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Gabrielle Paniccia

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What The If?What The If?Human SWARM!Hey there, science enthusiasts! It's Philip here. Remember to don your goggles, hazmat suits, and an open mind as Gaby Paniccia and I dive deep into one of the wildest "What The IF?" scenarios yet. Ever imagined a world where humans act like locusts? Yep, we're talking about full-blown human swarms! Whether you've found yourself amidst a swarm, led one, or even (dare I say) started one, join us for a thrilling exploration of this bizarre parallel universe. From Taylor Swift's super-fans to the fascinating behavior of locusts, this episode promises a roller-coaster of thought experiments and scientific insights. Don't...2023-08-2559 minWhat The If?What The If?Blade Runner REPLICANTSBlade Runner REPLICANTS by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2023-06-301h 17What The If?What The If?Ultra VAX? Bring It!(Producer's note: Kudos to our listener Gary from Atlanta who discovered a tech glitch in the previous upload of this episode. This is a fixed version. Thanks Gary, you are a super IFFer and super listener! -- Cheers, Philip) Build A Better Virus Trap? What the IF we could eradicate ALL VIRUSES from the planet? How would we do it? Can we create super NANO BOTS to protect us? Would you want nano bots inside you? (Philip says, “yes, please!”) A special episode in which we imagine a wonderful future, where the Queen of England gets well soon, and has a su...2022-03-0252 minWhat The If?What The If?Ultra VAX? Bring It!Build A Better Virus Trap? What the IF we could eradicate ALL VIRUSES from the planet? How would we do it? Can we create super NANO BOTS to protect us? Would you want nano bots inside you? (Philip says, “yes, please!”) A special episode in which we imagine a wonderful future, where the Queen of England gets well soon, and has a super awesome bejeweled box she can stay in, surrounded by Beefeaters wearing HAZMAT suits, and of course their silly hats. Imagine! Gaby guides us on a tour-de-force of sci and sci-fi towards a hopeful future where disease is rele...2022-02-2551 minWhat The If?What The If?NAKED Mars Rats!Terraforming via MOLE? In this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes -- when we tried out a new format called "Fantastic Voyage" -- Captain GABY takes us to the RED PLANET, and has brought along some of her favorite animals, naked mole rats, to help make the place livable, lovable, and lucrative. Who needs Elon Musk when you have naked mole rats leading the way? Is it possible to bring these real life creatures to Mars to slowly terraform it, cultivating the land from underneath, rebuilding the atmosphere, for eventual Earth-like living? Let's find out! Join documentary...2021-08-2055 minWhat The If?What The If?That FIRST DAY Riding The VIRUS — One Year AgoA NOTE ABOUT THIS SPECIAL REBROADCAST: In commemoration of the one year anniversary of the start of the pandemic, and in honor of our amazing new Co-IFFer, super host Gaby Paniccia, we proudly present Gaby’s debut appearance on the show. One year ago this week… it was a scary time, with so much uncertainty, and with science as our only hope of grasping what was happening. Matt had seen a livestream in which Gaby was explaining COVID-19 and all that might happen, and her gift for science communication was so evident that we asked her to come on the show...2021-04-0249 minWhat The If?What The If?NAKED Mars Rats!Terraforming via MOLE? Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color! --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif.com.2021-03-0155 minWhat The If?What The If?The NOISIEST Place In The GALAXY!!!!!!Welcome to our new WTIF show, where we use SCIENCE to build up -- and break down -- fabulous SCI-FI and FANTASY worlds! This week, we struggle to hear each other when we visit the gigantic city planet of CORUSCANT, the VERY NOISY capital of the STAR WARS galaxy. Hosted by documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University scientist Gaby Paniccia. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod...2021-02-2246 minWhat The If?What The If?MIND MELD with a VIRUS!Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color! This week, we pilot the good ship IF into a VIRUS and we attempt a MIND MELD with it! Inspired by the X-Files, Gabi brings it back to the lab for a thorough INVESTIGATION, to dissect the fiction and we find a surprising bounty of FACTS! --- Like...2021-02-0139 minWhat The If?What The If?VAX Voyage DEBRIEF!Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color! This week, we debrief what we learned by riding INSIDE THE COVID VACCINE, and Gaby fills us in on how to DEBUNK ANTI-VAX rumors and conspiracy theories, and Matt asks about when kids might be able to get their VAX, too! --- Like the show? Share your love...2021-01-1919 minWhat The If?What The If?Duck! WHITE BLOOD Cells Coming!Ride In The Covid Vaccine -- part deus! Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color! This week, we pilot the good ship IF into a syringe for a very, very chilly, very turbulent, super fast and amazing ride INSIDE THE COVID VACCINE! Hop in, and let's watch the cavalry ride to the rescue... inside you! ...2021-01-1248 minWhat The If?What The If?Ride The VACCINE!Happy New Year! For 2021, the WTIF Audiovision Network has created an amazing, all new show... FANTASTIC VOYAGE! Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color! This week, we pilot the good ship IF into a syringe for a very, very chilly, very turbulent, super fast and amazing ride INSIDE THE COVID VACCINE! Hop in, and let's...2021-01-0531 minWhat The If?What The If?MUTANTS vs. MASKS!Covid MUTANTS Cause London Lockdown: PANIC or Prudent? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif.com.2020-12-2140 minWhat The If?What The If?The VACCINE At The End Of The TUNNEL!The New York Times has an online test you can take to "Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line": https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/03/opinion/covid-19-vaccine-timeline.html Gaby, Matt and Philip discuss how far back in the line they are told to go (hint: Philip is WAAAAAYYYYY BACK, d'oh!). Where would YOU be in the line? Are you already in line? Are you gonna get in line? Gaby discusses the latest info on the creation and distribution of the vaccines that will save the world, get yer tickets now! --- Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the...2020-12-1433 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - Covid Wears A MINK Coat!The CNN headline reads “An Oregon mink farm has reported a Covid-19 outbreak”. Does Covid suddenly have a lust for high fashion outerwear? How’d the mink get infected? Can they return the favor and send the virus back into humans? Are bats trying to win the public relations battle? Gaby gets into the science and the strategy of the virus and reveals the biological battle to destroy the Covid’s crown, the spikes! