What The If?

Our listener, Super IFFer CHRIS in Vancouver asks: "Is it conceivably possible that a virus could have POSITIVE symptoms? Say by commandeering olfactory cells and cranking the smell knobs to 11? Would be a much more interesting world if viral infections led to super powers until your immune system fought them off, rather than just feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck." What the IF...?

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

Put Your Mettle To Your Pedal

Listener ED from Brooklyn writes in and asks, “What the IF there were no cars, only bicycles?” And we take up the challenge, thus granting Ed a battlefield promotion to Super IFFer status!

We take Ed’s question and kick it up a notch, BAM!, pushing it to the limit: WTIF there were NO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES??? How far could we go with only pedal power? Could we build the Empire State Building using only human power and gears and chains? Could we have mass transit? Unlock your bike, and unlock your brains — don’t forget your helmet — crank into top gear and let’s find out what happens when BIKES RULE THE WORLD!

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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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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 & Gaby

The Serious Search For Extraterrestrial Life

We are thrilled and honored to have the esteemed Astronomer AVI LOEB join us for this week’s very special thought experiment. Avi says, “Asking ‘what if’ is my job!” Yes, friends, we have a genuine Professional IFFer in the house!

The founder of THE GALILEO PROJECT joins us to play out a thought experiment: let’s imagine how this experiment — a serious SCIENTIFIC search for VERIFIABLE evidence of Extraterrestrials — might play out. Avi reveals the difficulties in keeping such a hunt truly scientific, devoid of speculation, unaccepting of eyewitness testimony, relying only on hard evidence that is captured and verified by multiple sources, vetted by the most careful analysis. Ya know, the scientific method!

But Avi also shares with us the human challenge, the massive resistance from his colleagues in science academia. He helps us understand his passionate belief that fear of failure or, perhaps even worse, fear of criticism has led to timidity in science.

This is a wonderfully exciting, informative, and just plain super fun episode. It’ll get you pumped up! Avi tells us that you can’t ‘boldly go where no one has gone before’ without being… BOLD!

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Meet Avi Loeb

Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author (in lists of the New York Times,Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L'Express and more). He received a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24 (1980-1986), led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative (1983-1988), and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993). Loeb has written 8 books, including most recently, Extraterrestrial (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), and about 800 papers (with an h-index of 117) on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Loeb is the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , and also serves as the Head of the Galileo Project (2021-present). He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011-2020) and the Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative (2016-2021). He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Loeb is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies(2018-2021) and a current member of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the Hebrew University. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative(2016-present) and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space and in 2020 Loeb was selected among the 14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Click here for Loeb's commentaries on innovation and diversity.

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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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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 & Gaby

Luis, Mike and Rather specialize in discussing UFO's with skeptics and believers, and through laughter, love and logic, bringing people together to find common ground in our shared fascination and joy for imagination and the pursuit of science.

Does the stigma around UFO's, even if logical, help science or hurt it? Can science communicators harness the incredible interest in UFO's for the benefit of science? Is the UFO debate an opportunity for learning how to discuss difficult issues by learning to become aware of your reflexive emotions and learning to listen to each other? Can that learn to gaining respect, building alliances, and helping the media and our educational institutions teach science better? Can deescalation lead to better education, and happier humans?

This week, in this special roundtable discussion with a trio of guys who are creating a larger, safer space for nuanced discussions where scientific and skeptically minded folks can meet on the shores of Woo Beach with all kinds of other folks who inhabit our planet... and have friendly discussions where perhaps knowledge can be imparted, but before then, and perhaps even more importantly for civil society, mutual respect and kindness can be gained.

If there are aliens visiting, do we have any chance of showing them there is intelligent and altruistic life here? Maybe the aliens don't show themselves because we look like terrible dinner party hosts!

Learn more about the UCR Podcast and YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/LuAngeles1/ and https://linktr.ee/LuAngeles

*** Join their upcoming BIG PHONE HOME three day virtual conference, livestream, laugh and learn festival, coming up on September 4-6! https://thebigphonehome.com ***

Luis Jimenez and Michael Mataluni host The Unidentified Celebrity Review, which airs live Mondays and Wednesdays at 4 p.m. PST and Fridays at 1 p.m. UCR is a one-stop-shop for information on UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) and UFOs (unidentified flying objects).

