Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

Designer Babies and Dystopian Hellscapes: The Future of Gene Editing With CRISPR

The future is here, and it's terrifying. Join the boys as they learn all about the revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9. What's with the crazy acronym, how swole can a chicken be, and when will Duncan get his prehensile tail? Find out on the latest DNA-snipped, biologically enhanced episode of MFFI. 
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In this episode:  
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats
Genetic Scissors
Streptococcus Pyogenes
Bacteria: The Real Hero
Yoshizumi Ishino
Francisco Mojica
Cas9
Emanuelle Marie Charpentier and Jennifer Anne Doudna
DNA/RNA/crRNA
Cas12a
Sickle Cell Treatment
Victoria Gray
CRISPR Crops
Memphis Meats
The GMO issue
HIV and Cancer Treatments
Challenges
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Real-Life Mad Scientists

Little-known fact: the mad doctor from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein was based on a real-life scientist named Giovanni Aldini. And even Aldini's corpse-reanimating experiments were mild compared to some of the bizarre and horrifying travesties that have been committed in the name of scientific progress. Join the boys as they explore two-headed dogs, telekinetic pong-playing monkeys, and the history of unhinged science.
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In this episode:  
Vladimir Demikhov
Head Transplants
Shavka and Brodyaga
Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado
Shiro Ishii
Unit 731
Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night (Disease Fleas)
Giovanni Aldini, the OG Frankenstein
Galvanism
The Postmortem Electrocution of George Forster
Andrew Ure, Frankenstein Part 2
The Postmortem Electrocution of Matthew Clydesdale
Elon Musk and Neuralink
Pager the Mind-Pong Monkey
Cryonics
Alcor, the Life-Extension Foundation
M.E.A.R.T, the Semi-Living Artist
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“High Class Freaks”: The Globetrotting History of Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Leroy Robert Ripley would transcend humble origins to become an unlikely superstar, rebranding from an awkward teenage cartoonist to the sophisticated leader of a profitable multimedia empire. In the process he would expand minds, introduce Americans to the wonders of the larger world...and also contribute to misinformation, promote stereotypes, and work hard to conceal the true secret behind his success. Join the boys this week as they tackle the complicated legacy of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
 
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In this episode:  
Leroy Robert Ripley
Santa Rosa
Those Teeth
From the San Franciso Bulletin to the New York Globe
Robert Leroy Ripley
Handball Champion
Rebranding/Makeover
Champs and Chumps
Believe It or Not
The Laconia
Ramble 'Round the World With Ripley
Ripley Meets India
Ripley Fetishizes China
The Lindbergh Controversy
The First Book
William Randolph Hearst Makes Ripley Rich
Curioddities
Norbert Pearlroth, Secret Weapon
The Warner Brothers Film Shorts
The Radio Show
Ripley, Casanova
BION Island
The First Museum
Human Exhibits, Oddities, and "High Class Freaks"
Freda Pushnik
Post-World-War Tour
The First TV Show
Death
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Spectral Evidence and Satanic Panic: The Salem Witch Trials

In the late 17th century, a satanic panic swept through the Puritan colony of Salem, Massachusetts. Neighbors turned on neighbors, families were torn apart, and when all was said and done 19 innocent men and women were dead.
And the scariest part? It could happen again.  
Join Shane and Duncan for a thorough exploration of one of the most shameful episodes in American history: the Salem Witch Trials. 
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In this episode:  
European Witch Trials
The German Trier Trials
King James VI
The Berwick Witch Trials
Connecticut Witch Trials
Arthur Miller's The Crucible
The Puritans
The Catholic Church and Indulgences
Salem in the 1690s
Abigail Williams and Elizabeth "Betty" Parris
Samuel Parris
William Griggs
Mary Sibley and the Witches Cake
Elizabeth Hubbard and the Wolf
The First Three Accused: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba
Ann Putnam Jr.
The Devil's Book
John and Elizabeth Proctor
John Hathorne and Jon Corwin
Governor Sir William Phipps
Judge William Stoughton
The First Execution: Bridget Bishop
Oyer and Terminer
Spectral Evidence
Witch Tests
The Pressing of Giles Cory
The Superior Court of Judicature
The Panic Ends
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H.H. Holmes: Myths and Murder Castles

Everything you think you know about H.H. Holmes is probably a lie. Which is appropriate, because "Dr. Henry Howard Holmes" was more of a serial liar than a serial killer. But while the popular version of his story is more myth than reality, the truth behind the legend is equally fascinating. Join the boys as they unearth the disturbing history of Herman Webster Mudgett, aka H.H. Holmes. 
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In this episode:  
Herman Webster Mudgett
Myths vs. Reality
Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City vs. Adam Seltzer's The True History of the White City Devil
Yellow Journalism
The "Murder Castle"
The World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair)
Formative Years
Herman Webster Mudgett, "Resurrectionist"
First Wife: Clara Lovering
First Child: Robert Lovering Mudgett
Second Wife: Myrta Zulique Belknap
Second Child: Lucy Theodate Holmes
Englewood, Chicago
The Holtons
Scams and Swindles (Mineral Water and Natural Gas)
Benjamin Pitezel
The Connors: Julia, Ned, and Pearl
The Keeley Cure
The Disappearance of Emeline Cigrand
Third Wife: Minnie Williams
Disappearance of Anna and Minnie
On the Run
Fourth Wife: Georiana Yoke
Murders of Benjam, Howard, Alice, and Nellie Pitezel
Apprehended
The Trial
Executed
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Megafauna: Titans of the Past and Present

From the largest animal to ever inhabit the earth to the heaviest predator of all time, from Spinosaurus to Dire Wolves (they were real!), Shane and Duncan explore the biggest of the big. 
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In this episode:  
Modern Megafauna
Blue Whale: Balaenoptera Musculus
Megatherium (Giant Ground Sloth)
The Pando Aspen Colony 
Armillaria Ostoyae: Clone Network of Fungus Rhizomorphs
La Brea Tar Pits and Zed
The Five Major Extinction Events
The Square Cube Law
Patagotitan Mayorum
Brontosaurus (?)
Spinosaurus
Meganeuropsis Permiana
Paraceratherium
Dire Wolves
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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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