DiscoverWhat The If?
What The If?

What The If?

Author: Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia

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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?
435 Episodes
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The Day Gravity QUIT!

The Day Gravity QUIT!

2026-02-1340:34

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
What the if a groundhog could actually predict the weather? Turns out Punxsutawney Phil would need way more than a shadow — we're talking a full groundhog space program, weather satellites, underground supercomputers, and a solar shade the size of western Pennsylvania. Welcome to the groundhog deep state, where fuzzy bureaucrats run atmospheric circulation models and control whether the sun shines on command. And here's the kicker — the whole setup might actually teach you why the weather forecast on your phone is one of civilization's most underappreciated miracles. --- 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
We first shared this one on Super Bowl Sunday 2019 — what better weekend to bring back nature's ultimate underdog? Enjoy this encore presentation! ---- The HAGFISH, little known, little respected... greatly feared... by sharks! Is the hagfish the Spiderman of the Sea? This little slimy fish can spit out a slimy blob that BLOWS UP REAL BIG. What the if... WE could defend ourselves like that? Imagine the sport! In celebration of the SUPER BOWL, we present a special episode: The SLIME BOWL. Let the games begin! Don't miss an IF! Subscribe: linktr.ee/whattheifshow Share your love of the IF! Drop us a review: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 THANKS and Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip, Matt & Gaby
Planetary geologist Kirby Runyon from the Planetary Science Institute needs volunteers to map ancient impact melt flows on the moon from their home computers. What the if this went mainstream? Imagine science bars replacing sports bars, Twitch streams of competitive boulder counting, and reality TV dating shows where the best crater mapper wins. We explore a world where professional citizen scientists have mouse sponsorships and your doom-scrolling feed is full of discoveries instead of drama. Plus: the science of molten rock waterfalls and mountains that grew in minutes. Ready to become a citizen scientist? Here's how to get started: Join Kirby's project and start mapping boulders, craters, and ancient lava flows on the moon from your couch — mappers.psi.edu Explore more citizen science projects where you can help map Mars, Mercury, and beyond, plus space podcasts hosted by Kirby's colleague Pamela Gay — cosmoquest.org Learn about the Planetary Science Institute, the nonprofit where Kirby conducts NASA-funded research on Solar System exploration — psi.edu Become a Planetary Partner and support Kirby and his colleagues as they advance world-class research and grassroots science outreach — psi.edu/planetary-partners -------- REVIEW the show: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE for free: pod.link/1250517051 EINSTEIN'S WAR by our very own MATT STANLEY is on sale now! The Washington Post says "Stanley is a storyteller par excellence." A starred review recipient from KIRKUS, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, and BOOKLIST. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/60811…81524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip, Matt & Gaby
