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PODCAST

What The If?

Learn how to think like EINSTEIN! Every week we learn science running imaginative thought experiments. Our brilliant guests are some of the world’s greatest science fiction writers, scientists & science communicators. Leap into a journey to answer the most fascinating question in the universe: What The IF?

science & medicine history

All Episodes

00:41:37

Multiverse Cocktail Hour

What The If? ·

2021/07/16

Matt's away and the team trashes the studio with a teetotaling, time traveling, mixer of the mind! We're joined by our Senior Research intern, Gabi Vardanega who has brought along her friend, the brilliant Laura Marques da Silva who has contributed a bunch of fabulous show ideas for us over the past year. To celebrate their post-pandemic summer break at NYU, we surf through the multiverse, exploring one of Laura's favorite IF's: TIME TRAVEL. In this more freeform, summer style show we share our

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00:37:13

Hot Rod Rocket Cars, Burnin' Mars Gas!

What The If? ·

2021/07/09

In honor of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos putting their butts on the launch pad, we salute the spirit of hot rods in space with this encore presentation of one our most popular episodes. Fasten your safety belt and -- aw, screw it, just hop in and hit the gas, let's goooooooo!!! --- Using gravity waves, Astronomers announced they discovered two neutron stars colliding in an epic explosion! Forbes Magazine's favorite fact about this natural wonder is that the event created 28 Octillion Dollars

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00:52:43

No OCEANS? Oh, shiiiiii---!!!

What The If? ·

2021/07/02

Water, water... nowhere! An IF from YOU, our audience! Super Uber Duper IFFer Kyle CRICHTON writes in and asks, What The IF... there were NO OCEANS? Perhaps Kyle wrote this while on the way to the beach? No parking at the shore is bad enough, but no shore are the shore? Yikes! Of course it all happened one dark and stormy night when Aliens came by and slurped our oceans away to feed their voracious thirst -- the ultimate BIG GULP. But the next morning when we all wake up to see the parched

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00:58:17

Reimagining COSMOLOGY From Inside YOU - With Hakeem...

What The If? ·

2021/06/25

The brilliant astrophysicist and master teacher HAKEEM OLUSEYI takes us into one of the most astounding IF's we have ever experienced. In a tour de force of imagination, Dr. Oluseyi helps us appreciate the unimaginably titanic scale of the Universe by asking us to imagine being unimaginably microscopic and instead of looking out at the Milky Way galaxy... these astronomers are inside... YOU! This is a fantastic voyage that takes you from the size of the electron, to the stars, to the scale of the

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01:11:51

YOUR Personal Role In Space Exploration — w/The...

What The If? ·

2021/06/18

NASA just announced a new mission to VENUS... how'd that happen? Did you know that you can play a role in exploring space? Yep. With a simple phone call you can keep space missions alive, and growing, and exploring! WHO YA GONNA CALL? The hardest working man in planetary politicking is here to show us how: CASEY DREIER, The Planetary Society's Senior Space Policy Advisor and Chief Advocate. A lot of people don't know that ROCKETS are PEOPLE powered, and you play a role in lighting the fuse, should

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00:57:40

VIRGIN BIRTH Run Amok! Unstoppable Parthenogenic...

What The If? ·

2021/06/11

No muss, no sex, no fuss! Today's show is ripped from the headlines. Science Magazine reports: "An aquarium accident may have given this crayfish the DNA to take over the world" By Elizabeth Pennisi (https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/aquarium-accident-may-have-given-crayfish-dna-take-over-world?utm_campaign=ScienceNow&utm_source=Contractor&utm_medium=Facebook) And so, IFFed from the Headlines, we bring you, "What The IF people reproduced asexually?" Which means, ladies and gentlemen, that

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00:37:53

Multi-dimensional MAILBAG Explosion!

What The If? ·

2021/06/04

An exhilarating, encore bonus show: Our listeners, the IFFers of the world, share their questions, comments, reactions and rants. The fantastic whirlwind of listener mail that Philip jousted and parried following the episode "Secrets Of Making A UFO DOCUMENTARY". A wide range of brilliant and bonkers thoughts from our audience! --- 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

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01:04:45

Secrets Of Making A UFO DOCUMENTARY

What The If? ·

2021/06/04

Hi, Philip here, your humble narrator. In the wake (ahem) of the US Navy Tic Tac UFO's being in the news again, and following up on our awesome show last week with Mick West, I wanted to repost this very popular special episode. I am a documentary filmmaker and have made a number of science oriented films, including an extensive investigation into UFO's which I edited with Peter Jenning's at ABC News. One of the chapters I edited in that 2 hour documentary was a scientific investigation of the

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01:06:26

TIC TAC UFO'S Bringing FRESH Science? With MICK WEST!

