The What If? Podcast

By Spencer Wirth-Davis & Ryan Kopperud

What's The What If? Podcast about?

We ask strange, hilarious, paranormal, tough, and mysterious questions — then laugh our way to the best answers we can muster. Join us for the ride.

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328328 ratings

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The What If? Podcast episodes:

04.11.2024
Ep. #247: What If You Ran Until You Hallucinated?
In the last 30 years, more than 1,000 people have attempted the Barkley Marathons, but only 20 have finished under the 60-hour time limit. Sources: Hallucinations and no sleep: Jasmin Paris on her historic ultramarathon Jasmin Paris first woman to complete...
04.05.2024
Ep. #246: What If You Stole a Hotel?
In 2018, Mickey Barreto checked into a hotel. Over the next five years he refused to leave, briefly owned the hotel, tried to take down an international cult, and got arrested. Go help our guy Bear! Sources: The Hotel Guest Who...
03.28.2024
What If We Helped Bear?
Our guy bear needs some help! He was in a bad motorcycle accident and won't be able to work for a few months while he recovers. Bear's brought us many, many joys over the years and it's the least we...
07.18.2023
Ep. #245 - What If David Grusch Is Right?
Hi! We're catching up about the past 5 months and discussing David Grusch's UAP claims.
02.23.2023
Ep. #244 - What If We Sampled the Buffet of Weird?
We've got a bunch of topics today and we kinda get to all of them. Miley Cyrus saw a flying snowplow, Jeremy Corbell started a podcast, somebody's cutting off the internet, Ruby Tuesdays are popping up outta nowhere, there's a...
02.15.2023
Ep. #243 - What If the Sky Was Full of "Objects"?
We hosted a little live hang out with friends and listeners to discuss the balloons and objects that have been spotted (and shot down) over North America recently. We also talked about Warped Tour, Gucci's Loose Wings, and DJing middle...
02.07.2023
Ep. #242 - What If You Fell Out Of a Blimp?
On August 16, 1942 a U.S. Navy blimp took off from Treasure Island, just outside San Francisco. Five hours later it crashed 11 miles away in Daly City, CA with no one aboard. The two men aboard the blimp were...
02.01.2023
Ep. #241 - What If You Went On a Treasure Hunt?
Spencer is using his penchant for conspiratorial thinking for good and trying to find buried treasure in St. Paul. Ryan is cold. No one is talking about blimps. We're doing a live call-in show on Monday, 2/13! Join us here!
01.25.2023
Ep. #240 - What If You Stole a Bunch of Books?
Last year, Filippo Bernardini was arrested at New York's JFK airport and charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for stealing over 1,000 unpublished and draft manuscripts from authors and publishers around the world. Strangely, it doesn't appear that...
01.18.2023
Ep. #239 - What If You Lived In the Valley of the Skookum?
Sali Sheppard-Wolford really went for it with her 2006 book Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters with Bigfoot. There's bigfoot, sure, but there are also UFOs, government conspiracies, poltergeist activity, time travel, astral travel, men in black, psychic...
01.09.2023
Ep. #238 - What If Underwater Aliens Stole Some Elk?
We're joined by Rob Kristoffersen of Our Strange Skies to break down the latest documentary from our least favorite investigator, Davey Copface. References: S.J. OFFICER ACCUSED OF FALSE SOLICITATION AUTOGRAPHS Assault Suspect Says S.J. Police Beat Him Bay Area Reporter, 4/28/83 Ray Salmen: Family of B.C....
01.04.2023
Ep. #237 - What If The World Ended In 2012?
Some people thought the world was going to end on December 21, 2012. Ten years later, we're taking a look back at what people were expecting. Check out Ryan's new EP, Before What Came After, releasing January 20th. Watch The Race to...
10.13.2022
Dang! That's Weird - Lizard Men, Gnomes, and UFOs with Rob Kristoffersen
The first three episodes of Spencer's new podcast, Dang! That's Weird are out now. Enjoy this episode with the one and only Rob Kristoffersen of Our Strange Skies, and subscribe to Dang! That's Weird on your favorite podcast app. Some things...
09.08.2022
The Layers Lair - Let's meet the bakers!
The Layers Lair is back for season 2, and that means the GBBO competition is back too! Spencer and Katie break each episode of the Great British Bake Off, try to understand British slang, and have a dang blast along...
06.16.2022
Ep. #236 - What If Google Made a Sentient Robot?
hi! we recorded a new episode! This week we're talking about Google's LaMDA language program and Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who thinks it's sentient.
03.01.2022
Ep. #235 - What If We Reviewed Our Own Podcast?
Last January, we recorded an episode about a weird movie called Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. We took it down after about a week because we decided to do a bigger project about it. That project turned into a...
02.22.2022
Ep. #234 - What If We Returned to the Tingleverse?