We're taking a break this week while Philip recovers from the 'double-whammy' of flu and COVID boosters. (Science works, but sometimes it makes you nap!) However, we couldn't let January 7th pass unnoticed. On this day in 1610, Galileo first spotted Jupiter's moon, Io. To celebrate, we’ve unlocked the vault for an encore of one of our most popular episodes ever. Strap in for a tour of a lava-covered world with Robin Andrews in... "Walking on IO". ---- DR. ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS, science writer for The NY Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and many more, joins us with an IF that'll keep you on your feet: What The IF we could walk on Jupiter's ultra volcanic moon, IO? Would you walk on a hot pizza? If so, you're ready for the trip! The views of Jupiter would be spectacular, but bring your kevlar umbrella because lava's gonna come flyin' out of the sky. One of the most spectacular places in the solar system, Io is also terribly mysterious, bizarre, and confusing to even the greatest scientists of our time. Pack your bags, bring some galoshes, and let's go! --- Robin Andrews is a doctor of experimental volcanology, a full-time freelance science journalist, a part-time photographer, a scientific consultant, an occasional lecturer, public speaker and explain-how-volcanoes-work TV guest, as well as a pending author of a rather curious book. He can tell you exactly how powerful the Death Star is, how cryovolcanoes on alien worlds work, why a supervolcano probably isn’t what you think it is, and why the Moon is shrinking. His work has appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE ATLANTIC, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, EARTHER, GIZMODO, FORBES, THE VERGE, ATLAS OBSCURA, DISCOVER MAGAZINE, WIRED and elsewhere. VISIT his website: robingeorgeandrews.com -------- REVIEW the show: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 SUBSCRIBE for free: pod.link/1250517051 EINSTEIN'S WAR by our very own MATT STANLEY is on sale now! The Washington Post says "Stanley is a storyteller par excellence." A starred review recipient from KIRKUS, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, and BOOKLIST. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/60811…81524745417 Thanks & Keep On IFFin'! -- Philip, Matt & Gaby
What the if your New Year's resolution became a biological compulsion you literally could not ignore? Imagine waking up on January 1st with the same unstoppable urge that drives salmon to swim upstream, except instead of spawning, you absolutely must get to the gym three times a week. In this world, the darkness of winter triggers something deep in our ancient brain, locking us into whatever commitment we scribbled down at midnight. You'd have to rules-lawyer your own resolutions like a contract with a malicious genie. Society would develop rituals around helping eight-year-olds avoid accidentally resolving to rule the world. Plus, discover a surprising new theory about why Stonehenge exists that has everything to do with cabin fever and nothing to do with astronomy. --- 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
What the if time suddenly started running backwards? Your breakfast un-eats itself, LEGO sets come pre-assembled, and you get younger every day. The dead have unfunerals, your room cleans itself, and teenagers slowly regress through middle school—backwards. Professor Ian Durham of Saint Anselm College stops by to explain the real physics behind time reversal and why photons might start shooting out of your eyeballs. Want to see time reversal in action? Check out The Palindrome Paradox, the mind-bending short film Ian recommends: https://youtu.be/hUcXGv-NzFQ?si=X086RFpXEj0ZNJmX Explore more physics at the Foundational Questions Institute—Ian's top 5 physics stories for 2025 will be out in a week or two on the FQxI Podcast Series: https://qspace.fqxi.org/podcasts And check out FQxI Master Classes, where Ian's course on the nature of time will be out within the year: https://qspace.fqxi.org/qac --- 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
Santa's MEGA Fauna!

