What The If?

Did 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 or email us at [email protected].

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

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 an episode! Comments, questions, and more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at [email protected].

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 Phoenix lander. Wonderful, colorful stories of space archaeology in the making, and pro tips for all of us on how to make our own! — 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 what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Illia Zheng and Howard Zheng for their help with the show. --- 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

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 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 [email protected].

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 [email protected].

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 [email protected] and let us know what's in your imagination. --- 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 whatever podcast app you’re enjoying, including Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com and never miss an episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 more are welcome! Visit WhatTheIF.com/contact or email us at [email protected].

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 Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) in MIT's Schwarzman College of Computing. He completed an A.B. in physics at Dartmouth College and Ph.D.s in physics and the history of science at Harvard University. Kaiser's historical research focuses on the development of physics in the United States during the Cold War, looking at how the discipline has evolved at the intersection of politics, culture, and the changing shape of higher education. His physics research focuses on early-universe cosmology, working at the interface of particle physics and gravitation. He has also helped to design and conduct novel experiments to test the foundations of quantum theory. Kaiser is author of the award-winning book Drawing Theories Apart: The Dispersion of Feynman Diagrams in Postwar Physics(University of Chicago Press, 2005), which traces how Richard Feynman's idiosyncratic approach to quantum physics entered the mainstream. His book How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival (W. W. Norton, 2011) charts the early history of Bell's theorem and quantum entanglement and was named "Book of the Year" by Physics World magazine. His latest book is Quantum Legacies: Dispatches from an Uncertain World (University of Chicago Press, 2020). His edited volumes include Pedagogy and the Practice of Science: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (MIT Press, 2005), Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision (MIT Press, 2010), Science and the American Century, co-edited with Sally Gregory Kohlstedt (University of Chicago Press, 2013), and Groovy Science: Knowledge, Innovation, and American Counterculture, co-edited with W. Patrick McCray (University of Chicago Press, 2016). He is presently working on two books about gravity: a physics textbook on gravitation and cosmology co-authored with Alan Guth, and a historical study of Einstein's general relativity over the course of the twentieth century. Kaiser served for several years as an editor of the journal Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences. He is presently Chair of the Editorial Board of MIT Press, and also serves on the advisory boards for Nautilus and Undark magazines. --- 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 whatever podcast app you’re enjoying, including Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com and never miss an episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

The 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 accessible. Her keen interests cover topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, also known as STEAM. Vanessa has represented Australia internationally as the national winner of a world-renowned science communication competition known as FameLab, placing second in the world. Vanessa’s efforts to communicate science has also seen her become a TEDx speaker, speak at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and recognized as one of the top 100 Women of Influence judged by the Australian Financial Review. Learn more about Dr. Pirotta! Homepage: https://www.vanessapirotta.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanessaPirotta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvanessapirotta/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrVanessaPirotta YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfIe3r09XA8BviNbVMtag2Q --- 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 whatever podcast app you’re enjoying, including Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com and never miss an episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 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 [email protected].

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!

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 writer for WGBH. He was The Chicago Sun-Times tech columnist for nearly twenty years and a Macworld columnist for more than two decades. Learn more about Andy! Ihnatko.com Twitter: @ihnatko Instagram: @ihnatko Flickr: andyi Boston Public Radio: WGBH.org MacBreak Weekly: twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly Material Podcast: relay.fm/material --- 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 or on the podcast service of your choice! Subscribe (free!) at our website WhatTheIF.com and never miss an episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 even a remote relation between 5G and viruses? Swipe to unlock your cellular devices, make sure you’ve wiped them down with alcohol first, and hop on that cellular network because we’re about to transmit some info to you over the waves! --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 listening devices, and lets get into some VIRUSES! --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

Hey 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 that VIRUS unhappy!! --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

They’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 this idea expanded to the entire WORLD?! You could just walk into a DMV and get your drivers license without talking to a single LIVING PERSON! Maybe it’d get rid of those crazy wait times! --- Tom is an award-winning independent tech podcaster, author, and host of regular tech news and information shows. Tom hosts Sword and Laser, a science fiction and fantasy podcast, and book club with Veronica Belmont. He also co-hosts Daily Tech News Show, covering the most important tech issues of the day with the smartest minds in technology. He’s written such books as Pavaria, Citadel 32, Lot Beta and the Pilot X series. Visit his website at: http://www.tommerritt.com Check out Trigor, the second book in the Pilot X universe on Amazon --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

We 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 suits, and get ready for a ride of a lifetime! --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

We 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 IF for these very strange times: What The IF... we were ISOLATED all of the time! Can you imagine a world where nobody could be with anybody? Just the grammar of that thought alone is terrifying. So put on your sexiest N-95 mask and your hazmat suit made of out the finest Corinthian mat… and let’s do this! --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

Our 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 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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? 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

CalTech 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 wonderful interview with Celeste on the fabulous podcast series, OLOGIES! https://omny.fm/shows/ologies-with-alie-ward/cryoseismology-icequakes-with-celeste-labedz --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

A 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 related to music and theater and reading about how other humans think, feel, create and move. Hoping to combine her interests, she became a neuroscientist, a person who examines the science behind these human capabilities. Formally, Dr. McPhee has a B.A. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Brandeis University. She was a cellular and molecular neuroscience researcher in academia for 17 years before joining the National Space Biomedical Research Association and later the Universities Space Research Association to manage various aspects of NASA’s domestic and international space life sciences research programs. Since 2010, she has been implementing motivating and novel ways to enhance space education and science and technology innovation and to promote global collaboration in human space exploration. She created the international Humans in Space Art Program and has been working to establish SciArt Exchange. Based on the success of the initial Youth Art Competition, Dr. McPhee created the multi-project, international Humans in Space Art Program to encourage people of all ages (youth, young adult, and professionals), cultures, and backgrounds to think about and creatively communicate their visions of the future of human space exploration through visual, literary, musical, and video art. So far, the Program has engaged 1000’s of artists as participants, and 100,000’s have viewed multi-media artwork displays and performances online, locally on Earth, and in space. Dr. McPhee has received two awards for her creation of the Humans in Space Art Program, The NASA Johnson Space Center Director's Innovation Award (2011) and the STEAMSpace Education Permission to Dream Award (2017). She believes the recognition truly belongs to everyone who has participated and supported the Program. In addition, SciArt Exchange received the 2017 TMT (Technology, Media, Telecoms) Entertainment Award for Best Science Engagement Initiative - USA, the 2017 UK Corporate Excellence Award for Best International Science & Art Education Initiative, the 2018 AI ((Acquisition International) Award for Best Scientific Education Development & Promotion Initiative – USA and the 2018 CV Magazine UK Best in Business Awards - Leading Authority on Science & Art Collaborations. In order to expand the Humans in Space Art Program and initiate other global science-integrated- with- art activities, Dr. McPhee established the nonprofit SciArt Exchange. The nonprofit aims to inspire the world about space, science, and technology and promote public understanding about and contribution to science and technology issues. Nonprofit activities include contests, events, consulting and instructing on topics such as science communication, creativity, and teamwork. Dr. McPhee envisions a world where each individual is trained to use their whole brain and to work respectfully and collaboratively with many different kinds of people to solve the greatest global science and technology challenges. SciArt Exchange and its partners worldwide hope to help realize this vision. --- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 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 by the US Congress, and how citizens can play a role. Casey reveals to us that our current TECHNOLOGY enables us to do incredible things... if we have the WILL and can pay the BILL. * * * Learn more about The PLANETARY SOCIETY at planetary.org -- and how you can join them on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for their annual DAY OF ACTION at planetary.org/dayofaction Visit Casey Dreier on Twitter: @CaseyDreier * * * This episode is sponsored by ASTRONOMY Magazine's "Space And Beyond Box," an awesome subscription where you'll automatically receive boxes and boxes of super educational and super fun stuff from Astronomy's editors. Visit the website -- SpaceAndBeyondBox.com/Giveaway -- to learn more, and get a chance to WIN a free annual subscription! * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

