Listener stats
About
What If? is a speculative fiction and history podcast that invites listeners to explore parallel timelines. Each episode imagines how the course of human history, science and culture might have shifted if a pivotal event had played out differently. From asking how World War II might have ended without the United States dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – an act that destroyed most of the city within a two‑mile radius and killed or injured vast numbers of people – to dreaming about Nikola Tesla's never‑built Wardenclyffe Tower and his vision of wireless power, the show combines rigorous research with creative storytelling. Each of the ~50 episodes presents a self‑contained narrative guided by historians, scientists and writers.The podcast's tone is thoughtful, imaginative and accessible. Background information is provided on the real‑world events before diverging into speculative timelines. The goal is not to rewrite history but to appreciate the contingencies that shape o