Santa's MEGA Fauna!

2025-12-2043:47

Listener Anne of Queens got us thinking about flying reindeer for the holidays. Imagine herds of 1,500-pound mammals migrating through your town like Canada geese. Suddenly those goose droppings don't seem so bad. Discover why the classic Santa sleigh makes no aerodynamic sense (eight reindeer in parallel? Your cargo's dragging on the ground) and why the real solution is a reindeer dirigible with forty hovering reindeer and a sleigh dangling underneath. Watch Santa relocate from the North Pole to a Sri Lankan mountaintop, where his reindeer have evolved big fennec-fox ears to vent heat in the tropics. Strap on your hard hat and join us for a holiday flight. --- 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
Green SUN Apocalypse!

Green SUN Apocalypse!

2025-12-0540:08

What the if the Sun suddenly turned green? Your pizza now looks like charcoal because all red things go black. Stop signs become invisible. The sky shifts from cheerful blue to permanent dusk. And plants? They absolutely despise green light—they reflect it because green photons are the M&Ms they pick out of the bowl. So with a green Sun, photosynthesis grinds to a halt, oxygen tanks, and everything that breathes is in serious trouble. The only potential survivors might be weird microbes at deep ocean vents who never cared about sunlight anyway. On the bright side, colorblind people might finally see more colors, and whoever figures out the right makeup for green light is about to make a fortune—right before we all suffocate. --- 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
Happy Thanksgiving! We're off this week for the holiday, so we're presenting an encore presentation of an episode that was originally broadcast on September 5, 2018, and remains one of our all-time audience favorites. What the if humans evolved into shrikes - those adorable songbirds that impale their prey on thorns and barbed wire? Dr. Kiki Sanford, neurobiologist and host of This Week in Science, transforms us into gray-and-white birds with natural domino masks, hollow bones, and respiratory systems so efficient they make mammalian lungs look pathetic. Discover why you're literally dinosaur spawn, how shrikes turn thorns into gruesome pantries, and why territorial bird disputes would make parking lot arguments look civilized. Fast forward 10,000 years and watch strike-kind conquer the galaxy, impaling entire planets and building Dyson smores around distant suns. It's the perfect blend of real bird biology and ridiculous speculation - plus you'll never look at songbirds the same way again! Check out Dr. Kiki's podcast This Week in Science at www.twis.org - they broadcast live on Wednesday evenings!Retry —— 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
Scientists just discovered ant queens that give birth to two completely different species - not twins, but actual separate species hatching from the same mother. But what the if every animal on Earth reproduced this way? Suddenly every pregnancy becomes a species reveal party, dairy farms need to manage herds where some cows give birth to regular calves while others pop out Ice Age yaks, and your family reunions include relatives from entirely different species sitting around the same table. Pet stores become absolute chaos when golden retrievers randomly give birth to wolves, and nobody knows which species they're getting until it hatches or emerges. Your family tree stops being a tree and starts looking like a biological choose-your-own-adventure book. This bizarre discovery from Science Magazine proves that when biology textbooks try to define species boundaries, nature just laughs and does whatever it wants anyway. Reproduction just got way weirder than anyone thought possible. Based on "Ant Queen Lays Eggs That Hatch Into Two Species" from Science Magazine Read the full article here: https://www.science.org/content/article/ant-queen-lays-eggs-hatch-two-species --- 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
CHINA vs NASA

CHINA vs NASA

2025-11-1459:34

This week we're trading hypothetical fungi and exploding planets for something scarier: actual government budgets. But don't worry - watching America accidentally hand the space race to China is just as entertaining as any sci-fi disaster scenario, and way more preventable. Think "For All Mankind" but with spreadsheets instead of heroic astronauts. What happens when NASA's budget gets slashed in half while China's space program keeps climbing? Chris Carberry from Explore Mars joins to explore a future where the International Space Station becomes the Chinese Space Station, lunar bases fly red flags instead of stars and stripes, and American astronauts have to hitch rides on Chinese rockets just to get into orbit. From Beijing's plans to build permanent moon bases to their ambitious Mars sample return missions that might beat NASA by years, discover how budget cuts could transform America from space exploration leader to space exploration spectator. Plus, find out why letting China dominate space science means losing more than just bragging rights - it means losing innovations in climate monitoring, planetary defense, and technologies that improve life here on Earth. Fair warning: this one gets into the nitty gritty of space policy and why funding science actually matters. Want more fascinating space content from Chris? Check out his books exploring the unexpected sides of space exploration - from the role of music in cosmic storytelling to humanity's long relationship with alcohol beyond Earth's atmosphere: The Music of Space: Scoring the Cosmos in Film and Television https://a.co/d/fQki9CS Alcohol in Space: Past, Present and Future https://a.co/d/aqCOkUz Alcohol in Space - The Movie https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DJR1J6F8/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r And learn more about Chris' work advocating for human Mars exploration at Explore Mars: exploremars.org --- 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
What the if mosquitoes were helpless against the sweet smell of their own doom? Scientists genetically engineered Metarhizium fungus to smell so irresistibly delicious that mosquitoes can't help but fly straight into deadly traps with a 90-100% success rate. Discover why these bloodsuckers are actually tiny recycling agents in nature (who knew?), learn why we can't just eliminate them without the whole ecosystem throwing a tantrum, and find out why one will inevitably end up on a future space station driving the crew absolutely bonkers. From glowing green fungus-covered mosquitoes that look like tiny Marvel villains to biological pest control that beats slathering industrial chemicals on everything, explore humanity's eternal quest to outsmart bugs that have been annoying us since the dawn of time. Based on "This Genetically Engineered Fungus Could Help Fix Your Mosquito Problem" by Jason Dinh, published in The New York Times on November 1st, 2025. Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/science/fungus-mosquitoes-genetic-engineering.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y08.x0jx.9OuE2HKzYyez&smid=url-share --- 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
FRANKENSTEIN

