Mark Stein

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Author — field_542d8190101fc

Mark Stein is the author of The Presidential Fringe: Questing & Jesting for the Oval Office. His other non-fiction includes How the States Got Their Shapes, which became the basis for a History Channel series by the same name; American Panic: A History of Who Scares Us and Why; and Vice Capades: Sex, Drugs & Bowling from the Pilgrims to the Present. In other realms, his writing includes the screenplay for the Steve Martin/Goldie Hawn film, Housesitter, and the stage play, Direct from Death Row the Scottsboro Boys, whose 2015 Chicago production was cited as one of that year’s best by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times. Mark lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, a Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress. To any young person hoping to become a writer, he would urge them to marry someone who works at the Library of Congress.

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The Presidential Fringe: Questing and Jesting for the Oval Office

This offbeat slice of American history places the story of our great republic beneath an unexpected lens: that of fringe candidates for president of t...

Featured on: Monday, March 9, 2020

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June 30, 2026

Kerby Anderson

Melting Pot

Roger Kimball writes about “The Hyphen and the Melting Pot.” It is an important article to read for those of us talking about immigration and assimilation.

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June 29, 2026

Kerby Anderson

Summer Jobs

Summer jobs for teenagers have been disappearing, and Harvard professor Roland Fryer has some explanations. He quickly dismissing many of the reasons given: AI, tariffs, and gas prices. He reminds us...

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June 26, 2026

Penna Dexter

Downplaying “Pride”

Although it’s Pride month, June hasn’t seen much LGBT hoopla here in Texas. The Washington Stand reports that throughout the country, such celebrating “has been dialed back to a stunning degree.” The...

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