Two classic Constant episodes, re-edited, re-recorded and re-produced. "People this Isle" and "Do Good, Carefully." Want a month trial of Shopify... more

Many men tried to claim the invention of anesthesia as their own. It didn't work out well for any of... more

What does every wild west shootout in every movie you've ever seen have to do with the history of anesthesia?... more

The war between humanity and its oldest, archest of enemies: pain. Get 50% off by navigating to factormeals.com/constant50 Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start... more

He was the most beautiful man in the history of Athens. And he nearly destroyed it. Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start hiring Visit our Patreon... more

Until recently, our understanding of where babies came from was hazy. Which made it easy for a certain class of... more

We're remaking one of the all-time classic Constant episodes, this time with decent audio! Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start hiring Visit our Patreon here. You... more

Did a woman secretly manage to become pope, only to be revealed by a badly mistimed labor in the streets... more

Did a cross-dressing woman manage to worm her way into the papacy, and was she discovered when she gave birth... more

Find Historical Blindness at https://www.historicalblindness.com/ or wherever you listen to this podcast. We'll be back with a new year of... more

They celebrate the season a little differently down at The British Medical Journal. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online... more

The James R. Thompson Center is the most hated building in the city of Chicago. And it has to be... more

We can go deeper. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/theconstant and get on your way to... more

This week, we're going deep. How deep? No one knows! Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start hiring Get 15% off your MasterClass subscription by... more

A beastly history of the beasts that stalked Europe for centuries. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a... more

In which a psychic horse causes the greatest crisis in scientific history. Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start hiring Want a month trial of... more

The Baynard Mausoleum is the oldest surviving structure on Hilton Head Island, but eerily, the family once interred inside is... more

In which a talking, psychic horse gives JB Rhine the idea for a new field of science: parapsychology. Thanks HelloFresh! Go... more

A horse is a horse, unless, of course, that horse can tell the future. Thanks HelloFresh! Go to HelloFresh.com/50constant and use code 50constant... more

Early episodes of this show sound like crap! So this week we're remaking a couple of old favorites. Thanks HelloFresh! Go... more

In 1900, three lighthouse keepers went missing, starting a phony mystery that long concealed a real one. Go to drinkAG1.com/constant to... more

There's a party in 14th Century Europe, and everybody's invited! Thanks HelloFresh! Go to HelloFresh.com/constant50 and use code constant50 for 50%... more

What's that out there in the distance? A fish? A whale? A SEA SERPENT?! No, it's just the conclusion to... more

Murder! Monsters! Lifeboats! This one's got it all. Go to drinkAG1.com/constant to get a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D... more

Buckle up your crazy belts, 'cuz we're going off the rails on a crazy train to crazy town! Thanks Athletic Greens.... more

In 2004, three men were arrested in London. Their crime was attempting to purchase material to build a nuclear bomb.... more

This is The Tale of Lord Timothy Dexter: The Luckiest Asshole in History. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online... more

On the morning of May 8th, 1902, Ludgar Sylbaris awoke in jail alone. And then the world ended. This episode is... more

The special spring break surprise is here! Join Heather for a journey into the sad side of the happiest place... more

Watch yourself: the wars only get stupider from here. Want a month trial of Shopify for just a dollar? Grab it here! Visit www.omahasteaks.com and... more

At its best, war is terrible, wasteful, regrettable and necessary. At its worst, it's just fucking stupid. Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start... more

A mystery story where one of the suspects writes mystery stories? How could you go wrong! Visit www.omahasteaks.com and enter "theconstant" at check... more

In December, 1912 a lawyer and a paleontologist made an amazing announcement: The missing link was real, the missing link... more

After Charles Darwin published Origin of Species, the scientific world spent the next fifty years searching for an alternative theory... more

What is a man? A miserable pile of secrets, of course. But in the 19th century, a debate arose about... more

To start off the year, we're looking back at an old favorite that plays a significant part in an upcoming... more

Merry Christmas, you filthy animals. This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/theconstant... more

One more round of short stories, about little things, that had big consequences. This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by... more

It's Mark's birthday, it's The Constant's birthday, and it's Thanksgiving. In celebration we're opening up The Secret Feed vault and... more

We're keeping things simple this week. Or that was the plan at least. But sometimes the simple things are friggin'... more

We've got a special Halloween episode for you, full of demonic possessions, dark conspiracies and sexy nuns. What more could... more

Good history, well-told, five days a week. That's History Daily. So get on it, y'buncha jagbags! How about a free fourteen... more

After more than four years of research and nine hours of episodes, we're finally at the TRUE conclusion to The... more

Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. How about a free fourteen day trial of Shopify? Grab it... more

This is the story of two diseases, and two theories about where one of them came from. Want 15% off an... more

This is a story about the search for goodness in the world. Naturally, it ends tragically. Get $75 credit to upgrade... more

Three high ranking American financial officials tried to warn the world about the 2008 financial collapse. But they were ignored,... more

Beneath lackluster Disney movies and schlocky cable reality television lies an untold true story: the secret brontosauruses of Africa, and... more

After every American mass shooting, the gun debate is drowned in one question: What about Chicago? Today, we're answering it. "How... more