FRANKENSTEIN

2025-10-3146:22

What the if Frankenstein was real and doctors actually tried stitching corpses together to create new people? Forget dramatic lightning strikes and brooding in Gothic towers - the real adventure is managing the world's most complicated pharmacy order when seventeen different immune systems meet for the first time and immediately start fighting. Join us as we explore why creating a functional monster requires less "It's alive!" moments and more "Does this insurance plan cover interdimensional tissue rejection?", discover the eternal question of whose blood type gets to be in charge, and meet today's synthetic biology scientists who figured out you can just build new life from genes like tiny biological LEGO blocks. Turns out whether you're using body parts or DNA, humanity's been enthusiastically playing god for centuries - we've just gotten way better at the paperwork.
The BURPING Lake!

The BURPING Lake!

2025-10-2245:08

What the if all bodies of water on Earth were fizzy like soda? In the real world, Seneca Lake in New York produces mysterious underwater booms called "Seneca guns" that scientists think come from occasional gas pockets, but nobody knows for sure. But in our imaginary world where every lake constantly fizzes like champagne, Chicago would relocate to the mountains as Lake Michigan burps methane clouds all day long. New York and London would move to higher ground, while only brave "soda dwellers" would live at water level like Mad Max characters in vans by the river. Niagara Falls would transform into a methane-harvesting factory with enormous vacuum cleaners shipping gas to Texas for barbecue. Cities would rebuild on mountainsides and clifftops, everyone would construct homes on stilts near shores, and Mentos would become weapons of mass destruction capable of triggering lake explosions. Based on "Why is this lake burping?" published in The New York Times on Oct. 8, 2025: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/nyregion/seneca-lake-guns-drums.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vU8.hjhV.kfNyB5WcMwSr&smid=url-share --- 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
Animals Train YOU!

Animals Train YOU!

2025-10-1541:12

Honey guide birds in Africa respond to culturally distinct human calls and lead hunters to beehives, where humans crack them open and birds feast on the exposed beeswax. But what the if humans could whistle for any wild animal to help with tasks? Call a deer to haul your Costco groceries home (extra cabbage as payment), summon crows to find your lost earring for peanuts, or live in a Viking village where bears help with the salmon harvest then hibernate in someone's hut all winter. From turkey truffle-hunting to dolphins demanding space station aquariums, explore a world where wild animals and humans exist in bizarre symbiotic relationships that might have prevented industrialization altogether. Based on "Honeyguide Birds Learn Culturally Distinct Calls Made By Honey Hunters" by Walter Beckwith, published in AAAS Science on December 11, 2023. Read the full article at https://www.aaas.org/news/honeyguide-birds-learn-culturally-distinct-calls-made-honey-hunters --- 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
AI Viruses