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu Read the CNN...2020-11-3035 minWhat The If?What The If?Report from CHINA!Special guest Howard Zheng has just returned from China and reports on the state of the pandemic there. Gaby and the team compare China's methods with those we experience ourselves in the USA. Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and...2020-11-2342 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - GOOD News? YEAH!!!Science wins in the USA! Vaccine research looking good so far! As she does every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the COVID-19 Pandemic’s headlines. Three fascinating stories this week: "Pfizer’s Early Data Shows Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective" - The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfizer.html "Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed." By Katie Thomas, David Gelles and Carl Zimmer "Children Produce Weaker Coronavirus Antibodies, Study Finds" - The New York Tim...2020-11-0933 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - It Came Outta NOWHERE!The New York Times headline is ominous: "How Are Americans Catching the Virus? Increasingly, ‘They Have No Idea’" As she does every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind this scary headline and we aim to learn how it is that the Corona Virus seems UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED! Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/us/coronavirus-transmission-everywhere.html More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you...2020-11-0337 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - When DATA Gets AGGRAVATED!NBC News reports, "A rare Covid-19 complication was reported in children. Now, it's showing up in adults." Gaby helps us understand what scientists do when alarming data appears. How do scientists even gather so much data, how do they digest it, what can they do when something is extremely rare but highly concerning? Also, we discuss trick or treating this year when Halloween occurs in the middle of real horror. Levity provided by... unexpected country music! Woohoo! Pandemic pickles all our brains, join us for the fun, for science! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind...2020-10-2631 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - Decisions, DECISIONS!It's Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and Thanksgiving and other holidays are coming up, so we look to SCIENCE for answers on how to arrange our family gatherings during the PANDEMIC. But sometimes... science doesn't have enough ANSWERS! How are people dealing with making choices during this information gap, or even, really, INFO OVERLOAD in the time of Covid? What would YOU do? A whole lotta turkeys are betting on us cancelling Thanksgiving... what will be their fate? Tune in, turkeys and all you IFFers, and find out how to survive, at least until Christmas! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist...2020-10-1940 minWhat The If?What The If?Breaking NOBEL News!The leader of Gaby's lab, Dr. Charles Rice, just won the NOBEL PRIZE! Exciting news for her and all her colleagues at Rockefeller University. What did Dr. Rice win, and why? Gaby shares the story! And Gaby also shares her most recent experiences as a member of the Covid vaccine trials. Did she get the PLACEBO or the real deal? How soon might WE and the WORLD get a safe vaccine? Tune in! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Like...2020-10-0538 minWhat The If?What The If?5,000 MUTANTS - Don't PanicMutants!? Mutations! Viruses! Don't Panic! These aren't your favorite superheroes, these mutants are the changes in the Coronavirus! Scientists in Houston have released a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of SAR-COV-2 reveal that the virus's continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. Do these mutations mean the virus itself is deadlier? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu For more info on the MIT lecture mentioned in the podcast, head on over to...2020-09-2835 minWhat The If?What The If?Breathe At Your Own RISK?The CDC now reports that Covid-19 is transmitted not just by coughing, sneezing and wheezing... but also by breezing! By which we mean BREATHING. Aerosol sized droplets of your breath, floating in the air, on a joy ride... for how far, and how long? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton and Howard Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review...2020-09-2125 minWhat The If?What The If?VAX Update - Safety FIRST!Good news! AstraZeneca just resumed their coronavirus vaccine clinical trials after stopping them abruptly last week. What happened? How does the safety system work? And how can YOU sign up to be a part of this historic global endeavor? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton and Howard Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple...2020-09-1427 minWhat The If?What The If?The BERSERKER HypothesisWhat The If the galaxy were full of... BERSERKERS?! And yet, we don't see ANYONE in the galaxy. Have they all gone BERSERK? This week we dive into the Berserker HYPOTHESIS. Survival of the fittest, IN SPACE! We are joined by the excellent science writer, Matt Williams of Universe Today, who's also an amazing science fiction writer. Check out his work on Universe Today, https://www.universetoday.com/147396/beyond-fermis-paradox-vi-the-berserker-hypothesis/ as well as on his website, https://storiesbywilliams.com/ where you can buy some of his amazing books including THE FORMIST SERIES. — Got an IF of your own? Want to have us...2020-09-111h 05What The If?What The If?Stop The UNIVERSE, I Want To Get Off!What The If the UNIVERSE stopped spinning! The universal check engine light is on and we have stopped moving! Time to bring this bad boy into the shop! — Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Email us at feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Illia Zheng and Howard Zheng for their help with the show. --- Want to support the show? Click a rating or add a...2020-09-041h 05What The If?What The If?WTIF News - Quarantine Your POOP?University of Arizona located two students with Covid, by testing the poop of their entire dorm, reports Jaclyn Peiser in The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/28/arizona-coronavirus-wastewater-testing/ HOW did they do it? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton and Howard Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 ...2020-08-3124 minWhat The If?What The If?ROCKETS Without Rocket Science?How easy would rockets be if there were no ROCKET SCIENCE? Would everyone have their own SOAP BOX rocketship? Make sure those cardboard ships are sturdy, strap in and hold tight. We're going for a ride! Our very own Howard Zheng joins us on this adventure in a paper box built for space! — Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Email us at feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to...2020-08-2859 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: Masks vs. Lasers!A test using lasers to examine the efficacy of face masks gets misinterpreted by the press. Joggers and bikers get yelled at by passers by! Gaby says, chill out and... save the gaiters! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng, Illia Zheng and Kyle Crichton for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have...2020-08-2427 minWhat The If?What The If?WARP Speed ASTRONOMY?What The IF you could travel faster than the SPEED OF LIGHT to observe a dying star up close! Grab your popcorn, and get ready for a wild ride courtesy of the warp course on the ENTERPRISE! Would we see the same light we see from home, or would the star have vanished in a SUPERNOVA?! The incredible EMILY LEVESQUE joins us to talk about her latest book, THE LAST STARGAZERS, as well as her research on the physics behind how some of the most massive stars in the universe evolve and die! — Got an IF of your own? Want to...2020-08-2156 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: VANISHING Antibodies?You RECOVERED from Covid-19, but where are your ANITBODIES? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif.com.2020-08-2031 minWhat The If?What The If?The ARTISTS Behind NASA's Artist Depictions!Incredible guests this week! World famous space science artists DON DAVIS and PAMELA LEE join us to imagine getting to do their masterful artistry while on location at… THE CENTER OF THE GALAXY. Comets! A Supermassive Black Hole! Astronauts taking selfies! And YOU, a great illustrator, capturing the whole scene with your ART. NASA may turn to artists to give them a depiction of what that place may look like, but we turn to them for an ADVENTURE! We’re also joined by the great documentary filmmaker BRETT BONOWICZ who is producing a magnificent ongoing series of short documentary called ARTI...2020-07-2451 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: POOL Testing?POOL Testing is here! So... WTF is Pool Testing? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact...2020-07-2216 minWhat The If?What The If?Teeny TINY Earth!NOTE: This episode was recorded on March 6, 2020 What the If Earth was Teeny TINY? Would gravity crush us? --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif.com.2020-07-1740 minWhat The If?What The If?COVID Glowing in the Dark?Glow in the dark CORONAVIRUS? Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines! More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng, and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif...2020-07-1626 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: Herd Immunity!What the IF is HERD IMMUNITY? It’s coming! Gaby tells us what to do to make it so. Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Co...2020-07-1329 minWhat The If?What The If?Ooda LoopWhat The If our brains were SLOWER? Can you upgrade the CPU or perhaps install more RAM to avoid the spinning beach ball of death?! What the if you were practicing karate with Matt and your brain processed your punch slower than you actually moved? Our resident black belt historian of science Matt Stanley tells us about karate and the OODA LOOP! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast...2020-07-0849 minWhat The If?What The If?How Does IMAGINATION Work?How does IMAGINATION work? What The IF… you had NO imagination! Our guest TRACY GLEASON is a Developmental Psychologist studying relationships, real and imagined, with a focus on young children's imaginary companions. A professor of psychology at Wellesley College, Professor Gleason studies how young children understand their relationships with other people, and in particular, on the relationships that they have with imaginary companions. By examining how young children create imaginary relationships, she hopes to learn what they understand about real relationships. Professor Gleason teaches courses in developmental and introductory psychology. She also teaches research methods in developmental psychology, in which st...2020-06-191h 05What The If?What The If?WTIF News: COVID-19 Has A Very Busy PASSPORTDid Covid-19 come to your shores from one person, or many? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact...2020-06-1732 minWhat The If?What The If?ONE Language For ALL?ONE Language For ALL? by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2020-06-1247 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: Are We Doomed To REPEAT The 1918 PANDEMIC?SMITHSONIAN Magazine published a very thought provoking article this week, urging caution against thinking we are on the same path as the 1918 PANDEMIC. Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss...2020-06-0830 minWhat The If?What The If?Earth In A BOTTLE!What The IF you were about to have a meeting with Aliens and you wanted to made a good FIRST IMPRESSION? Carl Sagan and his colleagues took up this very challenge when crafting the “messages in a bottle” that they attached to the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft. (Spoiler: no bottles, but plaques and record suitable for playing by alien DJ’s!). The brilliant BLAKE LEWIN joins us to talk about his amazing experiences working with Sagan on creating a version of the Voyager record for us Earthlings, and his further adventures in producing the creation of the DVD for the Mars P...2020-06-051h 01What The If?What The If?WTIF News: SCIENCE-ing While Distancing!New York reopens and the scientists are eager to get back to the lab! Gaby tells us how it feels for the city's scientists as they are getting ready to don higher grade protective gear and jump in deeper into the hunt for a vaccine. Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on...2020-06-0221 minWhat The If?What The If?BIRTHPLACE Of The Virus?WHERE was the virus born? Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines! More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at feedback@whattheif.com.2020-06-0214 minWhat The If?What The If?Ultra Fast EVOLUTION?Our long time listener JOE ascends to SUPER IFFER status by submitting this week's fabulous IF! Joe asks, "What The If... EVOLUTION were speeded up?" What if you could see it happening in your own lifetime? What would you see? What would you feel? Could you SURVIVE what your children will become? Let's find out! --- Want to submit your own ideas for show topics? Send YOUR If to us! Email us at feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the...2020-05-2937 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News: HAIRCUT To The Danger Zone!Hair salons and swimming pools are the front lines of our duel with the Coronavirus. Find out how to survive with expert advice from Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA. More info at RockEDU: rockedu.rockefeller.edu and covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 and never miss an episode! Comments, questions, and...2020-05-2547 minWhat The If?What The If?Entangled BRAINS?A QUANTUM MIND MELD? The renowned historian of science DAVID KAISER joins us from MIT! A prolific science communicator and hilariously witty raconteur, his latest book is QUANTUM LEGACIES: Dispatches from an Uncertain World. David asks: “What The IF we could use Quantum Entanglement to CONNECT OUR BRAINS, all the way across the Universe?” It’s our most mind-blowing, mind-expanding, mind-ENTANGLING episode ever! ABOUT DAVID KAISER David Kaiser is Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science in MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Professor of Physics in MIT's Department of Physics, and also Associate Dean for Social and Ethical Responsibil...2020-05-2535 minWhat The If?What The If?Welcome Back, ANIMALS! With Biologist Vanessa PirottaThe animals of the world, especially the urban world, seem quite happy that all the humans are suddenly staying inside! Outside, it's a party and they're livin' it up... all the way down the food chain! Dr. Vanessa Pirotta joins us from Sydney, Australia (via Bostwana!) and helps us see today's world under human quarantine... through the eyes and ears and furry paws and flappy fins! Dr. Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and science communicator. Her zoological background has taken her around the world for wildlife research. Vanessa is also a passionate and experienced science communicator who loves making science...2020-05-1550 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - MASKS: Pro Tips!MASKS are everywhere in the NEWS this week, but NOT on everyone's faces! What The IF, people? What happens if you don't wear a mask? And what about your neighbor? And their neighbor, and...? Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA gives us the low down on how to show up with your face mask on. Pro Tips, from a real pro. More info at RockEDU: https://rockedu.rockefeller.edu & https://covid-19-research.rockefeller.edu --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF...2020-05-1318 minWhat The If?What The If?WTIF News - COVID In The Air?Is the virus floating IN THE AIR we breathe, riding particles of pollution like evil cowboys? Our expert Virologist from Rockefeller University, GABY PENICCIA helps us understand the scary Covid-19 news headlines. Science!2020-05-0417 minWhat The If?What The If?Quarantine Without INTERNET? Andy IHNATKO's Alternate History!As difficult as the global LOCKDOWN has been, we're fortunate to have a lot of modern technology making it somewhat easier to adapt to a world of massive ISOLATION. But What The IF... We had the pandemic, but NO INTERNET? Aside from the ancient technology of SOAP and masks, the internet is the single greatest intervention being used to help civilization adapt to life under quarantine. ANDY IHNATKO, the brilliant technology journalist and beloved raconteur joins us (yay!) as we create an engrossing ALTERNATE HISTORY in which the PANDEMIC smacked the world… in the 1980’s! Andy Ihnatko is a tech writ...2020-05-031h 14What The If?What The If?Crank Calling COVID!ATTACK OF THE KILLER 5G! How’s it going IFFers? We hope you’re keeping yourselves sane and busy in these crazy times. What with all the 5G antennas sending out COVID signals?!  Rockefeller University Virologist, GABY PANICCIA, our wonderful compatriot in all things viral, has returned to give us the details on this crazy conspiracy! Our very own Co-Host, Philip Shane, has even seen graffiti in Brooklyn saying “STOP 5G!” So, we want to know what the heck does 5G have to do with Coronaviruses? What The If…WE CRANK CALLED COVID?! Does 5G Cellular Technology even affect us? Is there ev...2020-04-251h 08Skype a Scientist LiveSkype a Scientist LiveCOVID19 with Jeanne Garbarino and Gabrielle PanicciaCOVID19 with Jeanne Garbarino and Gabrielle Paniccia2020-04-1751 minWhat The If?What The If?Can a VIRUS Wear a WHITE HAT?Hey IFers! We know it’s been hard these last few weeks, what with quarantine and all. That’s why we’ve been bringing you these SPECIAL virus related episodes, for a much needed source of EDUTAINMENT! Our friend Gaby Paniccia has returned, once again to help us understand more about the slimy, gooey, fatty world of viruses. This week we’ve got, What The If…VIRUSES NEVER EXISTED?! What would the world be like? Would it be HEAVEN or HELL?! Would there even be a world? So put on your masks and latex gloves, make sure you’ve wiped down your li...2020-04-1757 minWhat The If?What The If?SPECIAL EPISODE: What the PANDEMIC? with Virologist Gaby PanicciaHey IF'ers! How has quarantine been treating you? Feeling the itch to get out? Don’t go anywhere yet, not just because it’s not safe but we’ve got another Coronavirus-related WHAT THE IF for you! Our friend Gaby Paniccia has returned to help us this week along with Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng in the virtual audience! What The If…There was a WORLD-WIDE Pandemic?! Seems implausible, but it’s the world we live in, FOR NOW! So, break out your Purell and Lysol wipes because half of humanity is under lockdown and we ain’t going nowhere. Let’s make t...2020-04-0649 minWhat The If?What The If?The EYE Of AMAZ-AURON with Tom MerrittThey’re tracking what you’re buying, in the GROCERY STORE! We’re back to our regular scheduled programming this week with fellow podcaster and Science Fiction author, Tom Merritt as our guest! His latest novel, Trigor, the second book in the Pilot X universe is out now on Amazon! Tom brings a wild and FANTASTICAL IF to us this week, based loosely on the latest experiment by the eye of AMAZ-AURON, the Amazon Go stores. WTiF You never had to go to the cashier again? You could just WALK OUT with all your toilet paper and Frosted Flakes! But WTiF t...2020-04-0142 minWhat The If?What The If?RIDE Inside a VIRUS! With Molecular Virologist Gaby PanicciaWe hope you're saying safe, practicing good social distancing and hopefully not hoarding all the toilet paper! This week, we've got another Coronavirus-related WHAT THE IF for some self isolation edutainment: What The IF… We could go inside a VIRUS?! GABY PANICCIA, a graduate student in Molecular Virology at the world famous Rockefeller University, uses her imagination to shrink us all down to nanometer scale and she takes us on a FANTASIC VOYAGE! We swim into cells to see how a coronavirus works, up front and all too personal! How big are those spikes really? So put on your innerspace suit...2020-03-2649 minWhat The If?What The If?Hazmat FASHION! Life Under QUARANTINEWe hope this episode finds you and your loved ones well, no matter where in the world you are. Here in New York, we recorded this new episode just as they shut down our city. First they came for the sports arenas, then they came for the bars and pubs, and then the coffee shops… but we will persevere. PEOPLE OF EARTH, WE SALUTE YOU. And since we’re all stuck at home, we figured it was no reason to stop educating and entertaining and imagining a utopian world where fashion never dies! This week, we present a special WHAT THE...2020-03-1744 minWhat The If?What The If?Backwards TIME! - !EMIT sdrawkcaBOur awesome audience member, and newest SUPER IFFER, Micah Frier of New York City asks: What The IF… TIME ran backwards? Well it turns out that YOU and me, and Matt and Micah... and all our atoms... and all our other important ingredients... would also be running BACKWARDS. Would you notice? What does eating at the dinner table look like? The horror! Strap on your intellectual seat belts (or unstrap them?) because it’s gonna be (already was?) a THGIN YPMUB! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the...2020-03-1033 minWhat The If?What The If?Can ROBOTS Host A PODCAST?What the if ROBOTS were hosting their very own PODCAST? They are replacing our jobs! WE WELCOME OUR ROBOT OVERLORDS! Our listener Rod in Edinburg, Scotland wrote in and asked: “Could AI's do a PODCAST?”We had a little bit of shade thrown at us, testing our podcasting skills with a little bit of our own kind of TURING TEST! Are we losing the ability to distinguish between a NATURAL being and an ARTIFICIAL one? Tune in and find out! Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show. --- Like the show? Shar...2020-03-011h 01What The If?What The If?CATS and EARTHQUAKES! With Geophysicist Celeste LabedzCalTech Seismologist Celeste Labedz asks: WTiF we could get our pet CATS to create a global EARLY EARTHQUAKE WARNING system? We have lots of fun... for science! CELESTE LABEDZ is a grad student in geophysics at CalTech. Her research explores environmental processes using seismological observations. In particular, investigating subglacial hydrologic conditions using continuous seismic tremor data collected on and around the glacier. in order to improve observations and understanding of glacier dynamics as a whole. She's also interested in geoscience communication and public outreach. Follow Celeste at Twitter.com/celestelabedz or Instagram.com/celestelabez And listen to ALIE WARD’s wo...2020-02-2151 minWhat The If?What The If?Scientist VS Artist CAGE MATCH! - With JANCY McPHEE of the SciArt ExchangeA scientist and an artist are trapped in an elevator. Can they learn to understand each other? JANCY McPHEE, Founder and Exec. Director of the SciArt Exchange joins us to explore the vastly different ways scientists and non-scientists think about the world, and to look for ways to find common ground... even if it is fifty floors up in the air! * * * Visit the SciArt Exchange at SciArtEx.net for more about all their amazing programs! * * * JANCY McPHEE wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. She loved science and exploring, but all her hobbies were rel...2020-02-0253 minWhat The If?What The If?If NASA Won MEGAMILLION$$$ - with CASEY DREIER from The PLANETARY SOCIETY!Dateline WASHINGTON DC: The Planetary Society's DAY OF ACTION is coming up! In honor of this incredible opportunity for citizens to meet with their legislators to talk about NASA funding, we present this encore of our very popular episode with the Planetary Society's Casey Dreier. Listen and dream, then sign up and join: https://www.planetary.org/get-involved/be-a-space-advocate/take-action/2020-day-of-action.html (Registration ENDS on Monday Feb 3, sign up now!) * * * "No BUCKS, no Buck Rogers," says astronaut Gus Grissom in "The Right Stuff." So we ask, what the if... NASA got hundreds of billions more, or even TRILLIONS of dollars...2020-01-3038 minWhat The If?What The If?POWER From PEOPLE??? Bow To Our MATRIX Overlords!We answered the ringing telephone in The Matrix and on the line was the great filmmaker, game designer, and composer Robyn Miller with a sizzling good IF! Robyn asks "If you were an evil robot overlord and you wanted to use people as your power source... how'd ya do it? Can people be used as batteries?" Let's find out! Take the correct colored pill and we'll see you on the other side... of the IF! * * * Share your love for the IF by dropping a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) and never miss an...2020-01-2652 minWhat The If?What The If?MEGASTRUCTURES! With Journalist & Science Fiction Author MATT WILLIAMSSCIENCE JOURNALIST and SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR Matt Williams joins