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Philip Shane

@philipashane.bsky.social

Documentary Filmmaker / Story & AI Consultant / Podcaster. Being Elmo, Paul McCartney’s Wingspan, Dancing In Jaffa, Einstein, @TheMystDoc, @WhatTheIFshow & more

128 Followers  |  89 Following  |  76 Posts  |  Joined: 09.11.2024
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Posts by Philip Shane (@philipashane.bsky.social)

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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

A tiny hagfish blob expands by 10,000 times to stop sharks in their tracks. Scale that to humans and one sneeze could slime an entire subway car. New York commuters, take notes. Listen now at

31.01.2026 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Forget pepper spray — what if you could spit a tiny blob that explodes into an 800-foot slime net? The hagfish figured this out millions of years ago and we're just catching up. Listen now at

30.01.2026 20:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Mountains grew out of molten rock lakes in minutes on the moon. We've got the photos. We need you to trace them. Listen now at whattheif.com

22.01.2026 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Middle school Kirby would feel way more popular in a world where everyone's mapping lunar craters. Same honestly. Listen now at whattheif.com

21.01.2026 20:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Professional citizen scientists with mouse sponsorships and their own sports drinks coming to a science bar near you. Listen now at whattheif.com

20.01.2026 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Reality dating shows but you advance to the next round by mapping the most impact melt flows. Romance meets lunar geology. Listen now at whattheif.com

19.01.2026 20:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Forget the Kardashians - the future water cooler conversation is about who found the best boulder on the moon last night. Listen now at whattheif.com

18.01.2026 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Four billion years ago you could watch glowing lava waterfalls cascade down freshly formed lunar craters from your backyard. Now you can map them from your couch. Listen now at whattheif.com

17.01.2026 20:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Science bars are coming to replace sports bars. Instead of watching the game, you'll be cheering on competitive boulder counters on Twitch. Listen now at whattheif.com

16.01.2026 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Santa's MEGA Fauna! — WHAT THE IF? Santa's sleigh won't fly, but a reindeer dirigible with forty hovering mammals just might.

Re. "flying reindeer ...1,500-pound mammals migrating through your town like Canada geese. Suddenly those goose droppings don't seem so bad." Another awesome thought experiment from @whattheif.bsky.social - fun science podcast from
@philipashane.bsky.social, Prof. Matt Stanley, & Dr. Gaby Paniccia

22.12.2025 18:50 — 👍 1    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Imagine storing your lunch by impaling it on a thorn and coming back later for cold rodent. The shrike lifestyle is complicated. Listen now at whattheif.com

28.11.2025 20:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Hollow bones, air sacs throughout your body, and a respiratory system that would make Michael Phelps weep with envy. Welcome to bird life! Listen now at whattheif.com

27.11.2025 14:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Species reveal parties are about to replace gender reveal parties in this wild new world where every mother gives birth to two completely different species at once. Listen now at whattheif.com

19.11.2025 20:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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What if NASA's budget got cut in half while China built moon bases? Guess who wins that space race. Listen now at whattheif.com

14.11.2025 14:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

In our fizzy planet scenario, only "soda dwellers" are brave enough to live by the water like Mad Max characters. Peak real estate is now clifftops. Listen now at

22.10.2025 13:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Cities would install water pipeline infrastructure so everyone can live knee-deep in their living rooms to stay cool. Listen now at

03.08.2025 13:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

No more sweating means everyone walks around panting like dogs with their tongues out during important meetings. Listen now at

02.08.2025 13:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Drop telescopes along Earth's orbit for a year and boom - you've built a camera 120 million times more powerful than anything we have! Listen now at

28.07.2025 13:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Synthetic aperture telescopes work like having two eyes separated by 200 million miles - your depth perception would be out of this world! Listen now at

25.07.2025 19:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Imagine losing your radiation-proofing gene cassette during a one-night stand and having to explain that to your lab safety officer. Listen now at

20.07.2025 13:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Shake hands with Usain Bolt, get the fast-running genes. Shake hands with Keith Richards, become immortal. Listen now at

19.07.2025 13:14 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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🎬 Starts TOMORROW!

Learn how to use #Midjourney to create stunning AI visuals for your doc, from b-roll and reenactments to abstract story sequences.

Taught live by Sundance-winning filmmaker @philipashane.bsky.social.

🎟️ Still time to sign up →
buff.ly/OeuJXk4
#DocumentaryFilm #AIforFilmmakers

09.07.2025 13:01 — 👍 0    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Antarctic balloons are picking up signals that shouldn't exist according to everything we know about physics. Listen now at

29.06.2025 13:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Sometimes saving physics requires inventing invisible particles that take 40 years to actually find. Listen now at

28.06.2025 19:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

The Total Perspective Vortex shows you're just a piece of fairy cake in an infinite universe and that's the point. Listen now at

21.06.2025 19:09 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Space is really huge, but Douglas Adams already told us that and we still haven't learned our lesson. Listen now at

20.06.2025 19:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Tell the Senate: Judges Must Be Allowed to Prevent our Rights From Being Trampled House Republicans hid a provision deep in their Medicaid-slashing megabill to shield Trump and his cronies from contempt of court citations. And now, Senate Republicans have stripped their No Contempt...

Tell the Senate: Judges Must Be Allowed to Prevent our Rights From Being Trampled act.indivisible.org/sign/senator...

16.06.2025 23:40 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Nuclear submarines become undetectable in warm water. Finally, accidental world peace through climate change confusion. Listen now at

14.06.2025 13:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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WHAT THE IF? We build NEW WORLDS as we learn REAL SCIENCE about the limits of the COSMOS. Join us in exploring the science of SPACE, cosmology, physics, life, the UNIVERSE and everything! How do we do it? By…

Sonar doesn't work when ocean temperatures go haywire. Time to build that underwater lair in sunken Miami! Listen now at

13.06.2025 19:08 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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The universe might be stuck in cosmic Groundhog Day where every Big Bang leads right back to another Big Bang in an endless loop. Listen now at whattheif.com

10.06.2025 13:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0