Decades before he sculpted a Confederate general out of old bathtubs, Jack Kershaw briefly represented his most famous client - Martin Luther King Jr's assassin, James Earl Ray. The relationship soured after Ray discovered his lawyer had pocketed a payment from Playboy magazine.

Sources:

James McKinley, "Playboy Interview: James Earl Ray," Playboy Magazine, September 1977

https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/09/archives/polygraph-indicates-ray-lied.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/25/archives/james-earl-ray-wants-mark-lane-to-replace-his-tenth-lawyer.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-marathons-few-know-how-to-enter-fewer-finish.html

Decades before he sculpted a Confederate general out of old bathtubs, Jack Kershaw briefly represented his most famous client - Martin Luther King Jr's assassin, James Earl Ray. The relationship soured after Ray discovered his lawyer had pocketed a payment from Playboy magazine. Sources: James McKinley, "Playboy Interview: James Earl Ray," Playboy Magazine, September 1977 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/09/archives/polygraph-indicates-ray-lied.html">https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/09/archives/polygraph-indicates-ray-lied.html</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/25/archives/james-earl-ray-wants-mark-lane-to-replace-his-tenth-lawyer.html">https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/25/archives/james-earl-ray-wants-mark-lane-to-replace-his-tenth-lawyer.html</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-marathons-few-know-how-to-enter-fewer-finish.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-marathons-few-know-how-to-enter-fewer-finish.html</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

Playboy Payola: Jack Kershaw, Pt. 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b3447f59-0bd6-4a63-903a-b426015011ae/transcript

Molly interviews Michael Edison Hayden about his new book, Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small Town. The book is an intimate portrait of what happened in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia after a white nationalist group moved into the castle on the hill.
Preorder the book now or buy it anywhere books are sold when it comes out on April 7, 2026

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-edison-hayden/strange-people-on-the-hill/9781645030607/ 

Molly interviews Michael Edison Hayden about his new book, Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small Town. The book is an intimate portrait of what happened in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia after a white nationalist group moved into the castle on the hill. Preorder the book now or buy it anywhere books are sold when it comes out on April 7, 2026
<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-edison-hayden/strange-people-on-the-hill/9781645030607/">https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-edison-hayden/strange-people-on-the-hill/9781645030607/</a>&nbsp;

Strange People on the Hill feat. Michael Edison Hayden

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fd32751f-0a7b-4344-a0ac-b4200116e07a/transcript

Jack Kershaw created his most famous piece of art in his 80s. His lifelong passion for the arts had to take a backseat when he shifted his focus to becoming a professional racist during the fight against integration. He was doing it for his confederate ancestors, he would often say. But he was never very specific about who exactly his ancestors were...

The It Could Happen Here episode mentioned, originally aired 2/22/2024 - 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZQAqsxImsNGQUTzHGKhNp

Sources:

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/23/polk-sculpture-donated-by-white-supremacist-jack-kershaw/

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/22/polk-sculpture-removed-by-student-taken-to-archives/

https://meridiana.sewanee.edu/2022/04/30/a-year-later-a-letter-of-explanation/

https://www.moca.org/collection/work/unmanned-drone

https://religiondispatches.org/2025/10/28/swords-plowshares

https://www.sipcville.com/

https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-03-23/swords-into-plowshares-cville-jefferson-school-designs-hood-push-mass

https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-05-23/swords-into-plowshares-robert-e-lee-statue-charlottesville-centennial

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai

https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/confederate-icongraphy.html

https://wpln.org/post/even-as-statue-forrest-still-draws-fire/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/30/Ray-says-lawyer-hid-Playboy-fee/1722386312400/ 

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, August 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvCjM1lPwg4

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, October 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5b_-TZwQ0I

Jack Kershaw created his most famous piece of art in his 80s. His lifelong passion for the arts had to take a backseat when he shifted his focus to becoming a professional racist during the fight against integration. He was doing it for his confederate ancestors, he would often say. But he was never very specific about who exactly his ancestors were... The It Could Happen Here episode mentioned, originally aired 2/22/2024 - <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZQAqsxImsNGQUTzHGKhNp">https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZQAqsxImsNGQUTzHGKhNp</a> Sources: <a href="https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/23/polk-sculpture-donated-by-white-supremacist-jack-kershaw/">https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/23/polk-sculpture-donated-by-white-supremacist-jack-kershaw/</a>
<a href="https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/22/polk-sculpture-removed-by-student-taken-to-archives/">https://thesewaneepurple.org/2021/03/22/polk-sculpture-removed-by-student-taken-to-archives/</a>
<a href="https://meridiana.sewanee.edu/2022/04/30/a-year-later-a-letter-of-explanation/">https://meridiana.sewanee.edu/2022/04/30/a-year-later-a-letter-of-explanation/</a>
<a href="https://www.moca.org/collection/work/unmanned-drone">https://www.moca.org/collection/work/unmanned-drone</a>
<a href="https://religiondispatches.org/2025/10/28/swords-plowshares">https://religiondispatches.org/2025/10/28/swords-plowshares</a>
<a href="https://www.sipcville.com/">https://www.sipcville.com/</a>
<a href="https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-03-23/swords-into-plowshares-cville-jefferson-school-designs-hood-push-mass">https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-03-23/swords-into-plowshares-cville-jefferson-school-designs-hood-push-mass</a>
<a href="https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-05-23/swords-into-plowshares-robert-e-lee-statue-charlottesville-centennial">https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-05-23/swords-into-plowshares-robert-e-lee-statue-charlottesville-centennial</a>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai">https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai</a>
<a href="https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/confederate-icongraphy.html">https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/confederate-icongraphy.html</a>
<a href="https://wpln.org/post/even-as-statue-forrest-still-draws-fire/">https://wpln.org/post/even-as-statue-forrest-still-draws-fire/</a>
<a href="https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/30/Ray-says-lawyer-hid-Playboy-fee/1722386312400/">https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/30/Ray-says-lawyer-hid-Playboy-fee/1722386312400/</a>&nbsp; The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, August 2017 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvCjM1lPwg4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvCjM1lPwg4</a>
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, October 2017 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5b_-TZwQ0I">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5b_-TZwQ0I</a>

The Ugliest Confederate Statue in the World: Jack Kershaw, Pt. 1

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/079dc9e9-9b02-46af-a668-b41f010d2754/transcript

Before we leave the novels of William Luther Pierce behind us, let's take a quick look at the real Earl Turner. The protagonist of The Turner Diaries was, like all of Pierce's characters, named after a real guy he knew.

Before we leave the novels of William Luther Pierce behind us, let's take a quick look at the real Earl Turner. The protagonist of The Turner Diaries was, like all of Pierce's characters, named after a real guy he knew.

Minisode: The Real Earl Turner

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9e5fc71c-999a-4c78-9911-b41e010efde2/transcript

Playboy Payola: Jack Kershaw, Pt. 2

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