OH BOY. We have a very special episode for you this week. We're returning to the Tingleverse and we brought a few friends with us. Ryan and Chance York are reprising their roles as Young Baby Sir Plinkington the bad...
02.15.2022
Ep. #233 - What If There Were Skinwalkers at the Pentagon?
We're selling houses, watching 90s movies, and reading books about dinobeavers! This week we're discussing the new book from George Knapp, James Lacatski, and Colm Kelleher, Skinwalkers at the Pentagon. Make sure to check out Finding Quantum Quest. Episode 4 drops...
02.08.2022
Ep. #232 - What If You Were the Devil's Dad?
Jack Parsons had a hell of a life. He summoned the devil into his bedroom when he was 13, helped invent modern rocketry, performed sex magick rituals with L. Ron Hubbard, and then blew himself up in his garage. He...
02.01.2022
Ep. #231 - What If You Dug A Tunnel?
Some people just gotta dig! Seymour Cray dug tunnels so the elves could finish his coding. William Lyttle said of his tunneling "there is great beauty in inventing things that serve no purpose". Elton McDonald was "getting away from regular things,...
01.27.2022
Introducing Finding Quantum Quest
Hi friends! Our brand new podcast Finding Quantum Quest debuted this week and we wanted to share the first episode with you. The show follows our search for a lost animated sci-fi movie that was commissioned by NASA and starts...
01.25.2022
Ep. #230 - What If The Veggie Man Sucked Your Blood?
OH HEY! We're back with stories of creepy cryptids from West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland. We've got the Snallygaster, the Veggie Man, Tommyknockers and more! MORE IMPORTANTLY - THE FIRST EPISODE OF FINDING QUANTUM QUEST COMES OUT TOMORROW! You simply must...
01.18.2022
Ep. #229 - What If A Little Alien Vacuumed Your Garden?
The 1970s were wild! These days you either get gray aliens, a lizard creature, or maybe a tall nordic type. But back then there were little guys with jetpacks, disembodied pants, 11-foot tall sheets with buttons on their faces, and...
01.11.2022
Ep. #228 - What If We Came Back?
HI! We missed you! We're going to be releasing weekly episodes again starting next week. We're doing at least six, maybe more. Who knows? ALSO, we just launched a brand new podcast called Finding Quantum Quest. Please go listen to the trailer...
06.30.2021
Ep. #227 - What If Jeremy Corbell Saw Some Planes?
HIIIIIIIIIIIII! Surprise! We're (very briefly) back to talk about UFOs, Jeremy Corbell, and our weekly joys.
04.13.2021
Ep. #226 - What If We Signed Off?
Wow, what a ride. Thank you for hanging out with us, sharing your stories, correcting us whenever we discuss math or science, and being the best dang community of listeners we could have possibly asked for. We're celebrating our final episode...
04.07.2021
Ep. #225 - What If You Blasted Bigfoot?
There were some mighty strange bigfoot encounters in the Pacific Northwest in 1924. Albert Ostman got kidnapped by a family of bigfeet, then tried to kill one with chewing tobacco. Fred Beck shot a bigfoot that tried to break into...
03.30.2021
Ep. #224 - What If You Made Faces At Your Face?
Eric Mayson stops by to talk about the wonderful world of industrial musicals. From the 1950s through the 1980s, many American companies, including McDonalds, GM, Ford, Miller, Shell, and RCA, produced high-budget musicals about their products. They were never meant...
03.23.2021
Ep. #223 - What If Some Sentient Christmas Trees Made Your Head Hot?
Rob Kristoffersen's back to tell the tale of Pier Fortunato Zanfretta, an Italian security guard who claimed to be abducted 11 times by 10-foot tall aliens who looked kind of like angry Christmas trees. Check out Rob's podcasts - Our Strange Skies,...
03.17.2021
Ep. #222 - What If Three Aliens Took a Stroll Through the Park?
Spencer and Lydia are talking about the Voronezh alien abduction, roller skates, and baby pictures. Check out Lydia's podcast, Solicited Advice. New episodes every Monday! Buy yourself or a loved one a gift in our shop. Join us on Patreon and get an...
03.10.2021
Ep. #221 - What If You Caught 'Em All?
We're talking about the Bigfoot of Pokemon cards, Ryan's new Alice in Wonderland house, and Spencer's new drum kit. Buy yourself or a loved one a gift in our shop. Join us on Patreon and get an extra episode every week, plus...
03.03.2021
Ep. #220 - What If Jesus Sent an Alien to the Pentagon?
Valiant Thor (allegedly) came to Earth to help us out, but the dang government (allegedly) wouldn't let him. We're finally diving into the wild, wild story that is Valiant Thor and Stranger at the Pentagon. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp....
02.24.2021
Ep. #219 - What If You Solved the CIA's Riddle?
Kryptos is a sculpture by Jim Sanborn that was installed on the CIA's campus in 1990. The sculpture contains a four-part, encrypted riddle. So far, three of the four parts have been deciphered, but the last section remains unsolved. We...
02.16.2021
Ep. #218: What If You Leased a Cave?
Got too many Prince records stacked up in the basement? An alien with very specific atmospheric needs? Maybe some Harry and the Hendersons outtakes? Iron Mountain has you covered! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Use promo code whatif for 10%...
