WHO The If - GABY!

WHO The If - GABY!

From What The If? by Philip Shane

June 9, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Gaby Paniccia shares her experiences as a microbiologist and her journey into science fiction writing.

Behind every voice you've come to love on this show is a life full of stories you've never heard. With our eighth anniversary just around the corner, we're doing something we've never done: each of us takes a turn in the guest's chair to answer all the questions the rest of us have always wondered about. First up is Gaby, a microbiologist at Harvard. What's it really like to spend your days in her world? Step into a lab alive with invisible wonders, head out to a beach where secret animal rituals are hiding in plain sight, and meet the kid who once chased frogs across a backyard and grew into a scientist chasing the deepest mysteries of life. —— 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…

People in this episode

Hosts: Philip Shane, Matt

Guest: Gaby Paniccia

Topics covered

  • microbiology
  • science fiction
  • lab research
  • animal behavior
  • personal stories
  • scientific exploration

Keywords

  • microbiology
  • science fiction
  • Gaby Paniccia
  • Harvard
  • zombie fungus
  • animal rituals
  • scientific research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard, Escape Pod

Books & works: The Automatic Grocery Store

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