What The If?

ANTIMATTER On Demand! by Philip Shane, Matt Stanley, Gabrielle Paniccia

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

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

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

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