02.10.2021
Ep. #217 - What If It Was Raining Mawfks?
Who you pointing at skeleton? Sometimes it rains fish, sometimes it rains money, sometimes it’s three inches of frogs deep in the streets. Visit horsenapping.com to hear Spencer's new album Buy yourself or a loved one a gift in our shop. Join us...
02.03.2021
Ep. #216 - What If You Stole a Horse?
On February 8 1983, Shergar, a beloved Irish racehorse worth over $15 million, was kidnapped by a group of men armed with machine guns. After failed attempts to collect a ransom, the horsnappers said the horse had an accident and...
01.27.2021
Ep. #215 - What If You Saw a Brain on Dapple Gray Lane?
Rob Kristoffersen's in the house to share a story about telepathic floating brain aliens. Spencer tries to push every button on the soundboard. Listen to Rob's podcasts! Our Strange Skies | The Coda | Rolling Through the Realms | The Order of...
01.20.2021
Ep. #214 - What If You Walked Backwards and Whistled Like a Teapot?
Spencer found the strangest cryptids he could and Ryan's trying to guess what they are based solely on their names. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Use promo code whatif for 10% off your first month. Buy yourself or a loved one...
01.13.2021
Ep. #213 - What If Some Dang Aliens Dragged You Out the Window?
On October 4th, 2001, Amy Rylance was taken from her home by a beam of rectangular light shot through an open window.. Three hours later, she showed up about 500 miles away. She, her husband, and her friend who witnessed...
01.06.2021
Ep. #212 - What If We Went On a Quantum Quest?
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey seems like a dang neat show, so why can't we watch it? The 2010 animated film starring Chris Pine, Amanda Peet, Jason Alexander, William Shatner, James Earl Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Hamill, and...
12.23.2020
The Oscar Went To - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Our friends Max Selim and Nick Mestad launched a new podcast called The Oscar Went To, and we stopped by to talk Harry Potter. We discussed the movies, books, video games, and inevitable remakes, as well as the merits of public...
12.16.2020
Ep. #211 - What If There's A Galactic Federation Of Aliens?
We're discussing Haim Eshed's claims that there's a contract between aliens and various world governments which allows aliens to experiment on humans in exchange for anti-gravity technology. We also recall the time the CIA attempted to remote view the Galactic...
12.09.2020
Ep. #210 - What If You Were The Best Ever?
Lydia Liza joins to talk Muppet movies, superlative trees, cyber security, and a bunch of other nonsense. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Use promo code whatif for 10% off your first month. go listen to Lydia's new podcast, Solicited Advice, right...
12.02.2020
Ep. #209 - What If You Didn't Build A Casino?
So many people have had so many bad ideas for casinos, and a few great ones! We're talking about casinos that weren't, when your students forget to bring you coffee, terrible band names, and obelisk watch 2020 this week on...
11.24.2020
Ep. #208 - What If You Saw A Flying Tortilla Chip?
Throughout much of the 2000s, Brits have seen a triangle-shaped UFO flying silently through their skies. The craft has been dubbed The Dudley Dorito, and there's more evidence than usual to support its existence. ***THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT*** Georgia is holding runoff...
11.18.2020
Ep. #207 - What If We Visited Clinton Road?
New Jersey is scary! Or at least Clinton Road is - there are claims of ghosts, murder, UFOs, flying wolves, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. Also, Ryan got really upset about the definition of a crayon for some...
11.11.2020
Ep. #206: What If You Got Away With It? Pt. 3 - The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist
In 2012, the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers noticed they were missing about 540,000 gallons, or roughly $13 million, of maple syrup. Several people were convicted of stealing and reselling the syrup, but the majority of it was never...
11.04.2020
Ep. #205 - What If Hulk Hogan Opened a Pasta Restaurant?
Look. We had a great episode planned, and we'll get to it next week, but today we needed a good laugh more than anything else. So, we spent most of the episode talking about Hulk Hogan's pasta restaurant at the Mall...
10.28.2020
Ep. #204 - What If We Told Some Spooky Stories?
We're telling some spooky stories in honor of Halloween! Ghost trucks, creepy hikers, mysterious lights over the ocean, and a town full of mannequins! OH DANG Please vote! Make sure you're registered, find your polling place, or request an absentee ballot...
10.21.2020
Ep. #203 - What If We Did A Tarot Reading?
Spencer and Lydia are reading some tarot cards! Join Lydia's party on Saturday, October 24th at 7:00pm central. Room: 76264514461 | Password: FT2mi2 Please vote! Make sure you're registered, find your polling place, or request an absentee ballot at vote.org. Buy yourself or a...