SCIENCE 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 fictional universe. In addition, he’s written over one thousand articles on subjects of science, technology, astronomy, history, literature, pop culture, and general knowledge. His first published novels, The Cronian Incident and its sequel The Jovian Manifesto (published by Castrum Press) can be purchased on Amazon.com, or Castrum Press, or click here to read an excerpt of the books. They are also available as audiobooks through Audible.com. * * * 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 episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 of Explore Mars, he acts as the main liaison for efforts and project ventures. Prior to joining Explore Mars, Carberry served as Executive Director to The Mars Society. In his early career, he acted as a member of the Steering Committee where he organized congressional outreach efforts around the country. He also played a leadership role in congressional outreach events such as the 2007-2017 Space Exploration Alliance Legislative Blitz and has coordinated numerous briefing panels and other events on Capitol Hill over the past two decades. In more recent years, he has organized and led successful international conferences including the ISS and Mars Conference in Washington, D.C. and Strasbourg, France, and the Women and Mars Conference in Washington, D.C. In 2012, he represented Explore Mars as a delegate to the Mars500 Symposium in Moscow, Russia, and in 2013, he spearheaded the annual Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, DC that has become the largest annual conference in the world focused on sending humans to Mars. Carberry also helped to launch the Get Curious Campaign in 2012 and the Humans to Mars Report starting in 2015. Carberry is also a co-founder and co-chair of the Mars Achievability and Sustainability workshop series, and he recently launched the 1st AR/VR and Space workshop series. In 2018, under Carberry’s leadership, Explore Mars will also launch programs in Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Carberry has presented both oral and written testimony to Congress and has contributed positioning work dealing with space exploration for the Republican Party’s National Platform in 2000. He is the author of scores of articles and Op-Ed pieces that have appeared in such publications as USA Today, US News and World Report, Huffington Post, The Washington Post, San Jose Mercury Times, Foxnews.com, Houston Chronicle, The Hill, The Telegram (UK), The Boston Herald and many other publications. He has been featured on national and international television and radio programs such as NBC Nightly News, Fox News, CNN, BBC World, and NPR and is frequently asked for commentary from print news outlets around the world. * * * 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 episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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" 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 planet, too, by people who's minds may be filled with the itch to cause mischief... or murder??? Watch your back, you n00b! --- ALASTAIR REYNOLDS is a science fiction writer based in Wales. A former space scientist, he turned from studying pulsars and binary stars to fiction. He's now the author of sixteen novels and more than seventy short stories. His work has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Arthur C Clarke and Sturgeon awards, and he's won the Seiun, Sidewise, European Science Fiction Society and Locus awards. His stories have been adapted for stage and television. VISIT his website: alastairreynolds.com Check out the TWELVE TOMORROWS anthology: mitpress.mit.edu/books/twelve-tomorrows -------- REVIEW the show: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE for free: pod.link/1250517051 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'!-- Philip & Matt

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, listen now and find out how they’re gonna change the galaxy!!! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU ALWAYS * * * 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 episode! https://pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 episode! https://pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

Is 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 it at your local bookstore or one of the many online sellers listed here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263575-urban-legends-from-space Bob has enjoyed the night sky and astronomy since childhood and loves to share his passion through public observing, speaking and writing. He is the photo editor at the Duluth News Tribune, and when the sun goes down you'll often find him photographing the northern lights or fireflies. He writes a frequently updated astronomy blog called Astro Bob and teaches community education astronomy at his local planetarium. He has also written for Sky & Telescope and Universe Today. * * * 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 episode! https://pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?ls=1&mt=2 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) and never miss an episode! https://pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