What The If? ·

2021/05/28

WE ARE NOT ALONE in having bad breath! Tic Tacs are here to freshen our planet with a delightful minty taste. But seriously folks, WTF is going on with the startling images of mysterious tic tac shapes appearing on the US NAVY ship based radar, and on the infrared VIDEO SCREENS of their fighter planes, and in front of the eyes pilots. These images have, incredibly and almost uniquely in the history of UFOs, been featured in the NEW YORK TIMES and on the legendary CBS News program, 60 MINUTES, and of

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00:46:57

Microbreweries on MARS! - With CHRIS CARBERRY of the...

What The If? ·

2021/05/21

Chris Carberry is back with more tales from the research labs where spirits are being crafted for... SPACE! And we're not just limited to one industry on this show, Chris introduces us to the exciting, burgeoning world of SMALL BUSINESS in space! Entrepreneurs big and small have opportunities for getting into the space race, and doing their part to invest, invent, and innovate our way to Mars and the stars. Every aspect of life outside of Earth is ripe for your imagination and creativity, learn

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00:55:49

Solar WIND Makes For A Very BAD HAIR DAY

What The If? ·

2021/05/14

Ahoy! Our listener, Super IFFer Miguel submitted a delightful sea shanty about the physics of the SUN, created by the awesome sci-pirates at the NASA Goddard Space Center. And so we drank ourselves into a quantum stuper and had to ask, dude, What The IF you could FEEL THE SOLAR WIND? Surfs up, sails up, science UP -- let's ride, mates! 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

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00:21:21

When NEIGHBORS Get Into An ARMS Race!

What The If? ·

2021/05/07

Our listener, and Super Duper IFFer, Daniel asks What The IF neighbors had tanks? Imagine the block parties? No, imagine the block battles! What happens in an ecosystem when evolution spirals out of control? How fit is FIT when survival is at stake? Gaby and Matt share lessons from Darwin and we imagine how having annoying neighbors might eventual fuel the colonization of the solar system! What The IF? Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us

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00:44:55

Put A Man On The EARTH! - with Nancy Atkinson

What The If? ·

2021/04/30

In honor of the announcement that NASA has chosen SPACE-X to build the Artemis lunar lander... and also in honor of Philip’s receiving his second shot of the Pfizer vaccine, we present this encore presentation! (Shh, what I really mean is that this shot has knocked me out good and I’ve got VAX HANGOVER and am stuck in bed until it passes. Don’t get me wrong, PRAISE SCIENCE for the vax! And... enjoy this super fun, very popular episode! — PS) —- It's Opposite Apollo Day! Our special guest today is

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00:55:08

GODZILLA vs KONG vs SCIENCE!

What The If? ·

2021/04/23

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! --- Want to support the show? Click a rating or add a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby

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00:50:02

PLANET of the MARTIAL ARTS Masters: Capoeira, Karate,...

What The If? ·

2021/04/16

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! --- Want to support the show? Click a rating or add a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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00:56:57

WTiF Humans Spoke Like Animals?

What The If? ·

2021/04/13

(Producer's note: What the if... you uploaded the wrong episode? Haha well today I found out. Nonetheless that previous episode was a great one, but here's the new one. Enjoy, and keep on Iffin'! -- Philip) Today's show was inspired by our listener and Super IFFer Charlie who wrote in from Knoxville, Tennessee and asked: "I thought how weird it would be if humans never had language to communicate and relied on basic sounds, grunts, and maybe even hand claps. So I was thinking: What the If Humans

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00:49:46

That FIRST DAY Riding The VIRUS — One Year Ago

What The If? ·

2021/04/02

A 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

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00:44:48

When COVID Was Young And Restless - 1 YEAR AGO

What The If? ·

2021/03/26

A note about this special rebroadcast: Philip & Matt, always known for their keen eye for FASHION (just go with me on this…) found themselves fifty-three weeks ago observing that the newly minted PANDEMIC was going to change the way we comb our hair… and everything about WHAT WE WEAR! Listen to our innocence as we pondered whether this LOCKDOWN might last a few… WEEKS? Maybe a few months? A precious cultural artifact, fizzing with naïveté. We were a little bit NOSTRODOMUS, and a little bit

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00:49:19

SLEEPY Sickness Returns!

What The If? ·

2021/03/18

Our listener, and Super IFFer Supreme, Bill from Virginia asks: “WTIF we saw the return of the mysterious "Sleeping Sickness" that followed the 1918 pandemic?” Wake the IF! Join us as we imagine an outbreak in NEW YORK of this enigmatic pathogen that makes you very, very, very, very, sleepy. Sleepiness attacks THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS! What could possibly go wrong? — 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

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01:00:31

Eyes MILES Wide! Creatures With NEUTRINO VISON?

What The If? ·

2021/03/12

Today's IF was sent to us by our awesome listener and Super IFFer Ruud Smit! Ruud asks us: "What the if our eyes could only see neutrinos?" Join Philip, Matt and Gaby on this incredible adventure into a world where creatures have eyes that are MILES, KILOMETERS, even KILOMILES long! What in the world (and on WHAT world?) would it be like to have NEUTRINO VISION? — 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

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