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#SatanicSummer sends you out as sheep among the wolves, to the heart of Babylon! This week, we’re discussing the sinful delight that is 1997’s Devil’s Advocate. We’ll talk about the religious origin of Satan and theological efforts to explain free will (it’s a bitch!) Then, we’ll dive deep into Devil’s Advocate’s  greatest literary origins: Faust and Paradise Lost. At once a legal thriller, a gothic horror, and a domestic epic, Devil’s Advocate plays in murky moral waters that are a treasure trove of philosophy, history, and mythology. — Podvoices.help  Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds - or to a fund in your community. Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

#SatanicSummer continues with our roundup and discussion of Stranger Things Season 4. In this season, Netflix’s runaway hit introduced a monstrous new villain and lovable new side characters, and found interesting ways to reshape their formula. Meanwhile, it takes inspiration from the very real, very disturbing moral panic, known as the Satanic Panic, of 1980s America. We discuss the complexities of American social and political change that led to mass persecution of outsiders, as well as the psychiatric “innovation” that laid the groundwork for it. Additionally, we’ll discuss the Dungeons & Dragons villain Vecna, who lends his name to this series’ Big Bad. Who is Vecna the Archlich? Where did he come from? Is he anything more than a namesake for the Stranger Things character? WARNING: Major spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4! Mild content warning for some of the Satanic Panic details discussed. — Podvoices.help  Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds - or to a fund in your community. Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Wouldst thou like to live deliciously? Join us – and special guest Jeff Lippman of Garden of Doom – for a special episode on Robert Eggers’ feature-length directorial debut, The Witch: A New England Folk Tale (2015). It’s the  story of a 17th century Puritan family cast to the edges of the wilderness, where they’re met with misery and ordeals at the hands of an evil presence in the wood. Turning against their eldest daughter Thomasin, the family succumbs to doubt, pride, and envy as their worst nightmares unfold. This episode brings delights more sumptuous than the taste of butter, or a pretty dress. We discuss how witch persecution was legally codified in the early modern world, the development of the figure of Baphomet or the Sabbatic Goat, and the ancient and medieval mythologies that connect the threads. — Special thanks to Jeff Lippman of Garden of Doom! Find Garden of Doom and Garden Views on: Apple Podcasts Spotify …and most anywhere you can find podcasts! Twitter — Big shout-out to Black Mass Appeal: Modern Satanism for the Masses for their wonderful History of Baphomet. — And hey! EFF YOU SCOTUS! We are donating our Patreon proceeds this month to the National Network of Abortion Funds. If you don’t support us on Patreon, consider making a gift to the NNAF or your local/regional abortion fund. Abortion is health care. Abortion is a human right. Protect people with uteruses. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Death is only the beginning… Dear listeners, we have a treat for you today! An epic centuries in the making - we’re thrilled to join forces once again with an adventurer, scholar, podcaster extraordinaire: Em from Verbal Diorama! Even better, we’re teaming up to cover the 1999 action adventure blockbuster The Mummy. One part ancient love story, one part classic monster flick, one part Indiana Jones-style adventure, The Mummy walks genre lines with elegance and humor to create one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. We’ll dive into the history and legacy of the film with Em (wait till you hear who was supposed to direct this one!), learn about the Imperial ironies that dictate historical study of Ancient Egypt with Derek, and explore surprising literary connections to another classic monster with Laurel. You can check out more of the history and legacy of movies you know (and movies you don’t!) at Verbal Diorama, available wherever you get your podcasts! Apple Spotify And catch up with Em on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

We bring you this episode for the glory of our beloved company, in deference to Kier. We’re back! With a breakdown of one of the year’s most puzzling, thrilling, and mind-boggling new shows, Severance. This show has everything: Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare; Humorist drama inspired by Hippocratic medicine; late capitalism; academic buffoonery; wellness horror; and ritualistic workplace waffle parties. As we try to unravel the mysteries of Lumon, the controversial Severance procedure, and the rather hollow notion of “work life balance,” a couple of key themes necessitate further exploration. We’ll look to philosopher John Locke for the emergence of modern conceptions of the self and human consciousness as they relate to memory. Plus, we’ll jump in the time machine to explore a lesser-known moment in American history with strange parallels to the cult-like corporate labyrinth of Lumon: John Humphrey Noyes’s 19th century free-love commune, the Oneida Community. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

From the Godfather to the grandfather of modern cinema… This week, we’re taking on another epic American classic, considering one of—if not the finest film ever made: Citizen Kane. From the technical cinematic innovations of young director Orson Welles to the timeless tale of a media magnate turned political hopeful, Citizen Kane proves painfully resonant with the world of today. We explore the twists and turns of this slanted biography, one haunted by the figure of Kane, who, himself, remains voiceless. We track the historical evolution of mass communication and media that gave rise to Kane’s real-world analog, William Randolph Hearst—and the Yellow Journalism wars that precipitated a real-life international conflict. Ultimately, in the search for truth, we are always missing a piece of the puzzle—whether we’re looking for the truth about a man’s life, a nation’s foundational myth, or human nature itself. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

