The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong

Lucy Lightfoot went missing in 1831, and was later found alive and well... in 1364. Listen to this episode through Vodacast here! (http://feed.vodacast.com/59793132/The%20Constant:%20A%20History%20of%20Getting%20Things%20Wrong/Lucy%20Lightfoot)Continue your education via University of California Irvine now! (https://ce.uci.edu/?utm_source=TNM&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=2022theconstant)How abo...

A long story, made short, and then long again, is finally ready to end. Join us for part three, the story of one guy who singlehandedly solved the most difficult problem in human history. Sort of. Kinda. Not really. But a little bit! If you enjoyed this saga, give Dava Sobel's Longitude a read. Continue your education via University of California Irvine now! (https://ce.uci.edu/?utm_source=TNM&utm...

In part two, we've got an enormous naval disaster, a long-shot con-job, some far-fetched inventions, and some of the most famous scientists to ever lived, all unified by that most difficult of human problems: how to find one's longitude. Listen to this episode via the Vodacast app here! (http://feed.vodacast.com/58462338/The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong/Long Story Short (Pt 2))Conti...

Humanity has tackled a lot of hard problems over the last few thousand years--from medicine to physics to splitting tips. But the most difficult question we've ever answered is our subject this week: where are we?Continue your education via University of California Irvine now! (https://ce.uci.edu/?utm_source=TNM&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=2022theconstant)Check out this show and all your othe...

Today we've got a potpourri of smaller stories: invasive bird spies! Cunning robberies! Booby traps! MULES! Listen in! Check out this show and all your other podcasts on Vodacast (http://www.vodacast.com). Listen here for bonus content: http://feed.vodacast.com/57103178/The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong/Trivial (http://feed.vodacast.com/57103178/The%20Constant:%20A%20History%20of%20G...

In 1818, New York City was gripped by the trial of the century. At stake was $75, the regulation of a multimillion dollar industry, and the answer to the question on everyone's mind: were whales fish? Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MER...

There is an episode of this show entitled "In The Air Tonight", but make no mistake: this episode is the "In The Air Tonight" of Constant episodes. Confused? You won't be, after this episode of... The Constant. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/thec...

I made a big enough oopsie in the last episode, Holy Toledo, that I think it deserves a formal correction here. I hope you'll listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio versus Michigan! It's a familiar rivalry. But this week, it's not a football game: it's a war, fought over the city of Toledo. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting: http://betterhelp.com/theconstantListen to Follow Friday! (https://followfridaypodcast.com/)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (https://www.teepubli...

A perfect map is a useless map, but imperfect maps are how myths get made. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstantGet 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting: http://betterhelp.com/theconstantGet 30 days of Literati for 99 cents by going to literati.com/theconstant (https://publish.blubrry.com/content/literati.com/theconstant) Visit our Patreon here (htt...

For our 100th episode, we're going back and remastering some of very first stories. If you're looking for a place to start listening, this is it. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (https://www.teepublic.com/t-sh...

Clair Cameron Patterson discovered the true age of the Earth, and in the process, the greatest environmental catastrophe in human history. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Get a free trial of Literati by going to literati.com/theconstant (https://publish.blubrry.com/content/literati.com/theconstant)Vi...

How old is the world? There're only fifteen or twenty ways to find out! Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstantGet a free trial of Literati by going to literati.com/theconstant (literati.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon....

Here it is! The Big Bad Boys of Death Ray History: Axis vs. Allies, Marconi vs. Tesla, and barely anything about the mysterious Japanese WWII monkey shortage that is picking the inside of my brain bloody. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstan...

This one does what it says on the tin: instantly kills you with a beam of indeterminate provenance! What other podcast can promise that? Aside from Roman Mars, obviously. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (https...

Nobody paid much attention to Jean Hardouin in 1729 when he said that all of history was faked. But since then, his message has found a lot more receptive ears. Meet your newest conspiratorial friends: The Chronology Truthers. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://bet...

What if I told you everything you knew was a lie? Okay, well what if a 17th century French librarian told you everything you knew was a lie? Check out Don't Stop for Monkeys (https://dontstopformonkeys.weebly.com/), or else. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/...

On March 8th, 1874, the animals escaped from The Central Park Zoo. Check out Don't Stop for Monkeys (https://dontstopformonkeys.weebly.com/), or else. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (https://www.teepublic.com...

Some things are ordered and some are chaotic. This story is neither. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (https:...

What do the modern flat earth movement, the history of animal experimentation, the invention of civil engineering, ballet, pantomime, and the first British robot all have in common? The Eddystone Lighthouse. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com/theconstant (http://www.indeed.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/thecons...

We no longer make people walk hot coals, or swim witches, or touch dead bodies. But everything we know about solving crime is still wrong. The National Registry of Exonerations (https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx)2009 NAS Report (https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228091.pdf)The Innocence Project (https://innocenceproject.org/)The Story of Gary Dotson (https://www...

On part two of this three part series on forensics, we're bridging the gap, between the ancient and modern means of solving crimes. How did forensic science get into courts in the first place? And is it actually science at all? Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.c...

Fingerprints, DNA, blood spatter, ballistics. Before any of those forensic sciences, investigators and courts had a very different suite of tools for solving crime. On this episode, we're looking at some of them. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant)...

For the last episode of 2020, we're returning to our fair city, Chicago, for the unlikely story of a hard-scrapple hobo who formed his own independent, autonomous district on the non-existent east side of town, which he managed to keep control of for nearly forty years... well, sort of. Visit https://andstillivote.org/YOUR-Story-Matters/ (https://andstillivote.org/YOUR-Story-Matters/) to join the...

For The Constant's third birthday, here are three stories out of the secret feed. Medicinal gold, the story of theater's greatest Hamlet, and a melancholy Christmas tale, all for you. Visit https://andstillivote.org/YOUR-Story-Matters/ (https://andstillivote.org/YOUR-Story-Matters/) to join the fight for voting rights today. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://bett...