Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

The Scandalous, Grifting History of Megachurches

In today’s supersized praise-worthy episode, MFFI uncovers the scandalous stories behind the rise of megachurches and explains how a few ambitious, unscrupulous grifters turned piety into profit and faith into a financial formula. From the pulpit to the bank vault, explore the controversial rise of these religious empires and the charismatic leaders who plunder the pockets of their congregations.
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In this episode:  
Just How Mega is a Megachurch? 
Gigachurches
The Business of Faith
Lakewood and Joel Osteen
The First Megachurch (1861): Charles Spurgeon and the Metropolitan Tabernacle
The First American Megachurch: Foursquare
Aimee Semple McPherson
The Prosperity Gospel
Oral Roberts
Vanco Payments
Kenneth Copeland, Demon-Face
World Changer's Church
Creflo Dollar and Project G650
The United States Inquiry in the Tax-Exempt Status of Religious Organizations
Deep Dive: Hillsong Church
Frank Houston and the Hills Christian Life Center
Brian Houston, Ned Flanders of Evil
Geoff Bullock, Darlene Zcheck, and the Hillsong Band
"The Church I See" 
The Rise and Fall of Carl Lentz and Hillsong NY
Accusations and Confessions
The Fall of Frank and Brian
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Host Swap: The History of War Games and D&D

Duncan takes the reins!
It's been a long time coming, but another host swap episode is finally here. This week Duncan officially ran out of excuses and agreed to play the role of "MFFI Dungeon Master" for an episode full of orcs, backstabbing, wet sand, orcs, battle tactics, critical hits, and orcs. 
Did we mention orcs?
~
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Wizards, Dragons, and White Supremacy: The Ku Klux Klan

Here there be dragons! But not the fun kind…How are wizards, ghouls, and dragons connected to the civil war? What does “AYAK” stand for? And what the hell is a Kleagle?
Join MFFI for a journey equal parts ridiculous and horrific as Shane and Duncan shed light on one of the darkest chapters of America’s past. From its secretive inception to its infamous reign of terror, explore the history and lingering legacies of the Ku Klux Klan.
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In this episode:  
December 24, 1865, Pulaski Tennessee 
Civil War, Slavery, and Reconstruction
Racist Pranksters
The Prescript of the Klan
Grand Cyclopses, Nighthawks, Ghouls, and Kleagles
AYAK and AKIA
Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest
The Enforcement Acts
The Birth of a Nation
Ulysses S Grant
William Joseph Simmons and the 2nd Coming of the Klan
Stone Mountain, Georgia, Thanksgiving 1915
Ku Klux Klan, Multilevel Marketing Company (Pyramid Scheme)
Hiram Wesley Evans Stages a Coup
DC Stephenson Undermines the Klan
The Rise of Klan Mark III
Civil Rights Movement
The Modern Klan
~
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The Darwin Awards: 2000s Edition

Back by popular demand, and dumber than ever: The Darwin Awards. One of MFFI's most popular episode topics returns, this time with a modern twist... 
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In this episode:  
Mike Warner: Death By Boofing
David Reston: Death By Viper
Brian Joplin: Death By Supermanning
Muhammad Niaz: Death By Miracle
Phillip Contos: Death By Irony
Unidentified Angry Wheelchair Man: Death by Road Rage
Unidentified Angry Terrorist: Death By Untimely Text
~
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Prison Breaks: Alcatraz and El Chapo

Unlock gripping true stories that defy the confines of steel and stone in this tunneling, plotting, unshackled episode of MFFI.  
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In this episode:  
Alcatraz, aka The Rock
Joseph Bowers: The First Attempt
John Paul Scott: The First "Success"
Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe: The First Unknowns
Escape from Alcatraz: The Most Famous
Frank Morris
John and Clarence Anglin
Alan Clayton West
The Plan
The Escape
The Aftermath
Jaouquin Archibald Guzman Loera 
"El Chapo"
The Sinaloa Cartel
First Incarceration and Escape: Puente Grande
Second Incarceration and Escape: Altiplano
Third Incarceraton and No Escape: Florence Superman (ADX Florence)
~
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Black Holes: Time-Warping Cosmic Paradoxes