us and asks: What’s the absolute biggest thing you could build… in the entire Universe! Have Aliens beaten us to it? How big does our civilization need to be to outgrow even MEGASTRUCTURES and build even bigger? Can we build GIGASTRUCTURES? What about PETASTRUCTURES? How about a GOOGLESTRUCTURE. We’re gonna need THOR’S HAMMER for this project, and his screwdriver and rivet maker, too! Let’s get to work and make some IF! * * * MATT WILLIAMS has written many short stories and two full-length novels, all which take place within the same f...2020-01-1553 minWhat The If?What The If?Can We Open A PUB On MARS? w/the Author of ALCOHOL IN SPACE, Chris Carberry!We're joined by Chris Carberry, the distinguished CEO of EXPLORE MARS and author of the awesome new book, ALCOHOL IN SPACE... Join us for a fun and fabulous Happy Hour on What The IF! * * * CHRIS CARBERRY is the CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars, Inc. a nonprofit space advocacy organization that was created to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars within the next two decades. Carberry is a well-respected expert and influential director of strategic alliances in the space community and has been responsible for growing many partnerships, grants and sponsorships for leading industry organizations. Currently, as CEO...2020-01-0949 minWhat The If?What The If?ALASTAIR REYNOLDS: Come Fly With Me... To MARS!HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our listeners around the WORLD! We’re celebrating with an encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes ever, with one of the greatest Science Fiction authors of all time, ALASTAIR REYNOLDS as our guest! PRE-ORDER his exciting upcoming novel, BONE SILENCE at your local bookstore or on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0819W4456/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i10 Al brings a whopper of an IF, loosely inspired by one of his newest stories, "Different Seas" which he wrote for the new prophetic anthology, "TWELVE TOMORROWS" fr...2020-01-011h 02What The If?What The If?LIGHTSABERS For Hands! It’s a STAR WARS If!Our listener MIGUEL from South Africa wrote in and asked us, “What The IF… we replaced our HANDS with LIGHTSABERS?” This idea was so insane it sat on our list for a year and a half… as we SEARCHED OUR FEELINGS… waiting for the just the right moment to begin this wicked thought experiment.. We celebrate the conclusion of the Star Wars saga by diving into this great space-operatic question. Happy Holidays to ALL our listeners AROUND THE WORLD, you folks are incredible! Keep the cards and letters coming’, it’s great to get to know ya. Enjoy your new LIGHTSABERS, l...2019-12-2440 minWhat The If?What The If?Welcome to LAMARCK-issic Park! No Darwins Allowed!What the if EVOLUTION were very DIFFERENT? Strap on your pith helmet, and lock the doors! OUR LISTENER Jon from Sweden wrote us and asked: What if Charlie “Eye of the Tiger” DARWIN was wrong and “Hoist Up The” Jean-B. LAMARCK was right? These two scholars had very different ideas about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees, and especially about YOU and me’s! * * * Share your love for the IF by dropping a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?ls=1&mt=2 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) and never miss an ep...2019-12-1850 minWhat The If?What The If?Planet NIBURU Crashes Into EARTH! With Astronomer BOB KINGIs there a DOOMSDAY PLANET named Nibiru heading our way? Nope! But what the IF there was? We challenge astronomer & astrophotographer Bob King to play out the RAM-ifications of this Earth SHATTERING scenario, from which we learn a WHOPPING amount of real science! BOB KING is the author of URBAN LEGENDS FROM SPACE: The Biggest Myths About Space Demystified, where he cuts through the fog of myth to bring the truth behind 51 celestial legends and exposes the scientific truth at their core. Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society recommended it as one of the best books for kids of 2019. Buy...2019-12-121h 01What The If?What The If?LEAP Into a QUANTUM COMPUTER!Do Electrons dream of having feet? WTIF you were an ELECTRON jogging through the hot circuits of a CLASSICAL COMPUTER and all of a sudden you lept into a QUANTUM COMPUTER? What does it look like inside the bizarre new machine? Why is it so COLD in here? What’s with all the signs posted everywhere saying “DON’T LOOK!” The astounding final chapter of our journey through the EVOLUTION of COMPUTERS! Fear not if you haven’t heard the previous episodes, each one stands on it’s own! * * * Share your love for the IF by dropping a 5-star review on Apple Pod...2019-12-041h 03What The If?What The If?I Married A NEANDERTHAL - A SciFi Love StoryScience Fiction FILMMAKERS Carylanna Taylor & Jacob Okada bring us the IF of their new film, ANYA, a contemporary sci-fi love story about a couple whose determination to have a child leads them to a cutting-edge geneticist, an ancient outlier community hiding in plain sight in New York City, and ultimately, a life-changing question: are they willing to have a gene-edited baby, no matter the cost? ANYA is now available on demand, DVD, and hosted screenings: https://www.anyamovie.com/watchnow ANYA is the first narrative feature by anthropologist Carylanna Taylor, PhD (writer/producer), and documentary filmmaker Jacob Akira Okada (writer...2019-11-2658 minWhat The If?What The If?Spelunking Deep Inside A SOLID STATE Brain!GOOGLE just announced that its' researchers have built a QUANTUM COMPUTER that has achieved... Quantum Supremacy. ACK!!! Do you feel like standing and cheering, or fleeing for your life? It's essential that we all learn how a quantum computer works, but... Most of us don't even understand how a regular computer works! What's really going on inside that humming typewriter on your desk? What about the one that's heating up your lap? Or the one that's in your hand? WTiF you could go INSIDE your thinking machines and see WTF is going on? Strap on a rubber suit so you...2019-11-1951 minWhat The If?What The If?Waltz INSIDE A Classical COMPUTER!GOOGLE just announced that its' researchers have built a QUANTUM COMPUTER that has achieved... Quantum Supremacy. ACK!!! Do you feel like standing and cheering, or fleeing for your life? It's essential that we all learn how a quantum computer works, but... Most of us don't even understand how a regular computer works! What's really going on inside that humming typewriter on your desk? What about the one that's heating up your lap? Or the one that's in your hand? WTiF you could go INSIDE your thinking machines and see WTF is going on? Strap on a rubber suit so you...2019-11-1239 minWhat The If?What The If?The AZTECS Were Awesome SEISMOLOGISTS - with Robin George Andrews!Ancient Science Secrets! DR. ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS returns with an incredible story of how modern day SEISMOLOGISTS are hunting through ancient AZTEC inscriptions, and the records of indigenous peoples around the world, to uncover a nearly FORGOTTEN HISTORY of the vibrating and violent EARTH! * * * ROBIN ANDREWS is a doctor of experimental volcanology, a full-time freelance science journalist, a part-time photographer, a scientific consultant, an occasional lecturer, public speaker and explain-how-volcanoes-work TV guest, as well as a pending author of a rather curious book. He can tell you exactly how powerful the Death Star is, how cryovolcanoes on alien worlds work...2019-11-0538 minWhat The If?What The If?Did VENUS Have VENUSIANS? w/Planetary Geologist KIRBY RUNYON!This week's show is ripped from the headlines! A study by Michael Way and Anthony Del Genio of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies reveals that VENUS may have been habitable for it's first THREE billion years! For some unknown reason, 750 million years ago, a catastrophic amount of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere. The hellish conditions consumed the entire planet, resurfacing it from pole to pole. What the if... we found an archaeological site on Venus? Like Pompeii, a city that captured a record of it's in habitants attempting to survive a world that is erupting around them. ...2019-10-2955 minWhat The If?What The If?If NASA Won MEGAMILLION$$$ - with CASEY DREIER from The PLANETARY SOCIETY!"No BUCKS, no Buck Rogers," says astronaut Gus Grissom in "The Right Stuff." So we ask, what the if... NASA got hundreds of billions more, or even TRILLIONS of dollars more in funding? Imagine it happened today! Can we build a SPACE UTOPIA worthy of the most optimistic science fiction... or are there some things money can't buy? Will we sing "Can't buy me love," or "Fly ME to the Moon"? Our guide on this joyous spending spree is CASEY DREIER, the Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser of The PLANETARY SOCIETY and an expert in how NASA gets funded...2019-10-2238 minWhat The If?What The If?The COMET from Beyond!COMET BORISOV just showed up in our solar system, only the second INTERSTELLAR OBJECT known to visit us! What is it, where does it come from, where's it going and will Earthlings be able to study it before it vanishes forever? What The IF you could RIDE the comet? That'd be a heck of a way to learn about it! This week we imagine being passengers exiled from our home world, sent on an eternal cometary road trip... and, wow, we've got a sight seeing trip about to happen like no other. Look at that fine yellow sun, and what's...2019-10-1546 minWhat The If?What The If?All the TREES are GONE? With Kyle Crichton!What The IF... All the TREES were GONE? Would we still have air to breathe? Water to drink? Well don't ponder those questions too long because there's an AVALANCHE coming your way! Our guest Kyle Crichton is a filmmaker and an experienced backcountry snowboarder and skier who's new documentary, "LEAVE NICE TRACKS" is about the importance of keeping our planet, including the lovely wooded mountains of his home state Vermont, livable, breathable, and lovable. KYLE CRICHTON has worked alongside some of the best documentary filmmakers of the day, including Barak Goodman, Morgan Spurlock, and Sandi Dubowski. He has contributed to...2019-10-0846 minWhat The If?What The If?Let's CRISPR with Carl ZIMMER!Would you CRISPR your baby? The great science journalist Carl Zimmer, award winning columnist for the New York Times and author of thirteen (!) books joins us to imagine the steep up sides and the slippery down sides of the revolutionary technique for modifying genes. Fix those typos in your DNA! Write a better life for baby! And why not rewrite your own bad self? What The IF... you could? CARL ZIMMER's newest book is "She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Power, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity". His column "Matter" appears each week in the New York Times. Zimmer’s writ...2019-10-0156 minWhat The If?What The If?SEAN CARROLL: Phone Calls from MANY WORLDS!As you read these words, copies of you are being created.  Theoretical physicist SEAN CARROLL says the astonishing MANY WORLDS theory might be correct, and if it is… 5,000 times per second your reality is splitting into alternate universes. Like, a lot of em. But Sean says... Don't Panic! Sean is one of this world’s most celebrated writers on science and with his newest book, SOMETHING DEEPLY HIDDEN, he is rewriting the history of 20th century physics -- and urging physicists, and all of us, to accept that there is more than one of us in the universe. There are many...2019-09-2447 minWhat The If?What The If?111 - Is There GOLD In Them ASTEROIDS!Listener Daniel asks: WTiF we could get rich from drilling for gold… in space? --- Please REVIEW our podcast! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE (for free!) pod.link/1250517051 EINSTEIN'S WAR by our very own MATT STANLEY is on sale now! The Washington Post says "Stanley is a storyteller par excellence." A starred review recipient from KIRKUS, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, and BOOKLIST. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608113/einsteins-war-by-matthew-stanley/ Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt2019-09-1740 minWhat The If?What The If?110 - Inter-Galactic MAILBAG!Once again, our listener mail bag is exploding! Our fans, aka our #SuperIFFers discuss our most mind-blowing shows and share their own mind-bending IF's! What the IF... you could hang out with the smartest, funniest, science-y-ist audience in the galaxy? You can! Listen now and FEEL THE IF! --- Please REVIEW our podcast! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE (for free!) pod.link/1250517051 EINSTEIN'S WAR by our very own MATT STANLEY is on sale now! The Washington Post says "Stanley is a storyteller par excellence." A starred review recipient from KIRKUS, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, and BOOKLIST. https://www.penguinrandomhouse...2019-09-1143 minWhat The If?What The If?109 - CONQUER the SOLAR SYSTEM with Matt Williams!Science journalist and Science Fiction author Matt Williams joins us and asks: What the IF humanity conquered the entire solar system, inhabiting every planet, moon, asteroid, nook, cranny and whatever else we could latch onto… and hang on? What in all the worlds would this society look like? How many new forms of bodies, new cultures, new languages, new levels of snobbery by Earthlings? The immense distances would challenge us in ways that we never, ever have experienced. Can humanity survive living so far from it’s mother? Can mother survive with all her kids changing their body types? What the...2019-09-0349 minWhat The If?What The If?108 - The HELIOPAUSE That Refreshes - with Kirby "NASA Man" Runyon!What the IF you could travel to the very EDGE of the SOLAR SYSTEM... and beyond? What would you see when you looked BACKWARDS? What would happen when you encountered the river of energized particles swirling through our galaxy? We're joined by KIRBY "Nasa Man" RUNYON, one of the scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab who works on the New Horizons mission that visited PLUTO and Ultima Thule. When it launched, New Horizons was the fastest object ever rocketed into space... and today, Kirby takes us even further! We strap ourselves aboard a mission that NASA is conceptualizing...2019-08-2742 minWhat The If?What The If?107 - Land A Man On The EARTH! - with Nancy AtkinsonIt's Opposite Apollo Day! In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the first landing on the Moon, our special guest today is Nancy Atkinson from Universe Today! Her amazing new book is "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Mission." We ask: What The IF we lived on the Moon and had to send the first mission to EARTH? This lunacy gives rise, as with all our IFs, to an amazing about of information about the REAL Apollo mission, and the science, engineering and chutzpah it took to do it. The only thing that could have been...2019-08-2044 minWhat The If?What The If?106 - What The MONKEY? Part 2 of Our TWIS Special!Our TWIS Special, Part TWO! TWIS the IF? What The TWIS? You put your science in my what! It's a special, double stuffed, super combo show. Dr. Kiki invited us to bring the IF to her long-running public radio show and podcast, This Week In Science. In Part 1 we got some science up in the NEWS! Dr. Kiki, Justin & Blair invite Philip & Matt to join the insightful, hilarious and very, very bizarre news stories that fly around the roundtable this week. Now In Part 2: Join us as we take the NEWS to the IF! There was a really, really weird...2019-08-131h 09What The If?What The If?105 - What The KIKI? Part 1 of Our TWIS Special!Our TWIS Special, Part ONE! TWIS the IF? What The TWIS? You put your science in my what! It's a special, double stuffed, super combo show. Dr. Kiki invited us to bring the IF to her long-running public radio show and podcast, This Week In Science. Here in Part 1 we get some science up in the NEWS! Dr. Kiki, Justin & Blair invite Philip & Matt to join the insightful, hilarious and very, very bizarre news stories that fly around the roundtable this week. In Part 2 join us as we take the NEWS to the IF! There was a really, really weird...2019-08-1353 minWhat The If?What The If?104 - Walking on IO with Robin Andrews!DR. ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS, science writer for The NY Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and many more, joins us with an IF that'll keep you on your feet: What The IF we could walk on Jupiter's ultra volcanic moon, IO? Would you walk on a hot pizza? If so, you're ready for the trip! The views of Jupiter would be spectacular, but bring your kevlar umbrella because lava's gonna come flyin' out of the sky. One of the most spectacular places in the solar system, Io is also terribly mysterious, bizarre, and confusing to even the greatest scientists of our...2019-07-3058 minWhat The If?What The If?103 - Alastair Reynolds!Best selling author ALASTAIR REYNOLDS is our guest! He's Philip's favorite author on the planet and one of the world's most popular Science Fiction writers. Al brings a whopper of an IF, loosely inspired by one of his newest stories, "Different Seas" which he wrote for the new prophetic anthology, "TWELVE TOMORROWS" from MIT Press. WTiF Elon Musk sent a bunch of dummy bots to the red planet into whose bodies we could transport ourselves, via telepresence, and explore from the comfort of our own home? It's just like being there! But WTiF there's other bots being run around the...2019-07-231h 05What The If?What The If?70 - Victory Over GRAVITY!70 - Victory Over GRAVITY! by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-11-2751 minWhat The If?What The If?69 - Dummies VS Gravity!69 - Dummies VS Gravity! by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-11-2042 minWhat The If?What The If?60 - See The RADIO WAVES All Around YOU! The Science & Wonder Of Electromagnetic Fields60 - See The RADIO WAVES All Around YOU! The Science & Wonder Of Electromagnetic Fields by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-09-1747 minWhat The If?What The If?49 - OUMUAMAUA Has It's Eyes On YOU49 - OUMUAMAUA Has It's Eyes On YOU by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-07-0352 minWhat The If?What The If?48 - The Girl Scouts Make A STARGATE48 - The Girl Scouts Make A STARGATE by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-06-2745 minWhat The If?What The If?47 - The Early Bird Gets The WORMHOLE47 - The Early Bird Gets The WORMHOLE by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-06-2030 minWhat The If?What The If?46 - WTiF There's ANIMALS On MARS? Cute Ones!46 - WTiF There's ANIMALS On MARS? Cute Ones! by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-06-121h 02What The If?What The If?43 - The World According To Greek Weirdos43 - The World According To Greek Weirdos by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-05-2339 minWhat The If?What The If?42 - SuperMegaUltraHyperConnectedWORLD!42 - SuperMegaUltraHyperConnectedWORLD! by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-05-1643 minWhat The If?What The If?41 - M.I.T., The Mysterious Inter-Terrestrial41 - M.I.T., The Mysterious Inter-Terrestrial by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia2018-05-0950 min