What If: Science, Theory, and Possibilities Latest Episodes

What If Quetzalcoatlus Never Went Extinct?

May 20, 2026•20 minutes

A terrifying shadow casts over the city as a massive prehistoric creature, the Quetzalcoatlus, flies above, faster than the cars below, hunting in packs. Today, we explore what it would be like if this massive pterosaur had never gone extinct. Discover how Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is connected to this story.

So, what is Quetzalcoatlus? Contrary to appearances, it is not a dinosaur or a pterodactyl but a pterosaur, a giant reptile from the past.

Timeline:

01:09 - Cretaceous Period
11:34 - Escobar and The Hippos Gambit
13:27 - Present Time

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What If You Fell into Saturn?

May 19, 2026•2 minutes

Saturn is renowned for its magnificent rings, which are the largest and most visible among gas giants, including Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. Intriguingly, Saturn emits twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun, suggesting a mysterious internal heat source. Today, we send Chase on a thrilling journey to explore this phenomenon!

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What If Trump Became a Dictator?

May 18, 2026•1 minute

What would actually happen if Donald Trump became a dictator? In this video, we explore a hypothetical scenario where democratic norms collapse and absolute power takes over.

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Entire Kardashev Scale Explained

May 15, 2026•2 minutes

Imagine a future world where you have endless supernatural powers. You can hop throughout the multiverse and bend time to your will. You'd be part of a super-advanced version of humanity—a type 7 civilization. But how do we get here?

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Everything That Could Go Wrong

May 14, 2026•2 hours 33 minutes

Enjoying this video? Dive even deeper into the world of science and discovery with Popular Science, the free streaming channel bringing you more of what you love from What If, plus epic explorations in engineering, rocket launches, movies, space, and Earth sciences here.

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What If is a mini-documentary web series that takes you on an epic journey through hypothetical worlds and possibilities. Join us on an imaginary adventure through time, space and chance while we (hopefully) boil down complex subjects in a fun and entertaining way.

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What If We Swapped Our Moon with Other Moons?

May 13, 2026•1 minute

Catastrophic, planet-wide tides flood cities. Pitch black nights. The ice age more powerful than Earth has ever seen. And tungsten-shaded evening skies. This is what would happen if we swapped our Moon with other moons in the Solar System. Spoiler alert - you are not surviving most of these.

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What If You Were the Last Human on Earth?

May 12, 2026•2 minutes

So you wake up one day and find that you're the only person left in the world. Kind of cool, right? No obligations, no rules, no limits. Go nuts! Actually, go for the exotic fruits first. If your mangos and bananas are imported from overseas, chances are they'll be hard to get to. So eat them while you can, and enjoy every last bite. You might think that with no one stopping you, you could go anywhere!

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We Nuked Jupiter

May 6, 2026•5 minutes

Jupiter may be the biggest planet in the Solar System, but its days are numbered. Because today, we're using Earth's biggest, baddest bombs to blow the gas giant into oblivion. How many nukes would you need to do the job? What obstacles would these rocket-bound bombs encounter on the way? Would one nuclear explosion ignite the entire planet? What are Kirkwood gaps?

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What If Earth Was a Pulsar Planet?

May 5, 2026•6 minutes

Something is very wrong with our Sun. It’s turned into a spinning lighthouse of death. What would make the Sun so much more deadly than usual? Would there be any way life on Earth could survive this? Why would it feel like you're stuck at the bottom of the ocean? What's a pulsar planet like? Would there be eternal darkness on Earth? Will Earth still be habitable?

Timeline of Key Moments:

00:00 What If Earth Was a Pulsar Planet?

01:48 Thanks Speakly!

02:55 What would you see?

04:26 Radiation

05:34 Would Earth survive?

Transcript and sources

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What If You Kept Shrinking Forever?

May 4, 2026•1 minute

If suddenly, you started to shrink in size, how long would it take until you became as small as a particle of dust? Why would things look different to your eyes? And why should you stay away from these grabby things? Today, you'll be scaling down by 1 cm every second, from human-sized all the way to the size of a subatomic particle.