Explore every episode of the podcast What Could Have Been

In this episode, which is sadly Not a Halloween episode, we talk to a timeline where Canada's Mincome program didn't end in 1979. Starting in 1974, Mincome was an economic experiment carried out in the town of Dauphin, Manitoba to see if Universal Basic Income, the idea of the government giving people a small amount of unconditional money every month, would improve life & the economy, or if people would stop working & live off of the Basic Income. In our timeline, it was cut short when the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada came to power for 9 months & scrapped the program. But in a timeline where it kept going, it might have worked & led to Canada becoming the first country on Earth to institute nationwide Universal Basic Income.

Did Mincome work? Was it instituted across the province of Manitoba? All of Canada? Did people stop working or did they achieve a better & healthier work/life balance? Did it invigorate the economy, or become an expensive drain on the system? How much did it cost? Also, who the heck is The Great Hungry One?

Tune into our latest episode to find out What Could Have Been.

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In Part 5 of our Miniseries, we pick up from where we left off in 1963, & continue the story through 1980

As the Cold War rages in our timeline, in Sam's timeline, an era of peace is upon them, mostly. We finally get to find out how the Estonian Rebellion played out, Tsar Alexander the 4th has to deal with a religious group that is violently opposed to the reconstruction of Moscow, & everyone is not so patiently waiting for his son, Prince Nicholas, to father a child to carry on the House of Romanov. As Russia reaches up to join the Americans in Space, everything is going well, at least until some former soldiers of the People's Far Eastern Union pop up again. These Communists just don't quit.

How did the Estonian Rebellion play out? Is somebody stockpiling Nuclear Weapons? How far into Space will everyone get? What are the Communists up to? Can Sam handle hearing about all of our Nuclear Weapons, treaties & the times that we almost ended the world because of a technical glitch?

Join me again as we explore this wildly different timeline where Moscow was wiped out by a meteor strike in 1908, the Soviet Revolution failed, & the Tsars are still ruling over Russia. If you haven't heard Parts 1 through 4 yet, I recommend going back & checking them out.

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In the last seconds of 1999, the world counted down to a new year, a new century & a new millennium. When the clocks & calendars flipped over to 2000, the world celebrated, cheered & partied like it wasn't 1999 anymore. Couples kissed, strangers kissed, music played, fireworks went off, & all around the world, a legion of computer programmers breathed a sigh of relief went nothing went wrong.

Of course, the reason that nothing went wrong was because they had spent the last few years making sure that every computer on Earth that kept track of the date was Y2K compliant. Years earlier, it had been discovered that a tiny little detail that was used to make the earliest computers run faster was now set to make computers go crazy when the calendar rolled over to 2000. Thankfully, their hard work & long hours paid off as the century changed with hardly a bug or glitch.

But what if they hadn't been able to work fast enough? What if they didn't have the manpower or the resources to fix everything. What if when the ball dropped to usher in the new century, countless computers got confused & could no longer keep track of what they were doing? What if the computers that governed banks, power grids, traffic lights & the stock market all had a digital coronary & no longer knew what they were doing?

What would happen to a timeline where Y2K wasn't patched in time for the Year 2000?

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In the last seconds of 1999, the world counted down to a new year, a new century & a new millennium. When the clocks & calendars flipped over to 2000, the world celebrated, cheered & partied like it wasn't 1999 anymore. Couples kissed, strangers kissed, music played, fireworks went off, & all around the world, a legion of computer programmers breathed a sigh of relief went nothing went wrong.

Of course, the reason that nothing went wrong was because they had spent the last few years making sure that every computer on Earth that kept track of the date was Y2K compliant. Years earlier, it had been discovered that a tiny little detail that was used to make the earliest computers run faster was now set to make computers go crazy when the calendar rolled over to 2000. Thankfully, their hard work & long hours paid off as the century changed with hardly a bug or glitch.

But what if they hadn't been able to work fast enough? What if they didn't have the manpower or the resources to fix everything. What if when the ball dropped to usher in the new century, countless computers got confused & could no longer keep track of what they were doing? What if the computers that governed banks, power grids, traffic lights & the stock market all had a digital coronary & no longer knew what they were doing?

What would happen to a timeline where Y2K wasn't patched in time for the Year 2000?

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In our second mid-season interlude, a Simon who calls no particular timeline home has just helped a wealthy client start a new life in a new timeline where accusations of certain financial improprieties won't be able to follow him.

