What The If? cover art

What The If?

What The If?

By: Philip Shane Matt Stanley Gabrielle Paniccia
Listen for free

About this listen

 Learn how to think like EINSTEIN! Every week we learn science running imaginative thought experiments. Our brilliant guests are some of the world’s greatest science fiction writers, scientists & science communicators. Leap into a journey to answer the most fascinating question in the universe: What The IF?All rights reserved Science
Episodes
  • The Buddy System Run AMOK!

    The Buddy System Run AMOK!
    Feb 27 2026
    What the if humans moved in schools — not classrooms, but like fish? Inspired by Carl Zimmer's New York Times article on how misinformation spreads among schooling fish, this episode explores a world where you can't go anywhere without your tightly synchronized pod. From navigating modern city life to figuring out what spooks a school of humans in the first place, things get weird fast. And the real science behind why fish school — and what happens when one of them panics for no reason — might just change how you think about your own posse. Based on "For Real, A Natural History of Misinformation" by Carl Zimmer, published in The New York Times on Dec. 9, 2025. Read the full article for free with this gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/science/evolution-fish-misinformation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PVA.RPcb.12w09kjCOLlu&smid=url-share —— When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/ —— Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif —— Got an IF of your own? Want to have us consider your idea for a show topic? Send YOUR IF to us! Visit https://whattheif.com/contact and let us know what's in your imagination. No idea is too small, or too big! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Black Holes

    Black Holes
    Feb 20 2026
    MIT physicist David Kaiser is one of those rare scientists who can make mind-bending physics feel like a great conversation over coffee — funny, generous, and genuinely thrilled by what we still don't know. And what he's working on is wild. What the if the universe is packed with invisible black holes smaller than an atom? Dave thinks the mysterious "missing stuff" that holds galaxies together might not be some exotic undiscovered particle — it could be tiny black holes that formed a split second after the Big Bang. If he's right, a handful of them could be cruising through our solar system right now, and we might be able to catch one in the act just by watching Mars wobble. We also dig into whether a rogue black hole might have flattened a Siberian forest in 1908, and rest assured, the residents of Brooklyn have nothing to worry about. Learn more about David Kaiser's primordial black hole research: MIT PBH Research Group: https://sites.mit.edu/mitpbh/ David Kaiser's essay in the London Review of Books — a great accessible overview with historical context: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n11/david-kaiser/black-hole-flyby The ultrahigh-energy neutrino paper (open access): https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/vnm4-7wdc "Close Encounters of a Primordial Kind" — the Mars wobbles paper: https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.110.063533 (also available open access on arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.17217) Primordial black holes with QCD color charge (open access): https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.231402 Full list of press coverage: https://sites.mit.edu/mitpbh/news/ Selected press coverage: MIT News — Exotic black holes could be a byproduct of dark matter: https://news.mit.edu/2024/exotic-black-holes-could-be-dark-matter-byproduct-0606 MIT News — Mars wobble could be dark matter: https://news.mit.edu/2024/mars-wobble-could-be-dark-matter-mit-study-finds-0917 MIT News — Could a primordial black hole explain a mysteriously energetic neutrino?: https://news.mit.edu/2025/could-primordial-black-holes-last-burst-explain-mysteriously-energetic-neutrino-0918 CNN — Black holes and dark matter: https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/17/science/black-holes-dark-matter-scn/index.html LA Times — Tiny black holes zipping through the solar system: https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2024-09-17/tiny-black-holes-zipping-through-the-solar-system Scientific American — Dark matter black holes could fly through the solar system once a decade: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dark-matter-black-holes-could-fly-through-the-solar-system-once-a-decade/ Quanta Magazine — Monster neutrino could be a messenger of ancient black holes: https://www.quantamagazine.org/monster-neutrino-could-be-a-messenger-of-ancient-black-holes-20260123/ APS Physics — "The Solar System as a Black Hole Detector" (Mars wobbles): https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/s98 APS Physics — "New Suspect for Neutrino Signals" (neutrino paper): https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/s124 --- Check out our membership rewards! Visit us at Patreon.com/Whattheif 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! Keep On IFFin', Philip, Matt & Gaby
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • The Day Gravity QUIT!

    The Day Gravity QUIT!
    Feb 13 2026
    A conspiracy theory went viral claiming that on August 12th, 2026, Earth will lose gravity for seven seconds. The internet did what the internet does, and millions of people started talking about it. So we decided to take the question seriously — what the if gravity actually clocked out for seven seconds? Let's just say you might want to start shopping for bungee cords now. And maybe a bouncy castle. This episode was inspired by an Instagram post from the now-mysteriously-vanished user Mr. Donya OF, where all great science begins. --- Find out more about Gaby's science fiction short story! Here are the links for the anthology. The physical copy can be ordered here : https://www.neonhemlock.com/books/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention The ebook can be ordered here: https://www.neonhemlock.com/ebooks/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.