How powerful is a singularity? Can anything escape from an event horizon? Do black holes “suck”?
Dive into the cosmic shadows with Shane and Duncan as they unravel the mind-warping, gravity-bending science behind black holes.
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In this episode:  
Sagittarius A*
Primordial Black Holes
John Michell
Dark stars
Gravitationally Completely Collapsed Objects
John Wheeler
Cygnus X-1
Event Horizon Telescope
Messier 87
Supernovae
Red Giants, White Dwarves, Blue Supergiants
Einstein and General Relativity
Gravity
Nuclear Forces and Electromagnetism
Quantum Mechanics
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
Quantum Entanglement
Hawking Radiation/Evaporation
Sanduleak −69 202
Event Horizon
Singularity
Photon Sphere
Accretion Discs
Time Dilation
TOE (Theory of Everything)
String Theory
Spaghettification
~
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Decoding Blood: The History of Genetics and DNA Profiling (Forensics Part 2)

Follow Shane and Duncan along the twists and turns of the double helix as they unravel the history of genetics and DNA profiling. From Watson and Crick to the Human Genome Project, from Green River to the Golden State Killer, learn how genetic material holds the key to solving seemingly unsolvable crimes and curing formerly incurable diseases. 
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In this episode:  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: The "Blueprint for Life"
The Structure of DNA
Nucleotides: Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, Guanine
Sugar Phosphates
Friedrick Miescher
Photo 51
Rosalind Franklin
Watson and Crick
The Eagle Pub
Nature Magazine
DNA Sequencing
Frederick Sanger
The Human Genome Project
DNA Profiling
Jeffrey Glassberg
Alec Jeffries
Murderer Colin Pitchfork: The First Success
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
The Green River Killer: Gary Ridgeway
The Golden State Killer: James D'Angelo Junior
CODIS: The Combined Data Index System
Touch-DNA
The Pitfalls of Partial DNA
Successes
~
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Blood, Sweat, Fingerprints and Tears: Forensic Science

What do blood, sweat, tears, and fingerprints have in common? They can all be used to solve crimes. In this episode of Midnight Facts for Insomniacs, Shane and Duncan explore the fascinating world of forensic science, and debunk some of the most ridiculous Hollywood myths. Crime doesn't pay, but it sure makes for a great episode…
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In this episode:  
A short history of forensics
Pre-forensics
Trial by combat
Cruentation
Eureka! Archimedes and water displacement
The Theory of Discernable Uniqueness
Likelihood Ratios
Fingerprints
Dermal Ridge Skin
Turing Patterns
Whorls, Loops, and Arches
The Henry Classification System
Dermatoglyphs
Adermatoglyphia
Dactyloscopy
Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer
Jean Evangelista Purkyne
Henry Faulds
The Loupe
The first success: Francisca Rojas
Paul Jean Coulier and iodine fuming
IAFIS: Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
Blood Spatter
Michael C. Hall and Dexter Morgan
Herbert MacDonell
The [Basement] Laboratory of Forensic Science
The International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts
Debunking: The 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences
Splatter vs Spatter
~
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Famous Ships Lost at Sea

Which nautical tragedy represents the largest loss of life in non-combat American Navy history? Are there any undiscovered shipwrecks in American lakes? How much treasure would you get to keep if you could find the most valuable shipwreck that still hasn’t been discovered? Prepare for a journey through maritime history’s darkest waters, as Shane and Duncan delve into four chilling tales of ships lost at sea…
 
~In this episode:  
USS Cyclops
Flor de la Mar
Le Griffon
SS Waratah
~
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Native American Mythology

Join Shane and Duncan as they attempt to navigate the sensitive topic of Native American mythology, exploring the elusive world of talking coyotes, giant turtles, divine peace pipes, and the cosmic dance between gods and mortals. 
~In this episode:  
Debunking "Spirit Animals"
The "Noble Savage"
Keep America Beautiful and the Most Famous Tear on TV
Iron Eyes Cody (Espera de Corti)
Native American Philosophies on Nature
Indigenous History in the Americas
Creation Myth - The Great Turtle (aka Turtle Island)
The Chitimacha and the The Great Spirit
Coyote and the Permanence of Death
~
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And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 
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