R.J. Pingree is a political communication professor at Louisiana State University. Like this debut novel, his research seeks hope about dark subjects: media effects on democracy, the role of facts and policy reasoning in politics, how societies prioritize problems, and trust in truth-seeking institutions. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, he has sailed competitively, designed games, stubbornly played disc golf for years without improvement, written embarrassingly gushing fan emails to authors, and found his greatest happiness in fatherhood.
