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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

00:42:31

The Buddy System Run AMOK!

What The If? ·

2026/02/27

What the if humans moved in schools — not classrooms, but like fish? Inspired by Carl Zimmer's New York Times article on how misinformation spreads among schooling fish, this episode explores a world where you can't go anywhere without your tightly synchronized pod. From navigating modern city life to figuring out what spooks a school of humans in the first place, things get weird fast. And the real science behind why fish school — and what happens when one of them panics for no reason — might just

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00:40:34

The Day Gravity QUIT!

What The If? ·

2026/02/13

A conspiracy theory went viral claiming that on August 12th, 2026, Earth will lose gravity for seven seconds. The internet did what the internet does, and millions of people started talking about it. So we decided to take the question seriously — what the if gravity actually clocked out for seven seconds? Let's just say you might want to start shopping for bungee cords now. And maybe a bouncy castle. This episode was inspired by an Instagram post from the now-mysteriously-vanished user Mr. Donya OF,

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00:30:17

GROUND HOG Day PHYSICS!

What The If? ·

2026/02/05

What the if a groundhog could actually predict the weather? Turns out Punxsutawney Phil would need way more than a shadow — we're talking a full groundhog space program, weather satellites, underground supercomputers, and a solar shade the size of western Pennsylvania. Welcome to the groundhog deep state, where fuzzy bureaucrats run atmospheric circulation models and control whether the sun shines on command. And here's the kicker — the whole setup might actually teach you why the weather forecast

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00:51:31

HAGFISH - Champion Of The SLIMER BOWL!

What The If? ·

2026/01/30

We first shared this one on Super Bowl Sunday 2019 — what better weekend to bring back nature's ultimate underdog? Enjoy this encore presentation!---- The HAGFISH, little known, little respected... greatly feared... by sharks! Is the hagfish the Spiderman of the Sea? This little slimy fish can spit out a slimy blob that BLOWS UP REAL BIG. What the if... WE could defend ourselves like that? Imagine the sport! In celebration of the SUPER BOWL, we present a special episode: The SLIME BOWL. Let the

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00:58:47

Walking on IO with Robin Andrews! (Encore)

What The If? ·

2026/01/08

We're taking a break this week while Philip recovers from the 'double-whammy' of flu and COVID boosters. (Science works, but sometimes it makes you nap!)However, we couldn't let January 7th pass unnoticed. On this day in 1610, Galileo first spotted Jupiter's moon, Io. To celebrate, we’ve unlocked the vault for an encore of one of our most popular episodes ever. Strap in for a tour of a lava-covered world with Robin Andrews in... "Walking on IO". ---- DR. ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS, science writer for

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00:32:00

BIOLOGICAL New Year's Resolutions!

What The If? ·

2025/12/30

What the if your New Year's resolution became a biological compulsion you literally could not ignore? Imagine waking up on January 1st with the same unstoppable urge that drives salmon to swim upstream, except instead of spawning, you absolutely must get to the gym three times a week. In this world, the darkness of winter triggers something deep in our ancient brain, locking us into whatever commitment we scribbled down at midnight. You'd have to rules-lawyer your own resolutions like a contract

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00:39:32

Time REVERSAL with Ian Durham!

What The If? ·

2025/12/26

What the if time suddenly started running backwards? Your breakfast un-eats itself, LEGO sets come pre-assembled, and you get younger every day. The dead have unfunerals, your room cleans itself, and teenagers slowly regress through middle school—backwards. Professor Ian Durham of Saint Anselm College stops by to explain the real physics behind time reversal and why photons might start shooting out of your eyeballs.Want to see time reversal in action? Check out The Palindrome Paradox, the

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00:40:08

Green SUN Apocalypse!

What The If? ·

2025/12/05

What the if the Sun suddenly turned green? Your pizza now looks like charcoal because all red things go black. Stop signs become invisible. The sky shifts from cheerful blue to permanent dusk. And plants? They absolutely despise green light—they reflect it because green photons are the M&Ms they pick out of the bowl. So with a green Sun, photosynthesis grinds to a halt, oxygen tanks, and everything that breathes is in serious trouble. The only potential survivors might be weird microbes at deep

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00:36:09

Two BABIES, Two SPECIES!

What The If? ·

2025/11/19

Scientists just discovered ant queens that give birth to two completely different species - not twins, but actual separate species hatching from the same mother. But what the if every animal on Earth reproduced this way? Suddenly every pregnancy becomes a species reveal party, dairy farms need to manage herds where some cows give birth to regular calves while others pop out Ice Age yaks, and your family reunions include relatives from entirely different species sitting around the same table. Pet

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00:59:34

CHINA vs NASA

What The If? ·

2025/11/14

This week we're trading hypothetical fungi and exploding planets for something scarier: actual government budgets. But don't worry - watching America accidentally hand the space race to China is just as entertaining as any sci-fi disaster scenario, and way more preventable. Think "For All Mankind" but with spreadsheets instead of heroic astronauts. What happens when NASA's budget gets slashed in half while China's space program keeps climbing? Chris Carberry from Explore Mars joins to explore a

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00:41:12

Animals Train YOU!