The Midnight Myth is proud to present our 200th episode spectacular - covering Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic The Godfather. In its 50th anniversary year, the underworld epic still burns with outstanding technical achievement and searing tragedy. With arguably career-best performances from its leading cast, rich cinematography, and a gripping story of the American Dream won and lost, The Godfather is considered one of the greatest movies ever made. We discuss the delicate strings and long-set machinations that drive our protagonist, Michael Corleone, to his moral downfall (much like a Greek tragedy), the pastoral promise of Michael’s Apollonian interlude, and how the experiences of Sicilian and Italian immigrants in America shaped generations to come. And much, much more. Thank you for joining us for 200 episodes. May there be 200 more. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Welcome to Episode two hund— just kidding! We’re kicking off the lead-up to our big Episode 200 Spectacular with a reading of listener-submitted questions. You sent us your questions, we pondered, and we're ready to share how the sausage is made here at the Midnight Myth. Come along for our thoughts on Egyptian mythology, American Pie(?), Stephen King, working parenthood, and other out-there topics. Thank you to everyone who submitted a question. Your listenership and engagement with us is so meaningful. Listen to the end as we reveal the winner of our Norse mythology/Marvel-themed GIVEAWAY! AND The announcement of our topic for Episode 200, coming soon from the Midnight Myth… — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

In the beginning… Join us for a podcast 7,000 years in the making, as we take on Marvel’s Eternals (2021)… for the second time in a few weeks - Check out our review of Eternals alongside the incomparable Geek Salad here. It’s a film teeming with history, mythology, and philosophy - the energy cocktail that powers our podcast. We discuss the mythological counterparts for the characters and artifacts in Chloe Zhao’s film, debate some of the movies most cogent themes, and argue for its place within the MCU. We also explore the interesting space Eternals occupies at the intersection of Charles Darwin, Walt Whitman, and Rene Descartes. Be sure to participate in our Q&A - ask on any of our social platforms or via the web contact form at midnightmyth.com to be entered in a Norse myth/Marvel giveaway bundle for our 200th episode! — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Coming in spring of 2022, Sleep & Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy-inspired sleep series from the co-creator of The Midnight Myth Podcast. Step across the threshold into a world of myth and magic, where you can safely drift off into a deep and comfortable sleep. Sleep & Sorcery is one part bedtime story, one part guided meditation, and one part dreamy adventure. My name is Laurel, and I’ll be your guide on infinite fantastical journeys. On each episode of Sleep & Sorcery, I’ll whisk you away to a far-off time and place. Visit a cozy cottage in the mythical village of Slumbershire, where you’ll share a cup of tea with old friends, reminiscing on your past adventures to misty mountains and elven halls. Travel through the mysterious forests of Bohemia, encountering fairy tale creatures and exploring gothic churches. Go back in time to the court of King Arthur and embark on a meditative quest for lost relics. Soar in a spaceship among the stars, taking in the awesome sights of cosmic phenomena. Each sleep story is carefully crafted to evoke feelings of comfort, safety, and relaxation – paired with breath work or a soothing body scan to send you naturally into sleep. Sleep & Sorcery. See you in your wildest dreams. Music: A Glimpse of Avalon by Flouw, from EpidemicSound.com Special Thanks to Derek Jones --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Drawers! Floors! Doors! Let’s go! Come with us to Casa Madrigal, the magical casita that sits in the heart of a wondrous Colombian community. After spending weeks with “Surface Pressure” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” buzzing in our heads, we’re discussing Disney’s 2021 animated smash Encanto, and the myriad ways it evolves the studio’s offerings. Drawing inspiration from the beautiful landscape, culture, and music of Colombia, the literary magic of Marquez, and the tragic history of the country, Encanto weaves a vision that’s truly moving. We discuss how the Madrigal family suffers from intergenerational trauma, and the intense work they must undertake to heal their collective wounds. We also dive into the history of Colombia to try and place Encanto in time, giving the story additional emotional context. Lastly, we acknowledge some of the many mythological parallels in the story. The stars don’t shine, they burn. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Whether you wear blue robes or red, serve the White Cloaks or the Aes Sedai, or follow the way of the leaf, you’re welcome at our fire for this week’s discussion of Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time, based on the books by Robert Jordan. We explore religious, mythological, and philosophical traditions that subscribe to a cyclical cosmology (a “wheel of time”) and contemplate the implications on the story world. We also delve into the three oaths of the Aes Sedai, and the limitations of deontological moral systems in corruptible institutions. Unexpected cameos by Isaac Asimov and Cleopatra, as well. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Derek and Laurel are back, and on the eve of 2021 ending and 2022 beginning they look back on the last year and ask about how living life as new parents in a pandemic challenged, changed, and evolved their relationship to contemporary story telling. As The Midnight Myth gets close to two years since having attending a movie in a theater, what themes connect the experience of interacting with media in a pandemic environment? What narratives drew us in and how did we grow as individuals, a family and a podcast? We discuss supporting local theater, the evolution of the MCU as it jumps into streaming television, and how the prospective of the pandemic permeates into our view of narratives… from Don’t Look Up, too Hawkeye, Ted Lasso, Midnight Mass, Morning Show, Mythic Quest, Loki, and so much more! — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Interested in starting your own podcast? Try using Anchor by clicking on this link to get started: anch.co/midnight Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! For lo, I bring you tidings of a great podcast. We’re thrilled to be back in the studio with a 2021 Christmas Spectacular. This year, we’ll use the 1965 classic A Charlie Brown Christmas to explore the sweeping history of Christmas traditions like the Christmas tree, pageants, and ritual media consumption. From ancient pagan festivals to medieval mystery plays, from Washington Irving to postwar capitalism, A Charlie Brown Christmas prompts the kind of philosophical inquiry you might not expect from a 25-minute cartoon. Whatever and however you celebrate, and with whom, we wish you a happy holiday season and a joyous new year. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

