Charivari & the History of the KKK feat Devin O’Shea (E27)

We explore the Ku Klux Klan, from its theatrical origins in “charivari” during reconstruction to the Hollywood-inspired white hooded gang most people are familiar with. Our guest is Devin Thomas O’Shea, journalist and author of The Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy and the Struggle for St. Louis. Your hosts are Julian Feeld and Jon Gabrus.

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Follow Devin: https://x.com/devintoshea

The Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy, and the Struggle for St. Louis by Devin Thomas O’Shea: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2770-the-veiled-prophet

Episode edited by Ty Wood. Theme song by Thiago França. Cover art by Ruben Gerard. Super Structure selection of the week is Seven Shells by Fred Eaglesmith.

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Bibliography

• Ku Klux by Elaine Parsons (2015)
• Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. Du Bois (1935)
• Lords of Misrule by James Gill (1997)
• Rabelais and His World by Mikhail Bakhtin (1965)
• White Terror by Allen W. Trelease (1971)
• Hyperpolitics by Anton Jäger (2026)
• American Charivari by Devin Thomas O’Shea for Lapham’s Quarterly (2023)