What's The What If? Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The What If? Podcast episodes:

Ep. #247: What If You Ran Until You Hallucinated?

Ep. #246: What If You Stole a Hotel?

What If We Helped Bear?

Ep. #245 - What If David Grusch Is Right?

Ep. #244 - What If We Sampled the Buffet of Weird?

Ep. #243 - What If the Sky Was Full of "Objects"?

Ep. #242 - What If You Fell Out Of a Blimp?

Ep. #241 - What If You Went On a Treasure Hunt?

Ep. #240 - What If You Stole a Bunch of Books?

Ep. #239 - What If You Lived In the Valley of the Skookum?

Ep. #238 - What If Underwater Aliens Stole Some Elk?

Ep. #237 - What If The World Ended In 2012?

Dang! That's Weird - Lizard Men, Gnomes, and UFOs with Rob Kristoffersen

The Layers Lair - Let's meet the bakers!

Ep. #236 - What If Google Made a Sentient Robot?

Ep. #235 - What If We Reviewed Our Own Podcast?

Ep. #234 - What If We Returned to the Tingleverse?

Ep. #233 - What If There Were Skinwalkers at the Pentagon?

Ep. #232 - What If You Were the Devil's Dad?

Ep. #231 - What If You Dug A Tunnel?

Introducing Finding Quantum Quest

Ep. #230 - What If The Veggie Man Sucked Your Blood?

Ep. #229 - What If A Little Alien Vacuumed Your Garden?

Ep. #228 - What If We Came Back?

Ep. #227 - What If Jeremy Corbell Saw Some Planes?

Ep. #226 - What If We Signed Off?

Ep. #225 - What If You Blasted Bigfoot?

Ep. #224 - What If You Made Faces At Your Face?

Ep. #223 - What If Some Sentient Christmas Trees Made Your Head Hot?

Ep. #222 - What If Three Aliens Took a Stroll Through the Park?

Ep. #221 - What If You Caught 'Em All?

Ep. #220 - What If Jesus Sent an Alien to the Pentagon?

Ep. #219 - What If You Solved the CIA's Riddle?

Ep. #218: What If You Leased a Cave?

Ep. #217 - What If It Was Raining Mawfks?

Ep. #216 - What If You Stole a Horse?

Ep. #215 - What If You Saw a Brain on Dapple Gray Lane?

Ep. #214 - What If You Walked Backwards and Whistled Like a Teapot?

Ep. #213 - What If Some Dang Aliens Dragged You Out the Window?

Ep. #212 - What If We Went On a Quantum Quest?

The Oscar Went To - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Ep. #211 - What If There's A Galactic Federation Of Aliens?

Ep. #210 - What If You Were The Best Ever?

Ep. #209 - What If You Didn't Build A Casino?

Ep. #208 - What If You Saw A Flying Tortilla Chip?

Ep. #207 - What If We Visited Clinton Road?

Ep. #206: What If You Got Away With It? Pt. 3 - The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

Ep. #205 - What If Hulk Hogan Opened a Pasta Restaurant?

Ep. #204 - What If We Told Some Spooky Stories?

Ep. #203 - What If We Did A Tarot Reading?