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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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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 & Gaby

Terraforming via MOLE? In this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes -- when we tried out a new format called "Fantastic Voyage" -- Captain GABY takes us to the RED PLANET, and has brought along some of her favorite animals, naked mole rats, to help make the place livable, lovable, and lucrative. Who needs Elon Musk when you have naked mole rats leading the way?

Is it possible to bring these real life creatures to Mars to slowly terraform it, cultivating the land from underneath, rebuilding the atmosphere, for eventual Earth-like living? Let's find out!

Join documentary filmmaker Philip Shane, NYU Historian of Science Matthew Stanley, and Rockefeller University virologist Gaby Paniccia as we take a fantastic journey to learn the magical wonders of biology... up close... and in living AUDIO color!

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

WHALES spend their entire lives inside a medium, water, in which they can’t actually breathe. So throughout the day, and the night, they have to swim to the surface to take a breath of that sweet, sweet ocean air… or they die! We humans, and other land lubber mammals like us, are spoiled, just inhale, anytime you want, and… problem solved. But —

What The IF humans had to breathe by dunking our head in water?

The amazing Dr. Vanessa Pirotta joins us from Sydney, Australia to take us into the wet and wild thought experiment, so we can learn real science!

Imagine living the life of the whale, turned on it’s head. What world would we have built if our bodies worked this way? It’s like what if we emerged from the oceans, as we believe life did, but never adapted to breathing outside the water like we used to. Humans with gills? Are we wearing helmets on our head that are filled with water? Do we fill our *buildings* with water? Water the IF!

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Dr. Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and a gifted 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 Vanessa!

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

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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

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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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 & Gaby

NO HOME TO PHONE!

What The IF... there were NO ALIENS in the universe? No life anywhere except Earth. You want a planet with life? You’re standing on it, and THAT’S ALL ya get!

CHRIS COGSWELL joins us to imagine how life on Earth would be affected by the proof that LIFE DOESN’T FIND A WAY, it’s no where, nothing to be found, nothing to see here, go home to your blue planet, that’s the only place anything lives in the entire universe.

Chris is the host and creator of THE MAD SCIENTIST PODCAST, a comedy show about the history and philosophy of science and pseudoscience.

https://www.themadscientistpodcast.com

Chris received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire in both Chemical Engineering and Philosophy, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University.The Mad Scientist Podcast was initially conceived as a means of interacting with the public, teaching them the science and philosophical background of common pop science concepts, in order to help combat the spread of misinformation. Covering a diverse set of topics, ranging from UFOlogy to the development of modern day surgery the show has achieved a cult following with over 10,000 downloads a month and is regularly a top 100 show on the Apple Podcasts Science and Natural Science charts. Hosted by Chris Cogswell and Marie Mayhew, the show continues the mission of introducing skepticism, scientific thought, and philosophical concepts to the public in an entertaining and empathetic way.

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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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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 & Gaby

What The IF... you could see the TRUE SCALE of the Universe? We imagine entering the notorious torture device from he dastardly mind of the great Douglas Adams. Tune in to find out how it feels, and bring a BIG EGO and a hunger for fairy cake because this is a mind expanding adventure if you have a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny HUMAN MIND.

Don't Panic!

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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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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 & Gaby

Matt's away and the team trashes the studio with a teetotaling, time traveling, mixer of the mind! We're joined by our Senior Research intern, Gabi Vardanega who has brought along her friend, the brilliant Laura Marques da Silva who has contributed a bunch of fabulous show ideas for us over the past year. To celebrate their post-pandemic summer break at NYU, we surf through the multiverse, exploring one of Laura's favorite IF's: TIME TRAVEL. In this more freeform, summer style show we share our favorite Science Fiction books, movies and shows that have blown our minds with their time travel concepts.

We also take a moment to visit Stephen Hawking's legendary "Party for Time Traveler's" and Gaby P. has a bold hypothesis for why no one showed up except Stephen, maybe the party was lame? Ya know, if you're a time traveler, there are so many parties you can be attending, and if the host, Dr. Hawking, doesn't send out invitations until days after the event, it's clearly a trap!

So get your swimming goggles and snorkel and join us at the Multiverse Beach, where time is flowing, the rip tide is strong and surfs up... for science!

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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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 & Gaby