Kevin Begos has been the Journal's Washington reporter since September 2000. He has also reported from Sudan and Afghanistan. Begos is a graduate of Bard College. He joined the Journal in 1999. Begos developed the lead and created the foundation for the series.

Danielle Deaver has been covering medical affairs since August 2001. A 1998 graduate of Wake Forest University, Deaver started at the Journal in 1999. In the past year, she has written about stem-cell transplants and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber used to treat brain-damaged children.

John Railey has been writing about religion for the Journal since 1997. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the national Cornell Memorial Award in 1999 for religion coverage. Railey is a 1984 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ted Richardson has been a photojournalist at the Journal since 2000. He is a graduate of Davidson College and has a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Richardson has won several awards for his photography.

Scott Sexton was the project's editor. He is the Journal's state editor, responsible for coverage of Northwest North Carolina, Raleigh and Washington. He joined the paper in 1999 as night editor and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

• Katherine Elkins and Jennifer Falor, interactive media producers for Journalnow.com, designed and produced the online series and its components.

• The series was copy-edited by Jo Dawson. Charlie Elkins, an assistant managing editor, designed and paginated the pages for print. Jana Dwyer provided research help. The graphics were done by Jim Stanley and Nicholas Weir. Michelle Johnson produced the online audio collected by Ted Richardson.