A bite-sized look at the NYPD officer who sued the city for firing him over anonymously mailing racist pamphlets to charitable organizations

Sources:

​​https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/17/nyregion/officer-admits-to-racist-mail-and-is-offered-deal-to-retire.html

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sotomayors-defense-of-whi_n_210795


https://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/335/2016/09/Sotomayor_2002Opinion_Pappas.pdf


https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2358084/pappas-v-giuliani/

A bite-sized look at the NYPD officer who sued the city for firing him over anonymously mailing racist pamphlets to charitable organizations Sources: <a href="​​https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/17/nyregion/officer-admits-to-racist-mail-and-is-offered-deal-to-retire.html">​​https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/17/nyregion/officer-admits-to-racist-mail-and-is-offered-deal-to-retire.html</a>
<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sotomayors-defense-of-whi_n_210795">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sotomayors-defense-of-whi_n_210795</a>
 <a href="https://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/335/2016/09/Sotomayor_2002Opinion_Pappas.pdf">https://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/335/2016/09/Sotomayor_2002Opinion_Pappas.pdf</a>
 <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2358084/pappas-v-giuliani/">https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2358084/pappas-v-giuliani/</a>

Weird Little Guys is a weekly show about the worst people you’ve never heard of, taking you beyond the headlines to get to know the race warriors and aspiring terrorists trying to unravel the fabric of our society. Weaving together the origin stories of modern American white supremacist groups and the crimes that land their members in court, independent journalist Molly Conger exposes the monsters for what they really are - some weird guy. Whether they’re conspiring to build bombs or serving swastika shaped cookies at a dinner party, the weird little guys trying to destroy America are a little less scary with their masks off. 

Weird Little Guys is a weekly show about the worst people you’ve never heard of, taking you beyond the headlines to get to know the race warriors and aspiring terrorists trying to unravel the fabric of our society. Weaving together the origin stories of modern American white supremacist groups and the crimes that land their members in court, independent journalist Molly Conger exposes the monsters for what they really are - some weird guy. Whether they’re conspiring to build bombs or serving swastika shaped cookies at a dinner party, the weird little guys trying to destroy America are a little less scary with their masks off.

Investigative journalist Molly Conger takes you beyond the headlines to examine some of the worst people on the planet, most of whom you’ve never heard of. These are the weird little guys trying to ruin life as we know it.

Weird Little Guys

Minisode: Pappas v Giuliani 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b4ad0b55-e60d-40dc-8c4f-b2d4014331c5/transcript

In 1904, men who believed in 'race science' put hundreds of people in a human zoo at the St. Louis world's fair. Today, those same racist, pseudoscientific views persist, and the men who hold them demand to be taken seriously in the name of academic freedom.

Sources & Further Reading:

Newkirk, Pamela (2015). Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga. Amistad.

Saini, Angela (2019). Superior: The Return of Race Science. Beacon Press.

McCray, Carrie Allen (2012). Ota Benga Under My Mother’s Roof. University of South Carolina Press.

Gould, Stephen Jay (1996). The Mismeasure of a Man. Penguin Books.

Nathan Cofnas’ Doctoral Thesis: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bd78170f-1131-47ef-af8d-7a3bb2ef41d0

https://jannalangholz.wordpress.com/2022/12/26/17-worlds-fair-deaths/

https://thenewinquiry.com/blog/specimen-days-human-zoos-at-the-1904-worlds-fair/

https://web.archive.org/web/20070610034510/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Bontoc.html

https://ashp.cuny.edu/documentaries-list/savage-acts-wars-fairs-and-empire-1898-1904/#

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/how-i-became-the-scapegoat-in-the-jason-arday-affair-dc134088

https://investigations.hopenothate.org.uk/race-science-inc/

https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2007046/ghent-university-under-fire-for-appointing-us-philosopher-with-ties-to-scientific-racism

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/abs/reptiles-with-a-conscience-the-coevolution-of-religious-and-moral-doctrine-by-nathan-cofnas-pp-523-ulster-institute-for-social-research-press-london-2012-3000-isbn-9780956881151-paperback/4005A8AD3C5B21AC0A82A38D5D97BBF8

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/the-man-who-was-caged-in-a-zoo

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/the-scandal-at-the-zoo.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevmrjd9lj1o

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/jan/06/harvard-claudine-gay-plagiarism

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/largest-human-zoo-world-history

