Timothy Egan on the KKK’s Plot to Take Over America

Published August 17, 2023 at 2:21 PM MDT

At the height of its power, the Ku Klux Klan was run by a depraved charlatan named D. C. Stephenson, until a woman's deathbed confession brought him down.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Timothy Egan chronicles the rise and eventual fall of the Klan under Stephenson’s leadership in the 1920s. During that time, the KKK successfully infiltrated many levels of American society, including state governorships. And as the Klan terrified Black people, Jews and Catholics, Stephenson’s debauchery, arrogance and corruption deepened. That is, until he assaulted Madge Oberholtzer. Join us for our conversation with Timothy Eagan about his book "A Fever in the Heartland."

GUEST –

Timothy Egan | Writer and reporter, his book about the Dust Bowl, “The Worst Hard Time,” won the National Book Award. His latest is “A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them.” BookShop| Amazon

Airdate: Friday, May 19, 2023 at 12 p.m. and Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 11 a.m. Rebroadcast: Friday, August 18, 2023 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.