What The If?

No Opposable Thumbs?

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Join The Non-Opposition Party! Our long time listener Nigel of Portsmouth, UK ascends to Super IFFer status by having his question chosen as the topic...

"Gift-wrappus" PARK? Dinosaur PETS For Everyone!

07 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, fellow IF-ers!!! We taped a bunch of shows at the end of the year, so we're starting out 2022 with a bang: we're posting a brand new W...

Riding GRAVITY FORCE ONE with KIRBY RUNYON

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, fellow IF-ers!!! We taped a bunch of shows at the end of the year, so we're starting out 2022 with a bang: we're posting a brand new W...

OhMyCron! Covid News Update (Dec 9, 2021)

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, fellow IF-ers!!! We taped a bunch of shows at the end of the year, so we're starting out 2022 with a bang: we're posting a brand new W...

DUNE - Holy Spit!

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, fellow IF-ers!!! We taped a bunch of shows at the end of the year, so we're starting out 2022 with a bang: we're posting a brand new W...

World War TROLLS? Social Media During WW2!

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, fellow IF-ers! We taped a bunch of shows at the end of the year, so we're starting out 2022 with a bang: a brand new WTIF episode ever...

Crabs!

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Got an IF of your own? - Email us at [email protected] and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- ...

Stop! In The Name of LAVA

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The fearless and fabulous DR. ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS joins us for an explosive IF! Robin George Andrews is a science journalist with a PhD in volcanolo...

The SUPERSTITION Industrial Complex: Factories of LUCK!

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 [email protected] and let us know wha...

Theory of Everything: CANCELED? Brian Keating Imagines the Impossible!

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In one corner, the welter weight challenger, Quantum Mechanics! In the other corner, the veteran, the heavyweight, the titan, destroyer of apples: GRA...

Waiter, There's a Fly In My PRIMORDIAL SOUP!

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What The IF... the ORIGIN of LIFE was on your desktop? What if it WAS your desktop? How does non-life become LIFE? Got an IF of your own? Want to h...

Superman Virus!

10 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our listener, Super IFFer CHRIS in Vancouver asks: "Is it conceivably possible that a virus could have POSITIVE symptoms? Say by commandeering olfact...

The Industrial BICYCLE Revolution!

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Put Your Mettle To Your Pedal Listener ED from Brooklyn writes in and asks, “What the IF there were no cars, only bicycles?” And we take up the c...

AVI LOEB Is Hunting For E.T. With MEGAPIXELS, Millions, And MOXY

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Serious Search For Extraterrestrial Life We are thrilled and honored to have the esteemed Astronomer AVI LOEB join us for this week’s very spec...

UFO's: A Powerful Teachable Moment? A Flying Roundtable Talk With The UCR Podcast!

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Luis, Mike and Rather specialize in discussing UFO's with skeptics and believers, and through laughter, love and logic, bringing people together to fi...

NAKED Mars Rats!

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Terraforming via MOLE? In this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes -- when we tried out a new format called "Fantastic Voyage" -- ...

Can You BREATHE Like A WHALE? With Vanessa Pirotta!

15 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 swi...

The Dark Art of SUNSHINE

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 [email protected] and let us know wha...

NO ALIENS Anywhere??? Zilch. Nada. BUPKIS!

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

NO HOME TO PHONE! What The IF... there were NO ALIENS in the universe? No life anywhere except Earth. You want a planet with life? You’re standing ...

TOTAL PERSPECTIVE VORTEX

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What The IF... you could see the TRUE SCALE of the Universe? We imagine entering the notorious torture device from he dastardly mind of the great Doug...

Multiverse Cocktail Hour

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Va...

Hot Rod Rocket Cars, Burnin' Mars Gas!

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 presentat...

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

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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? ...

Reimagining COSMOLOGY From Inside YOU - With Hakeem OLUSEYI

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 fo...

YOUR Personal Role In Space Exploration — w/The PLANETARY SOCIETY’s Casey Dreier

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ca...

VIRGIN BIRTH Run Amok! Unstoppable Parthenogenic Organisms

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Multi-dimensional MAILBAG Explosion!

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An exhilarating, encore bonus show: Our listeners, the IFFers of the world, share their questions, comments, reactions and rants. The fantastic whirl...

Secrets Of Making A UFO DOCUMENTARY

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 l...

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

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 wit...

Microbreweries on MARS! - With CHRIS CARBERRY of the SPACE DRINKS Association!

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 indust...

Solar WIND Makes For A Very BAD HAIR DAY

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

When NEIGHBORS Get Into An ARMS Race!