Science 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/director). Under their First Encounter Productions banner, Taylor and Okada have also produced the feature documentary PAINTING THE WAY TO THE MOON (available on Vimeo). For ANYA, they collaborated with Harvard Medical School's Wu Lab, the Personal Genetics Education Project, and Carnegie Mellon's Pfenning Lab where they filmed the lab scenes. ANYA is now available on demand, DVD, and hosted screenings. Watch it here: https://www.anyamovie.com/watchnow Visit anyamovie.com for the latest screenings, articles, and educational materials. Contact [email protected] to host a screening of ANYA or Painting the Way to the Moon in your community. Subscribe to First Encounter Productions YouTube channel to see newly posted shorts, behind the scenes videos, and longer interviews. Follow and tag at: IG: @anya.movie Twitter/FB: @anyamovie Twitter: @carylannataylor More info about the filmmakers and their research at: https://anyamovie.com https://firstencounterproductions.com https://paintingthewaytothemoon.com https://youtube.com/channel/UCF8Xrnq-_di9aYfUBxRfkyg https://transvection.org https://pged.org https://pfenninglab.org * * * 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 episode! https://pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt

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 don't get electrocuted... and let's go WALTZING into our CLASSICAL COMPUTERS. It's Part TWO of our FANTASTIC VOYAGE into the evolving COMPUTER! What the IF you could go spelunking into the very circuits themselves... what would you find? Step into your anti-static hazmat suit and let's find out! * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 don't get electrocuted... and let's go WALTZING into our CLASSICAL COMPUTERS. Here in PART ONE of this fantastic voyage: we enter the warm, cozy computer built out of VACUUM TUBES called a "Von Neumann Machine," where super smart, hard working ladies are in charge! Grab a patch cable, plug it in and let's find out what's going on inside this GIANT machine they call a UNIVERSAL COMPUTER. * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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, why a supervolcano probably isn’t what you think it is, and why the Moon is shrinking. His work has appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE ATLANTIC, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, EARTHER, GIZMODO, FORBES, THE VERGE, ATLAS OBSCURA, DISCOVER MAGAZINE, WIRED and elsewhere. VISIT his website: robingeorgeandrews.com * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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. What would it have been like to live on Venus during the years of transformation from Eden to Hell? Planetary Geologist KIRBY RUNYON a member of the team at John's Hopkins Applied Physics Lab that sent NEW HORIZONS to Pluto. What caused the apocalypse on Venus, and what would it have been like to live through it? Let's fly there now, to find out! * * * Follow Kirby on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/nasaman58 And visit his WEBSITE: https://kirbydanielrunyon.space * * * This episode is sponsored by ASTRONOMY Magazine's "Space And Beyond Box," an awesome subscription where you'll automatically receive boxes and boxes of super educational and super fun stuff from Astronomy's editors. Visit the website -- SpaceAndBeyondBox.com/Giveaway -- to learn more, and get a chance to WIN a free annual subscription! * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

"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 by the US Congress, and how citizens can play a role. Casey reveals to us that our current TECHNOLOGY enables us to do incredible things... if we have the WILL and can pay the BILL. * * * Learn more about The PLANETARY SOCIETY at planetary.org -- and how you can join them on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for their annual DAY OF ACTION at planetary.org/dayofaction Visit Casey Dreier on Twitter: @CaseyDreier * * * This episode is sponsored by ASTRONOMY Magazine's "Space And Beyond Box," an awesome subscription where you'll automatically receive boxes and boxes of super educational and super fun stuff from Astronomy's editors. Visit the website -- SpaceAndBeyondBox.com/Giveaway -- to learn more, and get a chance to WIN a free annual subscription! * * * 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt, WhatTheIF.com

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 that blue planet up ahead? Can we get off this flying snow ball? Hold on tight while we have a wild ride through the SCIENCE of Comet Borisov! ----- This episode is sponsored by ASTRONOMY Magazine's "Space And Beyond Box," an awesome subscription where you'll automatically receive boxes and boxes of super educational and super fun stuff from Astronomy's editors. Visit the website -- SpaceAndBeyondBox.com/Giveaway -- to learn more, and get a chance to win a FREE annual subscription! ----- 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt WhatTheIF.com

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 documentaries and other programs that have aired on DISCOVERY Channel, HISTORY Channel, and PBS. Similarly, his work has premiered at both the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL and the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. Raised in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Kyle has a passion for snowboarding, as well as all things winter-related. After traveling to Vermont on several occasions, he discovered his overwhelming appreciation for the serenity that accompanies the vast openness that is the backcountry. Working on LEAVE NICE TRACKS is the opportunity of a lifetime, giving him the chance to showcase his love for storytelling with his desire to explore the outdoors. He also may or may not be related to the legendary science fiction author Michael Crichton... What The IF! Visit the film's website: http://www.leavenicetracks.com Check out the rewards available at the film’s Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwccoast2coast/leave-nice-tracks-the-state-of-vermonts-backcountry?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=leave%20nice%20tracks ----- Like the show? Share a review with us on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one (always free!) at pod.link/1250517051 Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt WhatTheIF.com

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 writing has earned a number of awards, including the 2016 Stephen Jay Gould Prize, awarded by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize individuals whose sustained efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science. In 2017, he won an Online Journalism Award for his series of articles in which he explored his genome. She Has Her Mother’s Laugh won the 2019 National Academies Communication Award. It was also named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and selected for Publisher’s Weekly Best Ten Books of 2018 and the 2018 shortlist for Baillie-Gifford Prize for Nonfiction. The Guardian named it the best science book of 2018. Zimmer created the podcast “What Is Life?” and is a familiar voice on other programs such as Radiolab. A professor adjunct at Yale University, he lives in Connecticut with his wife Grace and their children, Charlotte and Veronica. He is, to his knowledge, the only writer after whom a species of tapeworm has been named. Visit his website: https://carlzimmer.com Learn more about his newest book: https://carlzimmer.com/books/she-has-her-mothers-laugh/ Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlzimmer ----- Like the show? Share a review with us on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one at pod.link/1250517051 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! Philip & Matt WhatTheIF.com

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, many Sean Carrolls. Many of every one of us. Rarely does a book so fully reorganize how we think about our place in the universe. We are on the threshold of a new understanding—of where we are in the cosmos, and what we are made of. SEAN CARROLL is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, host of the Mindscape podcast, and the author of From Eternity to Here, The Particle at the End of the Universe, and The Big Picture. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the American Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society of London, among many others. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, writer Jennifer Ouellette. Read his new book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566988/something-deeply-hidden-by-sean-carroll/9781524743017 Listen to his podcast: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ Visit his website: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanmcarroll ----- Like the show? Share a review with us on Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Have you subscribed? Grab one at pod.link/1250517051 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! Philip & Matt WhatTheIF.com

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 & Matt

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.com/books/608113/einsteins-war-by-matthew-stanley/ Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt

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 IF!!! --- MATT WILLIAMS has written many short stories and two full-length novels, all which take place within the same fictional universe. In addition, he’s written over one thousand articles on subjects of science, technology, astronomy, history, literature, pop culture, and general knowledge. His first published novels, The Cronian Incident and its sequel The Jovian Manifesto (published by Castrum Press) can be purchased on Amazon.com, or Castrum Press. They are also available as audiobooks through Audible.com. Visit his Website at https://storiesbywilliams.com At Twitter: @storybywill And at UniverseToday.com and InterestingEngineering.com --- 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 & Matt

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 to send a robotic spacecraft to explore the very edge of the Solar System, beyond the Kuiper Belt, beyond the Oort Cloud, right to the very zone where the Sun's particles crash into the matter that flies between the stars. Jump in and join us, let's fly faster than anyone has ever gone, to see how it feels to be truly INTERSTELLAR. --- DR. KIRBY RUNYON is a planetary geomorphologist and morphodynamicist seeking to understand the evolution of planetary landscapes and the associated near-surface processes through the analysis of remote sensing imagery and laboratory experiments. He is a science team affiliate on the New Horizons mission to Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt and a science team collaborator on the HiRISE (High Resolution Imagaing Science Experiment) camera currently in orbit around Mars. Kirby is passionate about engaging the general public in the passion, beauty, and joy of space exploration and promoting scientific literacy among non-scientists. He lives in Columbia, MD, with his cat, Nixie, named after Nix, a small moon of Pluto. Website: https://kirbydanielrunyon.space Twitter: @nasaman58 Instagram: @kirbydanielrunyon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirby.runyon --- 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 & Matt

It'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 harder would have been if we... lived on the Moon and had to send a Moon-person to the Earth and, as Moon-Kennedy proclaimed, "return them safely to the... MOON!" If you wanna visit the Earth, if you want to get off it again, how you gonna do it? OMG, you gotta bring your own Saturn V with you, so good luck with that. Landing on the Earth is hard! It's one of our most crunchy and delicious meals of Sci and Fi yet. Check it out. --- NANCY ATKINSON is a science journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She has been with Universe Today since 2004, and also writes for Ad Astra. Her new book on the Apollo program is titled “EIGHT YEARS TO THE MOON: The History of the Apollo Missions” and shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who helped make the Apollo program so successful. The book comes out just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the first to land on the Moon. You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/162414490X/ Her first book “INCREDIBLE STORIES FROM SPACE: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond. Caltech astronomer Mike Brown called the book “delightful” and Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of the New Horizons said “Incredible Stories From Space was a “great read.” See more reviews and purchase the book at Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. “Incredible Stories From Space” was published by Page Street Publishing, a subsidiary of Macmillan. Nancy was the host of the NASA Lunar Science Institute podcast from 2009-2014 (now SSERVI), was part of the production team for Astronomy Cast from 2008-2015, and worked with the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast where she was project manager from 2009-2011. She also has articles published on Wired.com, Space.com, NASA’s Astrobiology Magazine, Space Times Magazine, and several newspapers in the Midwest. In 2010, Nancy was awarded the New Horizons Traveling Fellowship by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Website: https://www.nancyatkinson.com Twitter: @Nancy_A Instagram: @nancyatkinson_ut Facebook: nancy.atkinson4 -------- Please REVIEW our show: 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. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/60811…81524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt

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 news story this week about a scientist in China injecting HUMAN cells into a PRIMATE embryo. Happy Birthday! Or is it??? What the IF this procedure becomes commonplace? What miracles could it bring? What horrors? What horrific miracles??? Question marks run amok! --- This Week in Science (TWIS) is a weekly, hour-long web and radio show presenting an humorous, often opinionated, and irreverent look at the week in science and technology. In each episode, TWIS discusses the latest in cutting-edge science news on topics such as genetic engineering, stem cells, cybernetics, epigenetics, space exploration, neuroscience, microbiology, the end of the world, and a show favorite – Countdown to World Robot Domination. With Dr. Kiki (Kirsten Sanford, PhD), Justin Jackson & Blair Bazdarich Connect with TWIS! http://TWIS.org http://twitter.com/@TWIScience -------- Please REVIEW our show: 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. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/60811…81524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt

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 news story this week about a scientist in China injecting HUMAN cells into a PRIMATE embryo. Happy Birthday! Or is it??? What the IF this procedure becomes commonplace? What miracles could it bring? What horrors? What horrific miracles??? Question marks run amok! --- This Week in Science (TWIS) is a weekly, hour-long web and radio show presenting an humorous, often opinionated, and irreverent look at the week in science and technology. In each episode, TWIS discusses the latest in cutting-edge science news on topics such as genetic engineering, stem cells, cybernetics, epigenetics, space exploration, neuroscience, microbiology, the end of the world, and a show favorite – Countdown to World Robot Domination. With Dr. Kiki (Kirsten Sanford, PhD), Justin Jackson & Blair Bazdarich Connect with TWIS! http://TWIS.org http://twitter.com/@TWIScience -------- Please REVIEW our show: 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. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/60811…81524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt

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 time. Pack your bags, bring some galoshes, and let's go! --- 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, why a supervolcano probably isn’t what you think it is, and why the Moon is shrinking. His work has appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE ATLANTIC, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, EARTHER, GIZMODO, FORBES, THE VERGE, ATLAS OBSCURA, DISCOVER MAGAZINE, WIRED and elsewhere. VISIT his website: https://robingeorgeandrews.com -------- REVIEW the show: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE for free: https://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/9781524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip & Matt