VandeHei is one of the co-authors of the book and a co-founder of Axios, a “disruptive media company delivering news and insights on politics, business, media and tech” (“Jim VandeHei.” Leading Authorities, Inc., 2023). VandeHei is currently the CEO of the company and has been named as one of the “100 most powerful Information Age thinkers” by Vanity Fair (“Jim VandeHei”). VandeHei originally was a journalist for The Washington Post specializing on American politics. After departing from The Washington Post, VandeHei became one of the co-founders of Politico in 2007. While there, VandeHei helped put the new organization on the map and steered it toward the successful, renowned political website that it is today.

Like his fellow co-author Jim VandeHei, Allen was also a one-time political correspondent for The Washington Post, in addition to having the same role with TIME. Along with VandeHei, Allen co-founded Politico and Axios. Allen’s found great success with writing newsletters that eventually morphed into the Politico Playbook, which became widely read in Washington political circles. The New York Times Magazine, in 2010, referred to Allen as “The Man the White House Wakes Up To” (108), and former US president Barack Obama’s communications director Dan Pfeiffer hailed Allen in the Times as the “‘the most powerful’ and ‘important’ journalist in Washington” (108).