What The If?

Latest Episodes:

WTIF News - Decisions, DECISIONS! Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

It's Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and Thanksgiving and other holidays are coming up, so we look to SCIENCE for answers on how to arrange our family gatherings during the PANDEMIC. But sometimes... science doesn't have enough ANSWERS! How are people dealing with making choices during this information gap, or even, really, INFO OVERLOAD in the time of Covid? What would YOU do? A whole lotta turkeys are betting on us cancelling Thanksgiving... what will be their fate? Tune in, turkeys and all you IFFers, and find out how to survive, at least until Christmas! 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 --- 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.

ROOMBAS With The Power Of BLACK HOLES! Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

Vacuums in space! Space is a vacuum! This week on WHAT THE IF? We talk about Vacuums with the power of a black hole! How much MASS will they have?! Strap in, and get ready for a ride on the Event Horizon! — 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 feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Howard Zheng and Kyle Crichton 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

The PERFECT Planet! Oct 09, 2020

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Looking for the most ideal planet to inhabit, ya know in case ours goes belly up? Look no FURTHER! This week's WHAT THE IF? Will tell us where we can find the PERFECT Planet! The article discussed in this episode is called "Scientists discover 24 'superhabitable' planets with conditions that are better for life than Earth. By Aisha Zahid, news reporter https://news.sky.com/story/scientists-discover-24-superhabitable-planets-with-conditions-that-are-better-for-life-than-earth-12091801 BETTER?! Could it be like Hawaii, or could it be like the Arctic? Well, let's find out! — 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 feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton 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

Let's CRISPR with Carl ZIMMER! Oct 09, 2020

Show notes

In honor of the exciting breaking news of the 2020 NOBEL Prize for Chemistry being awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their development of CRISPR/Cas9 genetic editing, we present an encore presentation of our awesome episode with the great science journalist Carl Zimmer of The NEW YORK TIMES all about... CRISPR! Send us your questions and comments, and enjoy! ----- 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

Breaking NOBEL News! Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

The leader of Gaby's lab, Dr. Charles Rice, just won the NOBEL PRIZE! Exciting news for her and all her colleagues at Rockefeller University. What did Dr. Rice win, and why? Gaby shares the story! And Gaby also shares her most recent experiences as a member of the Covid vaccine trials. Did she get the PLACEBO or the real deal? How soon might WE and the WORLD get a safe vaccine? Tune in! 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 --- 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.

GENIUS Run Amok! Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

What the IF great achievers, such as Einstein, were offered to live FOREVER. GENIUS run amok! As time goes on there'd end up being a WORLD of geniuses! Would the standard of "genius" go up? Put on your safety pants, as we dive into this week's IF. Thanks to our Super IFFer, Ally Nonomous! — 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 feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton 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

5,000 MUTANTS - Don't Panic Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

Mutants!? Mutations! Viruses! Don't Panic! These aren't your favorite superheroes, these mutants are the changes in the Coronavirus! Scientists in Houston have released a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of SAR-COV-2 reveal that the virus's continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. Do these mutations mean the virus itself is deadlier? Gaby explains! 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 For more info on the MIT lecture mentioned in the podcast, head on over to: https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/covid-19-sars-cov-2-and-the-pandemic/ If you'd like to check out the news story we mention in this episode, check out this piece in WaPo! https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/?arc404=true --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton and Howard 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.

RADIOACTIVITY Shutdown! Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

What The IF there were NO RADIATION?! Grab your luminous yellow uranium glassware and fill it up with whatever you love to drink, because we're going to take you on a journey worthy of the PERIODIC TABLE! This IF comes in from our SUPER IFFER Listener, Guy, from Queens, NY! — 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 feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton 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

Breathe At Your Own RISK? Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

The CDC now reports that Covid-19 is transmitted not just by coughing, sneezing and wheezing... but also by breezing! By which we mean BREATHING. Aerosol sized droplets of your breath, floating in the air, on a joy ride... for how far, and how long? Gaby explains! 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 Kyle Crichton and Howard 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.

A Video GAME That Steals Your BRAIN? With Dr. KIKI! Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

YOUR BRAIN ON GAME What The If there were a VIDEO GAME that could take over your BRAIN? We're going into the arcade, so get your quarters or tokens ready. It's time to play POLYBIUS. So dust off your fanny packs, load them up with coins and get ready to get your BRAIN sucked out of your head. OUR GUEST STAR We are joined by a hero of Philip's, Dr. Kiki from the amazing podcast, This Week In Science! Dr. Kiki Sanford is is an American neurophysiologist and science communicator. After working at the University of California, Davis as a research scientist, she left research work to pursue a career in science communication. Her work has included multiple audio and video programs, including the This Week in Science radio program and podcast and Dr. Kiki's Science Hour, a podcast involving interviews with experts in a given scientific field. Visit her show at TWIS.org and her own website at: www.kirstensanford.com WANNA POLYBIUS OF YOUR OWN? As mentioned in the show, the folks at Numskull Games are making a Quarter Scale Arcade cabinet of POLYBIUS! Check it out and support their Kickstarter campaign if you’d like to see this devilish icon brought to life! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1886976084/the-polybius-quarter-scale-arcade-cab THE DOCUMENTARY Check out the engrossing YouTube documentary that we excerpted in the show: POLYBIUS - The Video Game That Doesn't Exist by Stuart Brown www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7X6Yeydgyg --- 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 feedback@whattheif.com and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! --- Special thanks to Kyle Crichton 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

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