Sven Birkerts ("The Alchemist's Retort") is the author of four books of essays, including The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age (1993). He is editing an anthology titled The Millennial Muse: Imagination in the Brave New World, to be published this fall.

Stephen L. Carter ("The Insufficiency of Honesty") is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University and the author of The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion (1994). Carter's article in this issue of The Atlantic is adapted from his book Integrity, to be published by Basic Books next month.

Dennis Drabelle ("A Gift for Dialogue") writes about fiction, movies, and the environment. His reviews appear regularly in The Washington Post.

James Fallows ("Why Americans Hate the Media") is The Atlantic's Washington editor. He is the author of More Like Us (1989) and Looking at the Sun (1994). Fallows's article in this issue of The Atlantic is taken from his book Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy, to be published this month by Pantheon.

Garrison Keillor ("The Poetry Judge") is the host of the Public Radio International show A Prairie Home Companion. His books include Lake Wobegon Days (1985), Leaving Home (1987), WLT:A Radio Romance (1992), and The Book of Guys (1993).

Stephen Kroninger (cover art) is a photo-collagist who lives in New York City. Recently he animated a collage for The Beat Experience, a CD-ROM produced in conjunction with the Whitney Museum. Kroninger's work has been the subject of a one-person show at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Cullen Murphy ("Fair Trade") is the managing editor of The Atlantic.

Lucia Perillo ("The Body Mutinies") teaches creative writing at Southern Illinois University. Her poem in this issue of The Atlantic is the title poem of her new collection, to be published next month.

Marsha Rabe ("Albert and the Animals") is the director of publications at Southern Connecticut State University. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times. This is her first published fiction.

Jonathan Silvers ("Child Labor in Pakistan") is a writer and an independent television producer specializing in international affairs and human-rights issues.

Steven Stark ("Right-Wing Populist") writes about politics and popular culture and is a commentator on National Public Radio. He is completing a book about the most influential programs in television's history.

Andrew Todhunter ("The Precipitous World of Dan Osman") is a writer who lives in California.