Mark Stein

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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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October 30, 2026

Penna Dexter

Close The Borders

President Trump and Vice President Vance have wise advice for France and other European countries that are seeing rioting, anarchy and destruction in their streets. “CLOSE THE BORDERS.”

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October 30, 2026

Kerby Anderson

Halloween

Tomorrow is October 31st. Most people know it as “Halloween” but it also has long been known as The Festival of the Dead.

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October 29, 2026

Kerby Anderson

Alchemy and Currency

Many years ago, a presenter at an international conference compared the printing of currency to alchemy. Centuries ago, alchemists tried to turn cheap “base” metals into gold. The idea goes all the wa...

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