Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

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Instagram:

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Discord:

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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

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Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/pzvapy/Laws.pdf

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Website:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

May 15, 2021

Robots go Rogue: When Artificial-Intelligence Malfunctions

Are robots dangerous? Is Artificial Intelligence destined to take over the world?

The short answers: yes, and eventually. The robot apocalypse is inevitable. But there's no need to stress, because at least for now, machines are complete idiots. Anything that we currently refer to as "AI"--from Siri to Alexa to advanced machine-learning algorithms--are definitely artificial, but they aren't remotely intelligent. Listen to this episode to find out just how intelligent AIs aren't.

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In this episode:

The Sad State of Artificial Intelligence
Alan Turing
The Turing Test (the Imitation Game)
Google Duplex
CPUs VS GPUs
Parallel Computing
Narrow AI VS General AI
Microsoft's "TAY" Chatbot
Watson and Urban Dictionary
Watson for Oncology
Solid Gold Bomb
Amazon "Rekognition" Facial Recognition
This (blank) Does Not Exist
NVIDIA's StyleGAN
Amazon's Recruiting Tool

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

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CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/yd39dw/AIFails.pdf

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Website:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

May 6, 2021

Dry America: The Prohibition Debacle

It makes perfect sense that a comedy podcast would cover this week’s topic, because prohibition was a joke.

If you’re not familiar with the story behind the bootlegging, moon shining, home-brewing chaos of 1920s America, you’ll want to listen to this week’s episode and learn all about the giant clusterf*** that was the 18th Amendment.

In this episode:

Prohibition Through the Ages
The Code of Hammurabi
Beer Bartering
The Puritans, Pilgrims, and Alcohol
The American Temperance Society
Women's Christian Temperance Union
Drys vs Wets
Visitation Bands
Carrie Nation
The Anti-Saloon League
Wayne Wheeler
Wheelerism and Pressure Politics
Prohibition and the Ku Klux Klan
Blue Mondays
World War 1 and the War Against German Brewers
The Food and Fuel Control Act
The Alcoholic Blues
The Volstead Act and an Epic Mustache
The 18th Amendment
Connecticut and Rhode Island, Heroes
Woodrow Wilson's Veto Attempt
The Conundrum of Enforcement
Section 29
Vine-Glo
Warren G. Harding Flouts the Law
Congress Flouts the Law
Congress and the Man in the Green Hat Flout the Law
Everyone Flouts the Law
Smuggling, Brewing, Bootlegging, Bathtub Gin, Moonshine
NASCAR
Denatured Alcohol
Al Capone
The Stock Market Crash
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Repeal

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/t4qiky/Prohibition.pdf

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Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

April 22, 2021

How it Ends: The Most Likely Extinction Events

Like it or not, the earth has an expiration date. Billions of years from now the sun will expand and swallow the planets of our solar system...but there’s no guarantee humanity will even make it that far.

So what are the most likely end-time scenarios? Will the end of civilization come at our own hands via nuclear conflict or rogue Artificial Intelligence? Or will nature take us out via plagues or asteroids or super-volcanoes?

Join the boys for a final countdown...

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In this episode:

The Doomsday Clock
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
Anthropogenic Risks vs Non-Anthropogenic Risks
The Global Catastrophic Risk Conference
Close Calls (NORAD fails)
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
Gold Bullion
International Rivalries
Nuclear War
Asteroids (Boomsplode Cataclysm)
Artificial Intelligence
Super-volcanoes
Yellowstone Caldera
Long Vally Super-Volcano
Climate Change, briefly
Pandemic, briefly
The Great Deoxygenation
Red Giant/White Dwarf

Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

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Instagram:

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Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

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Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/xgbsxu/Doomsday.pdf

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Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

April 15, 2021

Weird Science: Psychology Edition

Humans like to believe that we're the pinnacle of evolution, but are we truly logical, rational creatures? If so, why do we self-sabotage? Why do we cling to irrational beliefs even when they make our lives difficult? Do we control our own motivations and behaviors, or are we under the influence of psychological phenomena that most of us barely understand?

Brains are weird. Here's proof.

In this episode:

Cognitive Dissonance
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
The Scarcity Principle
Mere-Exposure Effect
False Consensus Effect
Belief Perseverance
Attribution Errors
The Spotlight Effect
Illusion of Transparency
Recency Bias
The Madonna-Whore Complex

Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/9rvefu/WeirdPsychology.pdf

~

Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

April 8, 2021

Host Swap: Scottish Facts and Fictions

By popular demand via the MFFI Discord, Shane and Duncan swap roles for a special episode recorded on April Fools Day!

Follow along in this Scottish-themed extravaganza as Duncan demolishes the beloved historical farce that was Braveheart, and answers questions that no one ever cared to ask, like, "Have there been any tandem Scottish serial killers?" and "Where is the world's largest hedge?" (Hint: it's in Scotland.)

Will this host-swapping Freaky Friday craziness ever happen again? Maybe! Probably not! But who knows? Give the episode a listen and then drop your opinion in the discord:

Meet the Midnight Masses! Join Shane and Duncan and the rest of the Insomniacs on Discord.

https://discord.gg/4KUWbgj4PN

In this episode:

Braveheart dissected and debunked
Robert the Bruce speaks in platitudes
Mac Vs Mc
Scottish slavery
Grave-robbing serial killer duo Hare and Burke
Scotland sucks at currency
Mòrag of Loch Morar
Chicken Tikka Masala
The largest hedge
Bonnybridge UFOs

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/y9mbtb/Scotland.pdf

~

Episode Transcript:

~

Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

April 1, 2021

Diets Debunked: The Sketchy Science of Health and Weight Loss

Meet the Midnight Masses! Join Shane and Duncan and the rest of the Insomniacs on Discord:

https://discord.gg/4KUWbgj4PN

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What's the most effective weight loss plan? Do any of the trending "diet tips" on the Internet actually work? Why does the keto diet make your breath smell like death?

Join the guys for an exploration of the wild history of nutrition science through the ages, and learn which (if any) fad-diets are legit.

In this episode:

The shifting, shifty food pyramid
Fletcherism
The cigarette diet
The Hay diet
Atkins
The paleo diet
The raw food diet
Food replacement (SlimFast etc)

Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~

Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ngp55z/Diets.pdf

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

March 25, 2021

Uncool: Failed Fads and Terrible Trends

We humans are suckers for the latest crazes and fads, but it's easy to forget that today's TikTok dance will be tomorrow's Macarena. Today's iPhone will be tomorrow's Blackberry. Today's skinny jeans will be tomorrow's skinny jeans. You get the idea.

Join the guys for a rollicking trip through the fad-tastic misfires of yesteryear, from carob to merkins.

In this episode:

Water Beds
Carob
Merkins
Dance Marathons
Mailbox Baseball
Pogs
Magic Eye (Autostereograms)
Sea Monkeys

Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Website:

https://midnightbonus.weebly.com/midnight-merch.html

~

Episode Transcript:

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/zmgay6/Fads.pdf

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Play Now

March 18, 2021

Substandard Superheroes: The Bad, the Worse, and the Ugly

Not all heroes are created equal. Join the boys for adventures in mediocrity as they explore the least "super" heroes from comic book lore.

In this episode:

The Silliest:
- Big Bertha
- Leather Boy
- Squirrel Girl and Monkey Joe
- Arm Fall Off Boy
- Fortress Lad
- Mnemonic Kid
- Color Kid
Cypher (Doug Ramsey)
The Red Bee (Rick Raleigh)
NFL Superpro (Phil Grayfield)
The Black Condor (Richard Grey Junior)
Vibe (Francisco Ramone)
Strong Man
Gin Genie
Hawkeye?

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!

~

CONTACT:

Leave an audio message:

https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/voicemail/popup/?from=https://www.podpage.com/midnight-facts-for-insomniacs/

~

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text with comments, suggestions, or feedback:

+1 (408) 596-4603

~

Email:

https://www.instagram.com/midnightfactsforinsomniacs/

~

Instagram:

~

Discord:

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info:

~

Website: