Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

Idioms (common sayings): Mysteries Solved

Do white elephants exist? (Spoiler: yes.) Was there actually a "Riot Act" and did anyone read it? (There was, and they did). 
Join Shane and Duncan for a fascinating exploration of colloquialisms, jargon, and vernacular. 
 
In this episode:
White Elephants
The Riot Act
Rule of Thumb
Crocodile Tears
For Pete's Sake
Bite the Bullet
Cats in Bags
Hair of the Dog
Loose Cannon
High and Dry
Baker's Dozen
...and more
~Join the Midnight Masses! Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at PATREON~Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!~Instagram~Podcast Website

Screwups and Blunders (Part 2)

Another batch of epic mistakes that led to death, destruction, and mayhem. Also, cannibalism. Plus: Shane sucks at accents, Duncan disses NASA, and cats are let out of bags. 
 
In this episode:
The Donner Party
Fat French Trains
NASA Tapes Over the Moon Landing
The Austrian Army Attacks Itself...Maybe?
Penicillin is Discovered Via Absentmindedness
Decca Disses the Beatles
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Screwups: humanity’s biggest blunders (part 1)

Everyone makes mistakes, but only a select few are capable of making mistakes so massive that they change the course of history. From a drunken oil-tanker fiasco to a basic math error that torpedoed a mission to Mars, explore the screwups that shaped the world. 
 
In this episode:
The Mars Explorer that Didn't
The Exxon Valdez
The Wrong Turn Heard 'Round the World
...and more.
~Join the Midnight Masses! Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at PATREON~Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!~Instagram~Podcast Website

Pandemics, Plagues, and Scourges

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? From the Black Death to Ebola, from SARS to Zika, Shane and Duncan explore the worst pandemics in history, and the most terrifying modern diseases. (Much more fun than it sounds.)
In this episode:
Ebola
Smallpox
The Bubonic Plague  
HIV
The Spanish Flu
H1N1
Coronaviruses (Covid-19 and SARS)
And more...
~Join the Midnight Masses! Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at PATREON~Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!~Instagram~Podcast Website

Cults: NXIVM and Branch Davidians

Cults. They're the worst. In part one: Duncan can't pronounce "Ayn," Shane can't pronounce "Raniere," and everyone hates MLMs. Plus perverts abound, mullets are flaunted, and corpses are (not) resurrected. 
 
In this episode:
NXIVM
Branch Davidians and the Waco Debacle 
DISCORD
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Common Misconceptions

What color is the sun? How many spiders do you swallow in your sleep every year? (Spoilers: not yellow, and none.) 
In this episode Shane and Duncan dispel common misconceptions, pick a fight with Disney, and explore the origins of viral misinformation. 
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Mysterious Disappearances

How many Americans go missing every year, and how many of those disappearances remain unsolved? Which states have the highest numbers of missing people per year? What actually happened to the most famous missing people in history? 
Shane and Duncan explore the world of unsolved disappearances, and go deep with a few famous cases. 
In this episode:
Natalee Holloway
Jimmy Hoffa
Amelia Earhart
Disappearances by State
...and more.
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Box Office Disasters

Bombing on stage as a comedian is embarrassing, but bombing in theaters with a multi-million dollar budget is waaay worse. In the latest episode, Shane and Duncan excavate the biggest, dumbest, most expensive Hollywood misfires in history, and revisit the worst theatrical bombs of 2019. 
In this episode:
Waterworld 
John Carter 
Cutthroat Island
Howard the Duck
Battlefield Earth 
Heaven’s Gate
Plus the biggest flops of 2019 (Cats etc)
...and more.
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Conspiracy Theories

Shane and Duncan deep-dive into the paranoid rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. From flat-earthers to the Berenstain Bears, explore the genesis of some of the most ridiculous and fascinating conspiracy theories in history...along with a few that turned out to be true. 
 
In this episode:
Manufactured viruses
Flat earth
The Berenstain Bears
Chemtrails
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
And more...
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM

Infamous Hoaxes

Shane and Duncan explore hoaxes, swindles, and cons, and Shane reveals the most damaging hoax ever. 
 
 In this episode:
Nessie
The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
Clever Hans
Piltdown Man
Satanic Panic
Balloon Boy
...and the most damaging hoax of all time
~Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content.~Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD~Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com~Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word.~Follow us on INSTAGRAM