In 1904, men who believed in 'race science' put hundreds of people in a human zoo at the St. Louis world's fair. Today, those same racist, pseudoscientific views persist, and the men who hold them demand to be taken seriously in the name of academic freedom. Sources &amp; Further Reading: Newkirk, Pamela (2015). Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga. Amistad. Saini, Angela (2019). Superior: The Return of Race Science. Beacon Press. McCray, Carrie Allen (2012). Ota Benga Under My Mother&rsquo;s Roof. University of South Carolina Press. Gould, Stephen Jay (1996). The Mismeasure of a Man. Penguin Books. Nathan Cofnas&rsquo; Doctoral Thesis: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bd78170f-1131-47ef-af8d-7a3bb2ef41d0 https://jannalangholz.wordpress.com/2022/12/26/17-worlds-fair-deaths/ https://thenewinquiry.com/blog/specimen-days-human-zoos-at-the-1904-worlds-fair/ https://web.archive.org/web/20070610034510/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Bontoc.html https://ashp.cuny.edu/documentaries-list/savage-acts-wars-fairs-and-empire-1898-1904/# https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/how-i-became-the-scapegoat-in-the-jason-arday-affair-dc134088 https://investigations.hopenothate.org.uk/race-science-inc/ https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2007046/ghent-university-under-fire-for-appointing-us-philosopher-with-ties-to-scientific-racism https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/abs/reptiles-with-a-conscience-the-coevolution-of-religious-and-moral-doctrine-by-nathan-cofnas-pp-523-ulster-institute-for-social-research-press-london-2012-3000-isbn-9780956881151-paperback/4005A8AD3C5B21AC0A82A38D5D97BBF8 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/the-man-who-was-caged-in-a-zoo https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/the-scandal-at-the-zoo.html https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevmrjd9lj1o https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/jan/06/harvard-claudine-gay-plagiarism https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/largest-human-zoo-world-history

Race Scientists and the Human Zoo

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d85dc14c-444a-465a-9a74-b4b201624fa8/transcript

In 1994, Byron de la Beckwith was finally convicted of murder for killing Medgar Evers in 1963. He died in prison, his story is over. But history repeats itself.

Sources & Further Reading:

Massengill, Reed (2024). Portrait of a racist: Byron De La Beckwith and the Assassination of Medgar Evers. Univ. of Tennessee Press.

DeLaughter, Bobby (2001). Never Too Late: A Prosecutor’s Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case. Scribner.

Mitchell, Jerry (2020). Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. Simon & Schuster.

Vollers, Maryanne (1995). Ghosts of Mississippi. Little Brown & Company.

Newton, Michael (2010). The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. McFarland & Company, Inc.

Dittmer, John (1994). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. University of Illinois Press.

Ball, Howard (2004). Murder in Mississippi. University Press of Kansas.

Snipe, Tracy (2021). The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story. Africa World Press.

Doyle, William (2001). An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi 1962. Doubleday.

Nossiter, Adam (1994). Of Long Memory: Mississippi and the Murder of Medgar Evers. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/719/1345/1438234/

https://shadowproof.com/2018/03/07/documents-reveal-police-targeting-anti-racists-charlottesville/
https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/4404359-DHS-Bulletin-Aug-9/

https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2007/may/30/dredging-up-the-past-why-mississippians-must-tell/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/us-government-spied-anti-ice-protesters

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html

https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-minneapolis-news-agents-claim-alberto-castaeda-mondragn-hit-wall-shattered-skull-triggers-tension-hospital/18514566/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72504545/ge-v-immigration-and-customs-enforcement/

