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by Philip Shane
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- 2 days ago43 min
Moon Babies Meet EARTH - Part 2!
What the if you were born on the Moon and Earth was the alien planet? Picking up from last month's cliffhanger, our travelers from the lunar surface finally touch down — and nothing about this place is what they expected. There's some physics, some biology, a detour through ancient Greece, and a first encounter with the locals that nobody could have prepared for. The view from another world makes home look stranger than it has any right to. Settle in for the second half of a two-part thought experiment about what it's like to visit the planet everyone else calls home. —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- 1 weeks ago42 min
The Last DROP Of Gasoline!
Listener Helina asks: what the if we just pumped the last drop of gasoline? The answer goes well beyond empty parking lots and quiet highways. Along the way there's some chemistry, some geology, a detour through ancient history, and a look at how a single resource quietly weaves through agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and the food on your plate. Join us for this super fun thought experiment with some genuinely surprising science along the way. —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- 2 weeks ago42 min
Build A Brand New ALPHABET - with Linguist DANNY BATE!
What the if you had to invent the alphabet from scratch? The Pharaoh hands you a stone tablet, a chisel, and an impossible assignment: condense every sound a human mouth can make into a handful of squiggles. Where do you even start? How do you decide what makes the cut? And once you do, how do you convince anyone else to use the thing? Linguist Danny Bate, author of "Why Q Needs U", takes us into the chaotic, contingent workshop of the ancient world's most consequential project, and the strange, very human accidents that shaped the 26 symbols you're reading right now. Want more Danny? Visit his home base at https://dannybate.com and grab his book at https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU. —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- Apr 17, 202628 min
Moon Babies Meet EARTH!
Picture this: you're a moon baby, born and raised underground on Luna, and you've just landed on Earth for the very first time. Meet the loonies, a civilization of moon-born humans who cook up rocket fuel from lunar ice and travel between worlds in spacecraft that might just include a pickleball court. Along the way we dig into the real science of rocket propulsion, tidal locking, G-forces on the human body, and why atmospheric reentry is the single hardest part of coming home. Where will the first crewed mission choose to touch down, and what will they make of a planet where the sky is blue and vast dark patches keep swallowing their probes whole? —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- Apr 3, 202644 min
Microbe Grudge Match!
What the if microbes held a grudge? We're thrilled to welcome Ethan Rappaport, theoretical ecologist at the University of Maryland, to take us inside the tiny turf wars happening in your gut. We imagine bacteria sharing grudges like social media reposts, passing weaponized DNA to their neighbors through tiny genetic pamphlets called plasmids. Before you know it, whole microbial nations could be declaring war on your intestinal lining until you hand over the cotton candy. So maybe skip the diet and keep those gut buddies happy! —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- Mar 23, 202654 min
Space JUNK!
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the MIR SPACE STATION's spectacular farewell reentry, we're featuring an encore of our August 11, 2023 episode about what happens when SPACE JUNK takes over the sky! --- Hey there, fellow Iffers! It's Philip here, and do I have a treat for you. Dive into our latest episode, "Space JUNK!", an electrifying rollercoaster of discoveries and discussions that might just be a tad messier than usual. But as Matt rightly asks, how different is that from our regular antics, right? Well, this episode is special. Not just because we dive deep into the vast expanse of space and the intriguing debris that dances within it, but also because this thrilling topic was suggested by none other than our super-duper iffer, Dan! So, grab your space helmets, make sure your anti-junk shield is activated, and journey with Matt and me into the great cosmic junkyard. And hey, if you've ever wondered if there's a "What The IF?" t-shirt or hoodie floating out there amidst the stars... well, you'll just have to tune in to find out! --- Find out more about Gaby's upcoming science fiction short story publication, coming soon! Here are the links for the anthology. The physical copy can be pre-ordered here : https://www.neonhemlock.com/books/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention The ebook can be pre-ordered here: https://www.neonhemlock.com/ebooks/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention --- Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif 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! Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- Mar 17, 202641 min
Telepathy!
What the if you could read minds — but only when someone's nearby? Congratulations, your subway commute just became a psychic nightmare. Babies would blast unfiltered emotional chaos straight into your skull, your dog would telepathically loop images of a full food bowl at you around the clock, and predators might evolve to psychically lure prey into their mouths. But here's the thing — telepathy might also unlock a kind of empathy we've never experienced before, letting us truly feel the world through someone else's mind. Tinfoil hats optional — tune in and find out why you might actually want one! Want to explore how Darwin catalogued every possible gradation of animal communication and emotion? Check out these resources mentioned in the episode: Janet Browne's award-winning two-volume biography of Darwin: https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Darwin-Biography-Vol-Voyaging/dp/0691026068 The Darwin Correspondence Project, where you can read Darwin's notebooks and journals yourself: https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/ —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
- Mar 13, 202641 min
Reality Is Making Stuff UP!
Right now, billions of particles are popping in and out of existence in your pocket. That's not a metaphor — that's quantum mechanics. Inspired by a YouTube video from Anton Petrov about virtual particles turning into real matter, this week's thought experiment asks: what the if virtual particles were the size of badgers? What happens when those badgers start spontaneously appearing at faculty meetings and first dates? Turns out empty space is a lot busier than it looks! Check out Anton Petrov's video that inspired this episode, "Actual Evidence of Virtual Particle Turning Into Real Matter!": https://youtu.be/VXdbffgTMVs?si=uL1hXd5ie4VfU2zq —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
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About What The If?
Welcome to the show where we learn science by exploring the universe by pushing it... to the limit. A dangerous mix of Science & Fiction, hosted by Philip Shane & Matt Stanley
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