The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong is a podcast about exactly what it says it is: chronicling bad ideas and loopy frauds through the ages. In those adventures, one name has come up again and again. From phrenology to mesmerism to a strange ghostly bowl of molasses, he's the Forrest Gump of 19th century pseudo-science. And his story has a lot to teach us about why we fall for fad innovations and novel fallacies.