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-IFFer, super host Gaby Paniccia, we proudly present Gaby’s debut appearance on the show.

One year ago this week… it was a scary time, with so much uncertainty, and with science as our only hope of grasping what was happening. Matt had seen a livestream in which Gaby was explaining COVID-19 and all that might happen, and her gift for science communication was so evident that we asked her to come on the show and help us deal with this sudden REAL LIFE IF in which we were living.

It’s fascinating to hear what the view was like as we first confronted the new state of the planet at the dawn of the pandemic. Nearly a year later, Gaby would find herself joining the experimental trials for the Pfizer vaccine, and we are all enjoying the incredible benefits of the hard, hard work of scientists like Gaby today as we get shots in our arms!

Of course, the pandemic continues even today, and the virus is still running amok, and our knowledge about it continues to grow. All the science Gaby teaches us in this episode remains fantastically easy to understand, revelatory, and empowering, as she helps us understand what is going on INSIDE THE VIRUS.

Strap in, goggles on, and lets RIDE… back to the future… March 25, 2020!

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RIDE INSIDE THE VIRUS

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!

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Special thanks to Kyle Crichton, Howard Zheng and Illia Zheng for their help with the show.

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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!

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Keep On IFFin',

Philip, Matt & Gaby