What did he ALLEDEGELY do? Why does this timeline have so many milk alternative options? Why is sea level climbing so fast? Why is the Moon being settled so fast, & will Simon manage to get out before his quasi-legal gateway closes?

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In Part 4 of our Miniseries, we pick up from where we left off in 1946 & continue the story through 1963

The War is over. Call it World War 2, call the Great Patriotic War, call it the Patriot's War, or even just call it THE WAR. However you name it, it's over. Now it's time for the nations of the world to start putting themselves back together, to set up the new order of the world, & to start doing impossible things. Will they follow out timeline & reach for the Moon in the 60s? Will the Communists succeed in China? North Korea? What about in Vietnam or Cuba? How many Weapons of Mass Destruction will they amass & who will they point them at?

Join me again as we explore this wildly different timeline where Moscow was wiped out by a meteor strike in 1908, the Soviet Revolution failed, & the Tsars are still ruling over Russia. If you haven't heard Parts 1, 2 & 3, I recommend going back & checking them out.

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In today's episode, as part of a Public Service Program offered by the Interdimensional Council, we're taking a look at a timeline that is going through some weird shit.

It seems that in this timeline, a random man was just thrown into the multiverse without the proper gear & now his timeline, as well as several timelines around it, are suffering from all kinds of crazy things. Millions of different versions of this man are coming home & they are not always getting along or cooperating with the authorities.

So if you plan on traveling through the multiverse once our level 5 quarantine is lifted, then please listen to the advice that's given in this episode.

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In Part 3 of our Miniseries, we pick up from where we left off in 1933 & continue the story to 1946.

It's time. We've come to one of, if not the biggest event in the last century. An event that shattered the status quo & completely reordered the world, changing everything forever. World War 2. After you find out how both our Soviet Union & their Imperial Russia got through the Great Depression, we'll see how both of our Russia's got through the second world war.

Join me again as we explore this wildly different timeline where Moscow was wiped out by a meteor strike in 1908, the Soviet Revolution failed, & the Tsars are still ruling over Russia. If you haven't heard Parts 1 & 2, I recommend going back & checking them out.

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A great big welcome back to our returning Simon Peterson.

In Season 1, we talked to a Simon from a timeline where after World War II, West Germany was annexed by France, & East Germany was annexed by Poland. After listening to the wild ride of a timeline where the Western region of Germany was annexed by & somewhat assimilated into France, we couldn't schedule a time to talk about his Germany's Eastern half. Of course, it didn't help that he had been an emergency fill in after our first fiasco trying to talk to an independent Quebec.

Well today, he's back. That's right folks, we have a returning guest who has come to tell us the other half of a story where Germany was annexed by its neighbors. So enjoy this International Worker's Day, & tune in to hear the story of an East Germany that was annexed into communist controlled Poland. Was life easier or harder for the German people than it was in Eastern France? Were their revolutions? Was a wall built between the former Germanies? Will our returning guest finally get an answer he can understand as to whether or not West & East Germany were actually fully sovereign countries? Tune in to find out.

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In Part 2 of our Miniseries, we pick up from where we left off in 1918 & continue the story to 1932.

After our alternate timeline's communist revolution failed, what happened to Ukraine & Byelorussia? Where did Vladimir Lenin get off to? What desperate alliances were made between old rivals, & just who exactly did young Alexi marry?

Join me again as we explore this wildly different timeline where Moscow was wiped out by a meteor strike in 1908. If you haven't heard Part 1, I recommend going back & checking it out.

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After yesterday's second failed attempt to talk to a Quebec with a successful referendum to secede from Canada in 1995, we once again find ourselves talking to a last minute replacement guest. Today, staying on the theme of secession, we get a chance to talk to a timeline where the US states of Oregon & Washington seceded from the United States, & became the sovereign nation of South Cascadia.

How did they leave? Was there a civil war in the states? Did they negotiate? Did they just walk away? How did they get around the fact that secession is ILLEGAL in the United States? Tune in & find out.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IN NO WAY SUPPORTS OR ENDORSES ANY STATE ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Even if might be a good idea.)

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In 1995, the Province of Quebec came dangerously close to separating from Canada. In Season 1, we tried talking to a timeline where the referendum succeeded, but due to technical difficulties, all we got was what sounded like a numbers station. In today's episode, we've found a new timeline where the referendum succeeded & Quebec actually celebrated from Canada.

Hopefully this time, we'll actually get to talk to our guest & find What Could Have Been if Quebec's 1995 referendum succeeded.

