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

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.

Go to patreon.com/superstructure to get a feed with double the episodes for just $5 a month.

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)