What The If?

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 inte

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 F

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 feedback@whattheif.com.

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 hel

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.appl

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 im

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

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

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 befor

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 NAS

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

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

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