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our listener, and Super Duper IFFer, Daniel asks What The IF neighbors had tanks? Imagine the block parties? No, imagine the block battles! What happe...

Put A Man On The EARTH! - with Nancy Atkinson

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 sh...

GODZILLA vs KONG vs SCIENCE!

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 [email protected] and let us know wha...

PLANET of the MARTIAL ARTS Masters: Capoeira, Karate, Kung Fu and YOU!

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 [email protected] and let us know wha...

WTiF Humans Spoke Like Animals?

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(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 h...

That FIRST DAY Riding The VIRUS — One Year Ago

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

When COVID Was Young And Restless - 1 YEAR AGO

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A note about this special rebroadcast: Philip & Matt, always known for their keen eye for FASHION (just go with me on this…) found themselves fift...

SLEEPY Sickness Returns!

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our listener, and Super IFFer Supreme, Bill from Virginia asks: “WTIF we saw the return of the mysterious "Sleeping Sickness" that followed the 19...

Eyes MILES Wide! Creatures With NEUTRINO VISON?

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 P...

NAKED Mars Rats!

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Terraforming via MOLE? Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby ...

The NOISIEST Place In The GALAXY!!!!!!

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 he...

No COSMOS For You with Jo Marchant!

19 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on What The If? We have a very special guest, Jo Marchant. Jo has written multiple books like Decoding the Heavens and the Shadow King. She ...

Junkyard GALAXY!

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Space JUNK! Space is just a JUNKYARD for ancient remnants of alien civilizations! Need a spare part for your FTL drive? Head on out into space, and ...

MIND MELD with a VIRUS!

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Scien...

Ancient Babylonian INTERNET!

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The network of the ancients! Take a ride through history, to the days of the inventors of astrology, and get CONNECTED to the ancient Babylonian Worl...

Life Aboard ACHILLES SHIELD

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Prepare for battle, Trojans! It's time to gather your weapons and your SHIELD! Get ready as we head into Ancient Greece, to learn about the OTHER fla...

VAX Voyage DEBRIEF!

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Scien...

Edison VS Tesla - REMATCH

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The FIGHT of the century, AGAIN?! This is the REMATCH of two of the most famous and ELECTRIC inventors. Hang on to your phone chargers, we're looki...

Duck! WHITE BLOOD Cells Coming!

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ride In The Covid Vaccine -- part deus! Every week, we DIVE into the human body, navigating our submersible, the good ship IF! Join documentary filmm...

YouTube For Your BRAIN!

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Long time listener and Super IFFer Tom from Virginia asks: WTiF everyone's MEMORIES were recorded and available to all? Could you log in MEMORY SURF.....

Ride The VACCINE!

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

SOLSTICE Special: Paul McAULEY Shrinks The SUN!

25 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Holidays from WTiF! In honor of the SOLSTICE this week, we present an encore of one of our most popular episodes. Enjoy! --- The incredible Sc...

MUTANTS vs. MASKS!

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Covid MUTANTS Cause London Lockdown: PANIC or Prudent? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the h...

Holiday Mailbag BONANZA!

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we dive deep into the mailbag to give you multiple If! Alternate What the Ifs from other dimensions, its a Mailbag BONANZA! Sit back and ...

The VACCINE At The End Of The TUNNEL!

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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/co...

BLOCK (Party!) UNIVERSE

13 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Super IFFer Bill asked, WTiF we lived in a Block Universe? So we're having a Block Universe party! And we're learning what the heck a block universe i...

ABUNDANCE Run Amok! A Star Trek IF!

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Prepare to boldly go where no IFer has gone before! To the future of society, where we eliminated the need for money, and hunger is a thing of the pa...

WTIF News - Covid Wears A MINK Coat!

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Time Travel TRAFFIC JAM! With TOM MERRITT!

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

POP into a parking spot at any point in time?! What The If there were a time travel TRAFFIC Jam?! Prep your flux capacitors, set your clocks to 1985...

Report from CHINA!

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

93 - EINSTEIN'S WAR - Part Two

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For Thanksgiving, a special encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes! Matt has a new amazing book! We dive into Professor Stanley's in...

92 - Einstein's War - Part One

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For Thanksgiving, a special encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes! Matt has a new amazing book! We dive into Professor Stanley's in...

REINCARNATION, Let's Do This!

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Spooky children?! Past lives?! Astrology?! What could we possibly be talking about? What The If past lives, and reincarnation were real? On this e...

WTIF News - GOOD News? YEAH!!!