In 1994, Byron de la Beckwith was finally convicted of murder for killing Medgar Evers in 1963. He died in prison, his story is over. But history repeats itself. Sources &amp; Further Reading: Massengill, Reed (2024). Portrait of a racist: Byron De La Beckwith and the Assassination of Medgar Evers. Univ. of Tennessee Press. DeLaughter, Bobby (2001). Never Too Late: A Prosecutor&rsquo;s Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case. Scribner. Mitchell, Jerry (2020). Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. Simon &amp; Schuster. Vollers, Maryanne (1995). Ghosts of Mississippi. Little Brown &amp; Company. Newton, Michael (2010). The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. McFarland &amp; Company, Inc. Dittmer, John (1994). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. University of Illinois Press. Ball, Howard (2004). Murder in Mississippi. University Press of Kansas. Snipe, Tracy (2021). The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story. Africa World Press. Doyle, William (2001). An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi 1962. Doubleday. Nossiter, Adam (1994). Of Long Memory: Mississippi and the Murder of Medgar Evers. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/719/1345/1438234/ https://shadowproof.com/2018/03/07/documents-reveal-police-targeting-anti-racists-charlottesville/ https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/4404359-DHS-Bulletin-Aug-9/ https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2007/may/30/dredging-up-the-past-why-mississippians-must-tell/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/us-government-spied-anti-ice-protesters https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-minneapolis-news-agents-claim-alberto-castaeda-mondragn-hit-wall-shattered-skull-triggers-tension-hospital/18514566/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72504545/ge-v-immigration-and-customs-enforcement/

Mississippi's Still Burning: Byron de la Beckwith Pt 7

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5fedf3ad-deb6-4c51-9ac0-b4ab01663666/transcript

In 1964, crosses burned all over Mississippi, signaling a return of the Ku Klux Klan. Their big debut was perfectly timed as a show of support for Byron de la Beckwith.


Sources & Further Reading:

Massengill, Reed (2024). Portrait of a racist: Byron De La Beckwith and the Assassination of Medgar Evers. Univ. of Tennessee Press.

DeLaughter, Bobby (2001). Never Too Late: A Prosecutor’s Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case. Scribner.

Mitchell, Jerry (2020). Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. Simon & Schuster.

Vollers, Maryanne (1995). Ghosts of Mississippi. Little Brown & Company.

Sims, Patsy (1978). Stein & Day.

Nelson, Stanley (2016). Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi in the 1960s. Louisiana State University Press.

Dirks, Annelieke. “Between Threat and Reality: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Emergence of Armed Self-Defense in Clarksdale and Natchez, Mississippi, 1960-1965.” Journal for the Study of Radicalism, vol. 1, no. 1, 2007, pp. 71–98. 

Ball, Howard (2004). Murder in Mississippi. University Press of Kansas.

Hamm, Mark (2017). The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism. Columbia University Press

Biondi, K., and J. Curtis. 2018. “From Structural to Stochastic Violence.” Association for Political and Legal Anthropology.

Newton, Michael (2010). The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. McFarland & Company, Inc.

Dittmer, John (1994). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. University of Illinois Press.

Payne, Charles (1995). I’ve Got The Light of Freedom. University of California Press.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/accused-in-1964-mississippi-race-slayings-wrote-hate-letter-1.668898

In 1964, crosses burned all over Mississippi, signaling a return of the Ku Klux Klan. Their big debut was perfectly timed as a show of support for Byron de la Beckwith. Sources &amp; Further Reading: Massengill, Reed (2024). Portrait of a racist: Byron De La Beckwith and the Assassination of Medgar Evers. Univ. of Tennessee Press. DeLaughter, Bobby (2001). Never Too Late: A Prosecutor&rsquo;s Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case. Scribner. Mitchell, Jerry (2020). Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. Simon &amp; Schuster. Vollers, Maryanne (1995). Ghosts of Mississippi. Little Brown &amp; Company. Sims, Patsy (1978). Stein &amp; Day. Nelson, Stanley (2016). Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi in the 1960s. Louisiana State University Press. Dirks, Annelieke. &ldquo;Between Threat and Reality: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Emergence of Armed Self-Defense in Clarksdale and Natchez, Mississippi, 1960-1965.&rdquo; Journal for the Study of Radicalism, vol. 1, no. 1, 2007, pp. 71&ndash;98. Ball, Howard (2004). Murder in Mississippi. University Press of Kansas. Hamm, Mark (2017). The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism. Columbia University Press Biondi, K., and J. Curtis. 2018. &ldquo;From Structural to Stochastic Violence.&rdquo; Association for Political and Legal Anthropology. Newton, Michael (2010). The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. McFarland &amp; Company, Inc. Dittmer, John (1994). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. University of Illinois Press. Payne, Charles (1995). I&rsquo;ve Got The Light of Freedom. University of California Press. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/accused-in-1964-mississippi-race-slayings-wrote-hate-letter-1.668898

The Fiery Cross: Byron de la Beckwith, Pt 6

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c891209c-ce72-402f-b7f2-b4a4016cc2cf/transcript

Minisode: Pappas v Giuliani

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