AI Viruses

2025-10-0354:18

Scientists just used artificial intelligence to design the world's first AI-generated viruses capable of hunting down and killing drug-resistant strains of E. coli. These bacteriophages look like tiny alien pineapples with syringes that stab bacterial cells, and they're just the beginning of AI-created life. From Matt's dream of dish-cleaning bacteria that won't eat you (hopefully) to the accidental discovery that trying to make super purple petunias actually created white flowers instead, this episode explores what the if happens when computers start writing genetic code. Discover why we're running out of antibiotics, how a virus with only 11 genes works, and why your future dish soap bottle might say "now with AI inside." Plus, learn about the scientist who tried to engineer the most purple petunias ever and accidentally won a Nobel Prize instead. Based on "World's First AI Designed Viruses: A Step Towards AI Generated Life" by Katie Kavanagh, published in Nature on September 19, 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03055-y Matt also mentions a book worth checking out during the episode: "The Genealogy of a Gene: Patents, HIV/AIDS, and Race" by Myles W. Jackson, published by MIT Press. The book explores how intellectual property law has transformed scientific research through the fascinating story of the CCR5 gene, examining everything from Big Pharma to personalized medicine. Learn more at https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262533782/the-genealogy-of-a-gene/ --- 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
What the if your brain literally ran out of storage space like a laptop refusing to save one more file? Neuroscientist Nikolay Kukushkin explains how memory isn't a filing cabinet but more like water carving rivers down a mountain - and when you carve too many paths, everything becomes a muddy mess. Discover why Mr. S, who remembered everything perfectly, couldn't recognize faces or taste food because his brain was too full of details. Learn why sleep is your brain's nightly cleanup crew and why we're all currently running at 98% memory capacity thanks to information overload. Plus, find out why forgetting your ex might also wipe out your algebra skills, and how even your kidney cells form their own minute-by-minute memories. Our guest is Nikolay Kukushkin, neuroscientist at NYU and author of "One Hand Clapping: Unraveling the Mystery of the Human Mind." You can learn more about Nikolay's fascinating book at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/One-Hand-Clapping/Nikolay-Kukushkin/9781493090648 --- 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
What the if gravitational waves were big enough to see and feel? Instead of measuring distortions smaller than a proton, imagine watching your coffee table accordion in and out as ripples from distant black hole collisions pass through your local cafe. Every time Charlie the cat bats a toy mouse in Greenwich Village, sugar cubes scrunch in Williamsburg cafes. Brain surgeons would need to ask all of New York to sit perfectly still during operations to avoid gravitational interference. Even parking lots would seem impossibly far away one moment and right next to you the next as space itself stretches and compresses. From squirrels disrupting billion-dollar physics experiments to the strange world of noise-canceling gravity waves, discover why LIGO's incredible ability to detect universe-shaking events that distort space by one ten-thousandth the width of a proton might actually be humanity's most impressive scientific achievement. Based on "Happy Birthday, LIGO. Now Drop Dead." by Dennis Overby, published in The New York Times on September 10, 2025: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/science/gravitational-waves-ligo-black-holes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nE8.QM2f.ag_83DD_kR8e&smid=url-share Learn More: "Gravity's Kiss: The Detection of Gravitational Waves" - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262535120/gravitys-kiss/ Matt mentioned sociologist Harry Collins' nearly 900-page masterpiece about gravity wave detection as the first book he ever reviewed; find this comprehensive account of one of science's most remarkable discoveries written by someone embedded in the gravitational wave community for over 40 years. Professor Tiffany Nichols - https://cssh.northeastern.edu/faculty/tiffany-nichols/ Matt recommended his friend Tiffany's dissertation (soon to be a book) about how LIGO chose their detection sites; explore her research on the epic story of selecting locations for these mile-long instruments and how surrounding environments become part of the scientific process. What are Gravitational Waves - https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-are-gw Learn about the ripples in space-time that we imagined making visible in our thought experiment, including how these waves from colliding black holes create distortions 10,000 times smaller than an atomic nucleus. What is LIGO - https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-is-ligo Discover how this unique observatory uses 4-kilometer-long laser interferometers to detect the universe's most violent events, from the instrument that Matt described as humanity's most sensitive measurement device. --- 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
Science ROCKS On MARS!

Science ROCKS On MARS!

2025-09-1257:03

What the if you found a rock on Mars that might - emphasis on might - show signs of ancient life? NASA's Perseverance rover discovered intriguing leopard spots in a 3.5-billion-year-old rock that contain vivianite, a mineral that could potentially indicate biological activity, though scientists remain cautiously skeptical. These dark-outlined splotches bear some resemblance to patterns that microbes can leave behind, but resemblance isn't proof. Join our trio as they explore the painstaking scientific process of investigating possible signs of life from tens of millions of miles away using lasers, spectroscopes, and instruments cleverly named Sherlock and Watson. From "poppy seed" nodules to the methodical work of ruling out every conceivable non-biological explanation, discover why scientists are being extraordinarily careful about what could potentially be intriguing evidence - if it survives rigorous scrutiny. Based on "In a Rock on Mars, NASA Sees Clearest Sign of Life (So Far)" by Kenneth Chang, published in The New York Times on September 10, 2025 Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/science/mars-rock-nasa-perserverance.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lE8.UiKA.kl-1r33U-Pd9&smid=url-share --- 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
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Comments (1)

Ana-Maria Stan

I love your show! who wrote the intro music?

Dec 4th
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