Co-proprietor and Minister of Impractical Ideas Heather Catto Kohout died on October 17, 2014, nearly three years after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. A native of San Antonio, she was formerly on the staff of the Seton Cove, an interfaith spirituality center in Austin, and was a dedicated rower, a published poet, and a freelance theology teacher. She had a bachelor’s degree in English from Williams College, a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and a master’s degree in religion from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, from which she also received the 2013 Durstan R. McDonald Teaching Award.

Co-proprietor and Minister of Propaganda Martin Kohout was born in San Francisco. He was for many years a writer and editor with the Texas State Historical Association and with Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is also the author of the book Hal Chase: The Defiant Life and Turbulent Times of Baseball’s Biggest Crook. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Williams College and a master’s degree in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin.