Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

Mormonism: Private Worlds, Secret Handshakes, and Sacred Underwear

Welcome to another exciting episode of "Is it a cult?" (Spoiler: yep!)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is one of the world's youngest and fastest-growing religions. It's also completely bonkers. In this week's supersized episode, Shane and Duncan marvel at the sheer awesome silliness of Mormonism and recount the unlikely story of the church's enigmatic con-artist founder, Joseph Smith.
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In this episode:  
Joseph Smith
The Angel Moroni and the Golden Plates
Urim and Thummim
The Book of Mormon (Lehi, Nephi, Laman et al) 
Brigham Young
Nauvoo
Exoduses from: New York, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri
Revelation of Polygamy
The Expositor and the Death of Joseph Smith
Salt Lake, Utah
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Missionaries
The Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah
Warren Jeffs
Tithing (Sacred Taxation)
The Artists Formerly Known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Endowment Ceremony
Covenants, Tokens, Signs and Seals
Veils and Secret Handshakes
Execution of the Penalty
Sacred Temple Garments (God's Armor)
Baptizing the Dead
Exaltation (Private Worlds)
Mormon cosmology and Kolob
The Oath of Vengeance
Mormons and LGBTQ+
Prop 8
Family Home Evening (FHE)
Shunning/Excommunication
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Declassified Military Operations

What was the sinister secret behind "Camp Century"? Did the American government really import and employ high-ranking Nazi scientists after WWII? Is there a non-pervy interpretation of the term "Rods of God"? Find out the answers to all of these questions and more in this week's classified, undercover, top-secret edition of MFFI. 
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In this episode:  
Project Iceworm
Project Sunshine
Project Thor
Operation Northwoods
Operation Paperclip
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Sieges: Epic Bombardments and Standoffs

Gather your supplies and settle in for a wall-crushing, bunker-busting, fire-raining episode of MFFI as the boys explore the most brutal sieges in history.
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In this episode:  
Complete Investment
Circumvallation
Trebuchets, Catapults, Siege Towers, Mangonels
The Siege of Stirling Castle
Alexander the Great and The Siege of Tyre
The Siege of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) 
The Siege of Ceuta 
The Siege of Saguntum
The Siege of Tenochtitlan
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World’s Fairs: A Legacy of Weirdness and Innovation

What do touchscreens, electrical outlets, color televisions, and fax machines have in common? They were all revolutionary technological breakthroughs that debuted at World’s Fairs. Also from World’s Fairs: powdered root beer, portable bathtubs, and Elektro the Smoking Robot. Hey, they can’t all be winners.
This week, join the guys for a grand tour of the most sensational hits and misses from the storied history of International Expositions. 
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In this episode:  
Fairs vs. Expositions
Prague in 1791
France in 1798 et al
The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park (https://www.royalparks.org.uk/whats-on/the-great-exhibition-virtual-tour)
Monkey Closets and George Jennings
Thomas Crapper
Spending a Penny
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations
Prince Albert
Karl Marx, Shade Thrower
Schweppes 
The Mountain of Light
Cyrus McCormick's Steam-Powered Reaping Machine
The Fax Machine
Leeches and the Tempest Prognosticator
Charles Hobbes and the Parautoptic Lock
Linus Yale
The Bureau Internationale De Expositions
Specialized Expos, World Expos, Horticultural Expos, and the Milan Triennial
Donald Rumsfeld and the Known Unknowns
The Space Needle
The Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
H.H. Holmes
William Cody
Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. and the Ferris Wheel
X-Rays, Zippers, and AT&T's Picture Phone
RCA and Color Television
The Knoxville Tennessee World's Fair
Samuel Hurst and the Touchscreen
Cherry Coke
The Eiffel Tower
The Paris Colonial Exposition
The "Truth on the Colonies"
Elektro the Smoking Robot, and Sparko
The New York World's Fair of 1964
The Bell Rocket Belt
The Suboceanic Resort
It's a Small World
The Festival of Gas
Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition of 1876
The Statue of Liberty's Hand
Ethelbert Watts and the Portable Bathtub (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XSXQIO/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_ADHM9NHG1NVP9Q2X13H5)
Expo '86
The Challenger Disaster and Chernobyl
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The History of F@!#%$g Profanity

It's a god#%m mothe$#@king s*#tshow on this week's episode as the guys explore the history, purpose, and benefits of profanity. Keep it classy, Insomniacs. 
 
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In this episode:  
Profanus: Outside of Temple
Zounds
Osculation
Sl*tty Tummies
The Overton Window
Modern Profanity: Racism, Sexism, and all the other isms
The Problem With Time Machines
The Home of Profanity: The Right-Brain Limbic System
Aphasia
International Restrictions on Speech
Obscenity Laws
The Miller Test (The 3-Pronged Obscenity Test)
Averages and Community Standards
Lenny Bruce
Jim Morrison, Hugh Hefner, and Mae West
George Carlin's "7 Dirty Words"
Eddie Murphy's "Delirious"
Telegraph, Radio, and Television
The Radio Act of 1912 
The Federal Radio Commission
The Radio Act of 1927
The Federal Communications Commission
WBAI 
John Douglas Goes to the Supreme Court
The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters
The Fairness Doctrine
The Hays Code (The Motion Picture Production Code)
The MPAA and Arbitrary Ratings
Steven Pinker and the 5 Functions of Swearing
Cathartic, Dysphemistic, Emphatic, Idiomatic, Coprolalia
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Galactic Warlords, Billion Year Contracts, and a Modern American Space Cult: The “Church” of Scientology

What do celebrities, sex magic, and the antichrist have in common? Find out in this week's all-clear, billion year, intergalactically cult-ilicious episode of MFFI. 
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In this episode:  
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard
Going Clear
Celebrity Members (Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Michael Pena, etc)
Margaret Louise "Polly" Grubb
Hubbard in the Navy
Jack Parsons, Thelema, OTO, and Aleister Crowley
The Moonchild (Antichrist)
Marjorie Cameron 
Sarah Northrup
Engrams
Auditors
E-Meters
Scientology vs Psychiatry
The Reactive vs. The Analytical Mind
The Tone Scale
Founding of Scientology
The Sea Org
The Bridge (Ladder) to Total Freedom
Operating Thetan Levels
The Purification Rundown
OT3, Xenu, Teegeeack, Glycol, DC-8s, Super Colossal Screens
Hubbard Discards His Body
David Miscavige, Sleazy Diminutive Sociopath
Suppressive Persons
7th Floor of the Hollywood Headquarters
Pre-Clear Folders
The Office of Special Affairs
Scientology vs. the IRS
Michele "Shelly" Miscavige
Scientology Television Network
Meet a Scientologist, Freedom TV, Voices For Humanity
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Epic Rivalries, Famous Feuds, and Bitter Beefs

In this first episode of the Epic Rivalries series, the boys opt for a (mostly) lighthearted introduction to the world of legendary grudge-matches. Enjoy!
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In this episode:  
Coke Vs Pepsi
Hatfields Vs McCoys
Pat’s Vs. Geno’s
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Best of MFFI: The First 100 Episodes

Ready for a trip down memory lane? No? Well, it's happening, and it's all Duncan's fault. The plague monkey strikes again. (Thanks a lot, omicron.) But luckily the first long-distance episode ended up being a rollicking good time. Listen along as the boys revisit everyone's favorite and most inappropriate moments from the first 100 episodes. Trigger warnings and NSFW tags apply. Enjoy!
 
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We’re All Mad Here: The History of Asylums (100th Episode Extravaganza!)

It’s the MFFI 100th episode extravaganza!! Announcements, podcast Q&As, plus a supersized topic: the History of Asylums. Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at PATREON
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In this episode:  
The Moonstruck Etymology of "Lunatic"
The 21st-Century Language Act of 2012
Mental Healthcare Pre-Asylums
Bedlam: The Bethlehem Royal Hospital
The Mad Doctors Munro
Alienists
Hydrotherapy
Rotational Therapy
Blistering 
Evacuation
 Venesection 
Scarification
Mercuric Chloride
James Norris and Edward Wakefield
The Quakers
William Tuke & Hannah Mills
The York Retreat
 Public Institutions 
County Asylums Act
The Lunacy Act of 1845
Utica State Hospital
Thomas Story Kirkbride
The Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason
Friends Hospital
Dorothea Dix
Nellie Bly, Redux
Henry Cotton
Julius Wagner-Jauregg
Malaria Injections
Insulin Coma Therapy
Lobotomies, Redux
Electroconvulsive Therapy, ECT
Ugo Cerletti
Straight Jackets
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Domestic Trouble
Sterilization
The Rise of Antidepressants and Antipsychotics
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After Midnight (Full Episode): The Top 5 Holiday Movies of All Time

Although many of you Insomniacs have probably been naughty this year, MFFI is releasing a full After Midnight episode to the regular feed just in time for the holidays. It's a Christmas miracle! From historical classics to modern classics to Die Hard 2, Shane and Duncan debate the best holiday movies of all time. What's in your top 5? Tell us in the MFFI Discord...
 
MFFI DISCORD
 
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In this episode:  
3 Rounds of Midnight Madness
Thunderdome of Ideas (the Top 5 Five Holiday Movies), chosen from:
The Grinch
Love Actually
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Edward Scissorhands
Bad Santa
Scrooged
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Gremlins
It's a Wonderful Life
Just Friends
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Muppets
Miracle on 34th Street
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Die Hard 1 and 2
Elf
The Prince of Egypt
Lethal Weapon
Frosty the Snowman
The Christmas Chronicles
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