I must not fear. Fear is mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings you a new Midnight Myth episode! We haven’t stopped thinking about Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular vision of Frank Herbert’s Dune for the past few weeks. Join us on Arrakis to debrief some of the historical and religious inspiration for the Dune-iverse, meditations on the purpose of mythology (is it a helpful framework for understanding our world, or a tool of the powerful to manipulate the masses?), and reflections on the bleakness of the story’s outlook. We’ll visit the Sassanid Persian Empire and a 1980s conference on nuclear semiotics along the way. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Surprise, and happy Hallo-Wednesday! We made it into the studio for a very special edition of our Perfect Movie Gauntlet. As we continue to test our criteria for the Perfect Movie (evaluating on the basis of dimensions like Timelessness, Technical Achievement, etc…), we’ve made a few tweaks to determine the Perfect Spooky Movie! Listen to find out if your fall faves—like Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas—can pass the ultimate test. Send us your contenders, or tell us why we’re wrong! We’ll head back to the lab to continue refining our formula… — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

The Midnight Myth returns out of a sense of duty to our listeners, inner virtue, and faith in the podcasting empire. This week, we are discussing Derek’s all-time favorite movie, and a springboard for in-depth discussions of historical fiction—Ridley Scott’s 2000 smash-hit Gladiator. We take a journey through Greco-Roman conceptions of the afterlife, interrogate the historical liberties taken by the film, and question the impact of the Roman Empire on the modern world. Learn about the connections between Maximus and the early Roman dictator Cincinnatus (who also heavily influences an important American historical figure), the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, the damnation of Commodus’s memory, and so much more… — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

We’re back, fellow travelers, and we’re just racing along the path of the Beam! We have begun the massive undertaking that it Stephen King’s The Stand - and this episode will cover just the first 230 pages of the epic tome. These 230 pages contain multitudes (if you know, you know!) How do empires fall? What lies ahead after the world moves on? And how does the first act of The Stand relate to The Dark Tower? Join us for a stimulating discussion… and for the love of god, get vaccinated. — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Fellow travelers on the path of the Beam, Wheel of Ka returns with another episode, covering The Mist. This Wheel of Ka takes us to a small New England lake town. When a powerful storm knocks out the power, a strange mist descends on the town. David and his son Billy go to the market when the mist comes and the monsters who live within it. This short novel delves deep into human nature as David attempts to reconcile with what is more dangerous, the monsters who live in the mist or the monsters his neighbors become as they are trapped inside the market? As always, we discuss how this book relates to Stephen King’s masterpiece, The Dark Tower, say thank ya sai! — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support

Welcome back to the Midnight Myth as we cross the mighty waters of the Pacific Ocean and travel back to Medieval Japan with the Miyazaki written Studio Ghibli produced masterpiece Princess Mononoke! Listen to us ask the questions, what is Shinto, how does it inform this wonderful movie, and how does it relate to the identity of god killers and industrialists alike? As the forces of modernity threaten the Kami- the ancient spirits, gods and demons of the forest- the cursed prince Ashitaka attempts to negotiate peace between the powerful and compassionate Lady Eboshi and the mysterious and ruthless San. If there is a perfect story, its likely written by Miyazaki! Check out Verbal Diorama’s Princess Mononoke episode next: https://t.co/22P8jD5n9V — Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/midnightmyth/support