Dante Chinni has been a journalist for some two decades now with stints at Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor and the Project for Excellence in Journalism. He has also lived the freelance life with pieces appearing in outlets ranging from the Washington Post Magazine to The Economist to The New Republic. Although a card-carrying member of the East Coast Media Industrial Complex (bouncing between DC and New York), Dante’s roots are still firmly planted in the Industrial Midwest. He grew up outside Detroit and went to college at Michigan State University, where he studied journalism and history. Dante's work now centers on exploring the country through the lens of the 12 community types of Patchwork Nation. The project is the focus of "Our Patchwork Nation," available now from Gotham Books. Patchwork Nation is part of the Jefferson Institute, an independent research and education institution, inspired by Thomas Jefferson's challenge to pursue truth, wherever it may lead. Dante lives in DC with his wife, Christina Ianzito, and their two children. Feel free to ask any and all questions you might have --  except those concerning the Detroit Tigers 2009 collapse. He won't answer those.

Jeff Larson was the online director at The Nation where he coordinated the magazine's editorial and business activities on the web during the 2009 political season. Previously, he worked at W.W. Norton and as a film and video editor at an Emmy award-winning production company.