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science wins in the USA! Vaccine research looking good so far! As she does every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the s...

WTif Humans Had TAILS?!

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We are joined by Historian of Medicine, Professor of History at Clarkson University, Stephen Casper! You've got a tailbone, but WTiF Humans actually ...

WTIF News - It Came Outta NOWHERE!

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The New York Times headline is ominous: "How Are Americans Catching the Virus? Increasingly, ‘They Have No Idea’" As she does every week, Rockefe...

SMILE, Aliens Are WATCHING!

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Reality TV in SPACE! What The If Aliens are WATCHING us!? Tune your televisions to the intergalactic channel, or open up your streaming app on your ...

WTIF News - When DATA Gets AGGRAVATED!

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

ZOMBIES!

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What The If Zombies were real!? Start armoring your vehicles, boarding up your windows, and stocking up on toilet paper! We've got a spooky episode f...

WTIF News - Decisions, DECISIONS!

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 famil...

ROOMBAS With The Power Of BLACK HOLES!

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vacuums in space! Space is a vacuum! This week on WHAT THE IF? We talk about Vacuums with the power of a black hole! How much MASS will they have?! ...

The PERFECT Planet!

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Looking for the most ideal planet to inhabit, ya know in case ours goes belly up? Look no FURTHER! This week's WHAT THE IF? Will tell us where we can...

Let's CRISPR with Carl ZIMMER!

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of the exciting breaking news of the 2020 NOBEL Prize for Chemistry being awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their dev...

Breaking NOBEL News!

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

GENIUS Run Amok!

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What the IF great achievers, such as Einstein, were offered to live FOREVER. GENIUS run amok! As time goes on there'd end up being a WORLD of genius...

5,000 MUTANTS - Don't Panic

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mutants!? Mutations! Viruses! Don't Panic! These aren't your favorite superheroes, these mutants are the changes in the Coronavirus! Scientists in H...

RADIOACTIVITY Shutdown!

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What The IF there were NO RADIATION?! Grab your luminous yellow uranium glassware and fill it up with whatever you love to drink, because we're goin...

Breathe At Your Own RISK?

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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. Aero...

A Video GAME That Steals Your BRAIN? With Dr. KIKI!

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

YOUR BRAIN ON GAME What The If there were a VIDEO GAME that could take over your BRAIN? We're going into the arcade, so get your quarters or tokens r...

VAX Update - Safety FIRST!

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Good news! AstraZeneca just resumed their coronavirus vaccine clinical trials after stopping them abruptly last week. What happened? How does the safe...

The BERSERKER Hypothesis

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What 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...

Stop The UNIVERSE, I Want To Get Off!

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

WTIF News - Quarantine Your POOP?

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

University of Arizona located two students with Covid, by testing the poop of their entire dorm, reports Jaclyn Peiser in The Washington Post. https...

ROCKETS Without Rocket Science?

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 stur...

WTIF News: Masks vs. Lasers!

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

WARP Speed ASTRONOMY?

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 courtes...

WTIF News: VANISHING Antibodies?

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You RECOVERED from Covid-19, but where are your ANITBODIES? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind t...

The ARTISTS Behind NASA's Artist Depictions!

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Incredible guests this week! World famous space science artists DON DAVIS and PAMELA LEE join us to imagine getting to do their masterful artistry whi...

WTIF News: POOL Testing?

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

POOL Testing is here! So... WTF is Pool Testing? Gaby explains! Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behi...

Teeny TINY Earth!

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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, Ho...

COVID Glowing in the Dark?

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Glow in the dark CORONAVIRUS? Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind the headlines! More info at RockEDU: rocke...

WTIF News: Herd Immunity!

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 exp...

Ooda Loop

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What 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 ...

How Does IMAGINATION Work?

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How does IMAGINATION work? What The IF… you had NO imagination! Our guest TRACY GLEASON is a Developmental Psychologist studying relationships, rea...

WTIF News: COVID-19 Has A Very Busy PASSPORT

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Did Covid-19 come to your shores from one person, or many? Every week, Rockefeller University Virologist GABY PANICCIA explores the science behind th...

ONE Language For ALL?

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

ONE Language For ALL? by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia

WTIF News: Are We Doomed To REPEAT The 1918 PANDEMIC?

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

SMITHSONIAN Magazine published a very thought provoking article this week, urging caution against thinking we are on the same path as the 1918 PANDEMI...

Earth In A BOTTLE!

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ve...

WTIF News: SCIENCE-ing While Distancing!

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...