Telepathy!

What the if you could read minds — but only when someone's nearby? Congratulations, your subway commute just became a psychic nightmare. Babies would blast unfiltered emotional chaos straight into your skull, your dog would telepathically loop images of a full food bowl at you around the clock, and predators might evolve to psychically lure prey into their mouths. But here's the thing — telepathy might also unlock a kind of empathy we've never experienced before, letting us truly feel the world through someone else's mind. Tinfoil hats optional — tune in and find out why you might actually want one!

Want to explore how Darwin catalogued every possible gradation of animal communication and emotion? Check out these resources mentioned in the episode:

Janet Browne's award-winning two-volume biography of Darwin: https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Darwin-Biography-Vol-Voyaging/dp/0691026068

The Darwin Correspondence Project, where you can read Darwin's notebooks and journals yourself: https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/

——

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