Mark Hannah

There is a buzz of excitement in Cataloochee these days. Visitors come into this section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by the thousands to view the majestic elk and other wildlife roaming the valley. However, there were no elk in Cataloochee for almost 200 years. European settlers arrived in North Carolina in 1587 and the Eastern Elk was hunted to extinction in the 1790s. Fortunately, elk were successfully reintroduced (from Kentucky and Canada) into Cataloochee in 2001 and appear to be on a path to success. But what about the people? What about the Cataloochans who arrived after the elk? The valley has always been difficult to access and the people who came in to the valley and settled it in the 1800s were made of sterner stuff than most. What happened to this settlement in the beautiful, remote Cataloochee Valley, which at one time boasted over 1200 residents and was the largest settlement in the Smokies? This is their story ... as told by them.

“Voices, shouts, stories, days and nights, Edina echoing through the ages, for time shall be the only marker.” Alan is late for his daughter’s concert, Liam has fallen in love, and Maureen just wants to get home. Athens of The North is a love letter to Edinburgh and the small cosmic ways we impact each other’s lives. Told across three monologues, the lives of Edinburgh residents and visitors interweave across a single day in Scotland’s capital. Set against a UNESCO World Heritage backdrop of over-tourism, gentrification and eroded communities, each of them examine what home means to them in their pasts, their presents as well as their futures. “three interlinking monologues rich in the culture and place names of the city. Punchily written and powerfully performed, these portraits hold the audience spellbound.” —The Guardian “Hannah thus explores the complexities and beauty of human nature, using his magic ability to suddenly switch from buoyant banter to raw, dark emotion. He lucidly communicates a powerful message about one’s intertwined connection to one’s past, present, and future in this stunning poetic tribute to the Athens of the North.” —Corr Blimey CAST: 1-3 actors DURATION: 60 minutes

Political analyst and Democratic campaign veteran Mark Hannah and renowned New Yorker illustrator Bob Staake give Barack Obama the victory lap he deserves in this compendium that takes the president's critics head-on and celebrates the president's many underappreciated triumphs.Barack Obama's election in 2008 was a watershed moment in American history that inspired supporters on the Left--and fired up enemies on the Right. Elected in the midst of multiple crises--a Wall Street meltdown that imperiled the global economy and American troops entangled in two foreign wars--Barack Obama's presidency promised, from the start, to be one of the most consequential presidencies in modern American history.Although he stabilized the economy and restored America's prestige on the global stage, President Obama has been denied the credit he deserves, receiving instead acidic commentary from political opponents such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, who declared that Obama was "the worst president in his] lifetime"--an accusation that reflects the politics of resentment and recrimination that has come to characterize the president's critics.In The Best "Worst President", Mark Hannah and New Yorker illustrator Bob Staake swiftly and systematically debunk conservative lies and disinformation meant to negate the president's accomplishments and damage his reputation--baseless charges too often left unchallenged by the national media. The Best "Worst President" is a whip-smart takedown of these half-truths and hypocrisies, each refuted in a smart, witty, fact-based style. Hannah and Staake not only defend the president but showcase his administration's most surprising and underappreciated triumphs--making clear he truly is the best "worst president" our nation has ever known.