Hi, Sana Qadar here.

Imagine you're a New Yorker in the 1950s. You don't want to ride the subway. You won't set foot in a department store. You're scared to sit down in a movie theatre. Because for years, a so-called "mad bomber" has been planting explosives all over Manhattan — in phone booths, in the public library, even in the Empire State Building.

With a fearful public and frenzied press, the police — out of time and leads — turned to a source they'd been disdainful of: a forensic psychiatrist.

He told police he could read the mind of an offender from the characteristics of their crime. He told them the bomber's age, ethnicity, job history, living situation, romantic life — right down to what he'd be wearing when they arrested him. And he was right.

But the story doesn't end there because the practice he helped invent has a much shakier track record than you'd think.

In Forensic, our new All in the Mind series, I'm digging into the psychological tools used to crack cases and the surprising and alarming ways they go wrong.

I discovered that being innocent actually makes you more likely to confess to a crime you didn't commit. Most of us think we can spot a liar — and almost all of us are wrong. And a single changed word in a police interview can manipulate memories.

Episode one and episode two are out now. I hope you enjoy the series.

Sana

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