This story is about music, radio, medicine, politics, power, money, people and... goat testicles. Get $75 credit to upgrade your job... more

There are lots of stories about drugs that changed the medical industry. But here's one about a drug that changed... more

In 1867, The Eliza set out to sea with a fresh crew, a full hold and fair weather. Yet no one expected... more

Step right up, step right up! We've got the cure for what ails you: more podcasts! How about a free fourteen... more

Feeling run down, run out or run around? Well friend, I've got the cure for you! Step right up for... more

In 1474, the people of Basel tried, convicted and sentenced to death a rooster, in one of the strangest court... more

If you really want to know what language people originally spoke, all you have to do is the unspeakable. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233597995_Royal_Investigations_of_the_Origin_of_Language Get $75... more

The search for the original language, the true language, the language of God and Adam and Enoch, begins today. Continue your... more

Will humanity ever successfully fly? No. Find out why, on this, the conclusion of our five part series on people... more

The doe-eyed optimism of Rousseau! The biting cynicism of Baron von Grimm! And a whole bunch more people attempting to... more

On the third part of our survey of failed fliers, we've drawing from all walks of life: a peasant and... more

What do a professor, a heretic, a clockmaker, a barber, a cantor, a laborer, an architect, an alchemist and a... more

You've heard of The Wright Brothers, the first people to fly. Maybe you've heard of Alberto Santo Dumont, too. Arguably... more

New Year, New You, New Constant. Season 11 begins Tuesday, January 11th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout the 19th Century, The United States was absolutely barraged by tales of petrified stone men: ancient giants, missing links,... more

In 1897, a Montana prospector discovered something valuable in The Missouri River. Not gold, not silver, not even copper. It... more

Our second annual dive into the hidden world of The Constant Secret Feed.Continue your education via University of California Irvine... more

Be the most popular kid on the block with these fantastic new tricks! Produce bees from lions! Frogs from mud!... more

Lucy Lightfoot went missing in 1831, and was later found alive and well... in 1364. Listen to this episode through... more

A long story, made short, and then long again, is finally ready to end. Join us for part three, the... more

In part two, we've got an enormous naval disaster, a long-shot con-job, some far-fetched inventions, and some of the most... more

Humanity has tackled a lot of hard problems over the last few thousand years--from medicine to physics to splitting tips.... more

Today we've got a potpourri of smaller stories: invasive bird spies! Cunning robberies! Booby traps! MULES! Listen in!Check out this... more

In 1818, New York City was gripped by the trial of the century. At stake was $75, the regulation of... more

There is an episode of this show entitled "In The Air Tonight", but make no mistake: this episode is the... more

I made a big enough oopsie in the last episode, Holy Toledo, that I think it deserves a formal correction... more

Ohio versus Michigan! It's a familiar rivalry. But this week, it's not a football game: it's a war, fought over... more

A perfect map is a useless map, but imperfect maps are how myths get made. Get $75 credit to upgrade... more

For our 100th episode, we're going back and remastering some of very first stories. If you're looking for a place... more

Clair Cameron Patterson discovered the true age of the Earth, and in the process, the greatest environmental catastrophe in human... more

How old is the world? There're only fifteen or twenty ways to find out!Get $75 credit to upgrade your job... more

Here it is! The Big Bad Boys of Death Ray History: Axis vs. Allies, Marconi vs. Tesla, and barely anything... more

This one does what it says on the tin: instantly kills you with a beam of indeterminate provenance! What other... more

Nobody paid much attention to Jean Hardouin in 1729 when he said that all of history was faked. But since... more

What if I told you everything you knew was a lie? Okay, well what if a 17th century French librarian... more

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... more

Some things are ordered and some are chaotic. This story is neither.Get $75 credit to upgrade your job post at... more

What do the modern flat earth movement, the history of animal experimentation, the invention of civil engineering, ballet, pantomime, and... more

We no longer make people walk hot coals, or swim witches, or touch dead bodies. But everything we know about... more

On part two of this three part series on forensics, we're bridging the gap, between the ancient and modern means... more

Fingerprints, DNA, blood spatter, ballistics. Before any of those forensic sciences, investigators and courts had a very different suite of... more

For the last episode of 2020, we're returning to our fair city, Chicago, for the unlikely story of a hard-scrapple... more

For The Constant's third birthday, here are three stories out of the secret feed. Medicinal gold, the story of theater's... more

In September of 1822, a ship carrying 70 immigrants left London bound for St. Joseph, a bustling city on The... more

How do you thread the needle between political and apolitical, frivolous and serious, fun and relevant, on this extremely stressful... more

It's almost Halloween, so how's about a spooky bonfire tale. The spookiest story from the spookiest place we can think... more

This is the story of the worst American presidential election (so far). Get a free trial of The Great Courses... more

In 1899 a plan was hatched. To start a war? To sell newspapers? Or to tear down The Great Wall... more

You know what you haven't heard enough about recently? How disease spreads. On this episode we finally circle back to... more

There was no Olympics this year, but it's almost the anniversary of the single worst event in the history of... more

Some days it feels like we're living at the end of the world. And by "some days" I mean "literally... more