Skip to content
Time REVERSAL with Ian Durham! episode artwork

Dec 26, 2025 39 min

Time REVERSAL with Ian Durham!

from What The If? Hosted by Philip Shane

What the if time suddenly started running backwards? Your breakfast un-eats itself, LEGO sets come pre-assembled, and you get younger every day. The dead have unfunerals, your room cleans itself, and teenagers slowly regress through middle school—backwards. Professor Ian Durham of Saint Anselm College stops by to explain the real physics behind time reversal and why photons might start shooting out of your eyeballs. Want to see time reversal in action? Check out The Palindrome Paradox, the mind-bending short film Ian recommends: https://youtu.be/hUcXGv-NzFQ?si=X086RFpXEj0ZNJmX Explore more physics at the Foundational Questions Institute—Ian's top 5 physics stories for 2025 will be out in a week or two on the FQxI Podcast Series: https://qspace.fqxi.org/podcasts And check out FQxI Master Classes, where Ian's course on the nature of time will be out within the year: https://qspace.fqxi.org/qac --- Find out more about Gaby's science fiction short story! Here are the links for the anthology. The physical copy can be ordered here : https://www.neonhemlock.com/books/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention The ebook can be ordered here: https://www.neonhemlock.com/ebooks/luminescent-machinations-queer-tales-of-monumental-invention

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Time REVERSAL with Ian Durham!

0:00 39:32

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of What The If??

This episode is 39 minutes long.

When was this What The If? episode published?

This episode was published on December 26, 2025.

Can I download this What The If? episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.