What is The Constant?

Did you know that Europeans used to believe that sheep grew from Mongolian trees? Have you heard about the army that lost a battle against itself? Ever seen the gleaming Las Vegas hotel that accidentally shoots heat rays at poolside guests?

The Constant is a science and history podcast about getting things wrong. From ancient science to contemporary blunders, we take you on journeys of misadventure and misapprehension, filling your brain with juicy nuggets of the sometimes comical, sometimes tragical and always fascinating ways people mess things up.

When is The Constant?

Each season of The Constant runs 8 episodes, released weekly on Tuesdays.
Episodes vary in length, with the shortest running 10 minutes and the longest nearly 1 hour, but on average most stories tend to range between 20-25 minutes.
The Constant is currently on hiatus, with plans to return for a special abbreviated kickstarter season in October.

Who Listens to The Constant?

The Constant currently averages between 30,000 and 35,000 downloads a month across the full catalog.
Each new episode receives around 5,000-5,500 downloads in its first month.
The largest listenership is in the United States, with significant audiences also in The UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
We have an average 5 star rating on iTunes.
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What Do People Say About The Constant?

​Credit host Mark Chrisler, who structures this labyrinthian narrative about the “artist” known as Darko Maver like a thriller, deftly nailing each new twist in the story with an engaging flourish...
- The AV Club about the episode "Art is Dead"
Chrisler’s storytelling prowess makes this episode a masterful slow burn, patiently explicating its narrative before building to a resonant emotional climax. This one is hard to shake.
- The AV Club about the episode "Shipwreckless"
​Unabashedly curious and persistent, and with a unique blend of charm and humor… Once you are drawn into the story, there is no going back.
- Podpodblog
​[The Constant is] a short, smart, and funny indie show, and absolutely worth binging if you enjoy chuckling at previous generations with righteous hindsight (while trying not to think about the insane things we currently believe).
- The Bello Collective
... The Constant is a thoughtful, often very humorous program… Chrisler has achieved something rather remarkable through The Constant. The podcast is like a sort of wry history lesson from Spalding Gray, keenly blending careful research, storytelling, and humor while elucidating all of the wrongheaded beliefs that humanity has ever held true… There is seemingly no source too deep, nor any topic too obscure for The Constant to explore.
- Ben Cannon’s Constant Listener

Who is The Constant?

The Constant is created, written, produced and hosted by Mark Chrisler. Mark is a playwright, best known for plays like 'Worse Than Tigers', 'The Art of Painting', 'Teatime at Golgotha' and 'Phonies, Frauds and Fakes: A Play That is Absolutely Not About My Ex-Girlfriend'. His work has been produced or developed at The New Ohio Theatre, ACT, The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, The Stella Adler Studio, A Red Orchid, Ilkhom Theatre, Prop Thtr and many more. He’s published through Broadway Play Publishing as well as Smith and Kraus and holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Ohio University. ​

Where Can I Listen?

Or on any of your favorite casting apps. Or right here on this very website!