What The If? ·

2025/10/15

Honey guide birds in Africa respond to culturally distinct human calls and lead hunters to beehives, where humans crack them open and birds feast on the exposed beeswax. But what the if humans could whistle for any wild animal to help with tasks? Call a deer to haul your Costco groceries home (extra cabbage as payment), summon crows to find your lost earring for peanuts, or live in a Viking village where bears help with the salmon harvest then hibernate in someone's hut all winter. From turkey

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00:49:54

Gravity Waves Go WIGGLE

What The If? ·

2025/09/19

What the if gravitational waves were big enough to see and feel? Instead of measuring distortions smaller than a proton, imagine watching your coffee table accordion in and out as ripples from distant black hole collisions pass through your local cafe. Every time Charlie the cat bats a toy mouse in Greenwich Village, sugar cubes scrunch in Williamsburg cafes. Brain surgeons would need to ask all of New York to sit perfectly still during operations to avoid gravitational interference. Even parking

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00:43:23

SLOW Light Speed!

What The If? ·

2025/08/22

What the if the speed of light crawled along at walking speed instead of zipping around at 300,000 kilometers per second? Tracey McCallum from Ontario wondered about this scenario. Imagine reaching for your cat only to grab empty air because she's already somewhere else entirely. Baseball becomes a black-hole-creating death sport when pitchers throw faster than light speed. Concert audiences sing different verses simultaneously depending on their distance from the stage. Fiber optic internet becomes

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00:51:55

Alien PETS!

What The If? ·

2025/08/15

Matt & Gaby are on assignment this week, so we present an encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. This one is super fun and comes from Sept. 16, 2024. We hope you enjoy it.--- What if humans were the latest must-have pet for trendy aliens? This episode explores the hilarious and bizarre scenario of extraterrestrial beings snatching us up like puppies from a shelter. From alien vets poking and prodding us for space parasites to the culinary delights of human kibble, we dive into

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00:44:38

Nuclear REACTORS on the Moon!

What The If? ·

2025/08/08

What the if there was a nuclear reactor on the moon? NASA wants to launch a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor to the lunar surface before 2030, powerful enough to run about 80 households. From the terrifying "tickling the dragon's tail" experiments at Los Alamos where scientists held uranium chunks apart with just a screwdriver, to the reality that plutonium feels "like holding a rabbit" when you touch it, explore how chain reactions work and why control rods keep reactors from exploding. Because nothing

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00:27:27

BIG Telescopes!

What The If? ·

2025/07/25

What the if we just kept making telescopes bigger and bigger until they're the size of entire planetary orbits? Starting with the new Vera Rubin Observatory's 21-foot camera that immediately spotted 2,000 asteroids, explore a world where astronomers drop telescopes throughout Earth's orbit to create a synthetic lens 200 million miles wide. Discover how gravitational lenses could let you see taxi cabs on distant planets, why you'd need to be a billion miles from the Sun to use it as a magnifying

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00:46:36

Silent SUBMARINE Seas!

What The If? ·

2025/06/13

What if climate change made submarines completely undetectable? As ocean temperatures rise, thermal layers are disrupting sonar so dramatically that entire regions become acoustic dead zones where submarines can hide indefinitely. Watch civilization adapt when nuclear subs vanish into warm water pockets, jellyfish swarms clog warship engines, and whale songs get drowned out by thermal chaos. Welcome to a world where jellyfish defeat the entire nuclear navy without even trying.Based on "Submarines

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00:49:22

BEFORE The Big BANG

What The If? ·

2025/06/09

What if the universe was stuck in an eternal cosmic Groundhog Day? Picture traveling backwards through time past the Big Bang only to discover you've looped right back to where you started - like a cosmic snake eating its own tail. Explore the mind-bending possibility that our entire universe repeats itself in endless cycles, where infinite copies of you exist scattered across millions of light years, all having this exact same conversation at different stages of cosmic evolution. Join cosmologist

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00:48:14

BADMINTON Bots Go Rogue!

What The If? ·

2025/05/30

What if teaching robots to play badminton was the beginning of the end? Scientists at ETH Zurich have successfully trained four-legged robots with mechanical arms to track shuttlecocks, navigate courts, and execute precise strikes against human players. But once these robots master the art of intercepting flying objects, what's next? Watch civilization unravel as badminton-playing robots evolve from harmless sporting partners to grenade-deflecting military units, eventually leading to wandering

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01:02:00

Can You BREATHE Like A WHALE? With Vanessa Pirotta!

What The If? ·

2025/05/26

We're off this week for the Memorial Day Holiday in the US so we present here one of our most popular episodes, a classic IF from August 13, 2021 with the incomparable marine biologist from Australia, Dr. Vanessa Pirotta. Take a deep breath and enjoy this deep dive!---- WHALES spend their entire lives inside a medium, water, in which they can’t actually breathe. So throughout the day, and the night, they have to swim to the surface to take a breath of that sweet, sweet ocean air… or they die! We

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