds a Masters of Business Administration, and a formal Culinary degree from Le Condon Bleu Paris, France. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance from Dillard University in 2004.

David Brooks is staff writer for the Atlantic and the inaugural Senior Presidential Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. He is a commentator on “The PBS Newshour" and founder and Chair of Weave: The Social Fabric Project. Previously, he served as a columnist at The New York Times for 22 years.

His most recent book is “How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.” His previous books include “The Second Mountain,” “The Road to Character,” and “The Social Animal,” all #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Charles M. Blow is an acclaimed journalist and op-ed columnist for the New York Times who appears frequently on CNN. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Fire Shut Up in My Bones and the New York Times bestseller The Devil You Know. He lives in Atlanta.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and TV news executive. Currently she is Executive Director of AU School of Public Affairs' Women & Politics Institute and an SPA Executive in Residence. She is also a former co-host of Bloomberg Politics' Masters in Politics Podcast. She also founded her own consulting business, Fischer Martin Media, where she specializes in providing media training to corporate executives.