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In the opening episode of our Season 2 Mini Series, we take a look at a timeline where in 1908, the Tunguska Meteor Event was far more destructive than it was in our timeline. Explore a world where the fate of a Nation, a Royal Family, the Great War & the Communist Revolution were all changed by a celestial event that nobody saw coming.

In Part 1, we cover the years 1908 to 1918.

Trigger Warning: This episode mentions cataclysmic disasters, political assassinations, & World War 1.

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In out Season 2 Premier, our host talks to a timeline where instead of landing on the Moon in 1969 like we did, their race through Space took a different route which resulted in them only setting foot on the Moon in 1986. Start our new season off with a look at a completely different Space Race from the one we knew.

Trigger Warning, this episode mentions the Deaths of Real Astronauts, as well as the Deaths & Traumas of Fictional Astronauts.

Ps. After I finished recording 2 days ago, & as I was editing the episode, the Artemis Program was updated so that Artemis 4 will be the one to land on the Moon instead of Artemis 3, allegedly this will be in 2028. Also, as most of you are aware by now, the US is no longer on the brink of war with Iran.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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In this October Episode of What Could Have Been, we dive into a timeline where three & a half years ago, there was an outbreak of Zombies around the world.

Where did the outbreak occur? Did countries fall? Did the Living Dead, Risen from their Graves change the World as we know it into something that we wouldn't even be able to recognize? Tune in to find out.

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In this Episode, we're talking to a timeline where after the UK outbreak of Mad Cow Disease in the early 90s, most of the United Kingdom gave up on Beef, & most of the population has gone either Vegan or Vegetarian. How bad was the outbreak that it turned a whole country off of Beef? Were any other countries affected? What happened to England's cows? Which celebrities went Vegan & was does it mean to go Nine?

Tune on in & find out in this episode of What Could Have Been.

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In this month's episode, we're going to be listening to Part 2 of an interview with a timeline where in 1972, humanity received a message from an alien civilization around Barnard's Star, 6 lightyears away. How did society continue to react to finding out that we're not alone in the universe? How did further revelations & communication with this alien species change world events & politics in the 21st century? Does this alien civilization pose a threat to us? Also, who are the Hips? Find out the answers to these questions in our longest episode yet, beating out last month's episode.

You can follow What Could Have Been on Bluesky & Reddit for updates, release dates & more.

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In this month's episode, we're going to be listening to the first part of an interview with a timeline where in 1972, humanity received a message from an alien civilization around Barnard's Star, 6 lightyears away. How did society react to finding out that we're not alone in the universe? How did this revelation & the possibility of communication with this alien species change world events & politics? Does this alien civilization pose a threat to us? Also, who is Uncle Will? Find out the answer to these questions in our longest episode yet.

You can follow What Could Have Been on Bluesky & Reddit for updates, release dates & more.

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In this episode of What Could Have Been, it isn't one different decision that was made, it's a series of different decisions that led to this timeline. We're taking a look at a timeline where little was done to fight Climate Change, allowing the world to heat up at a much faster rate. Where we've recently hit 1.5 degrees of warming, this timeline has now hit 2 degrees of warming. Could this be a glimpse of what might be in store for us if we don't take drastic actions right now? There's one way to find out, tune in & listen to What Could Have Been.

 You can follow What Could Have Been on Bluesky for updates & release dates.

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In our third episode, I'm doing something a little bit different. In this episode, we're not looking at a timeline where a different decision was made. Instead, we're looking at a timeline where something happened that didn't happen in out timeline.

The New Madrid Seismic Zone is a place in Western Tennessee where a new fault line started forming hundreds of millions of years ago & then stopped. Today, we're talking to a timeline where the New Madrid Seismic Zone woke up & has started splitting the continent apart again. Come & see a universe where North America is actually in the process of physically splitting apart.

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Trigger Warning - This Episode Mentions Violence

In my second attempt at my second episode, I've managed to bring on a guest from a timeline where after WWII, the Western half of Germany was annexed by France, as opposed to my timeline where it became it's own, kind of a country for a while. See how the second half of the 20th century might have played out if West Germany had never been.

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In our second episode, I'm going to try to talk to a timeline where Quebec's 1995 referendum succeeded, leading to the Province of Quebec becoming its own Country. Tune in & listen to What Could Have Been if Quebec had separated from Canada.

Follow What Could Have Been on Bluesky for updates & announcements.

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In our first episode, I'm talking to a timeline where the Apollo program never ended. A timeline where there are manned bases on the Moon, & thousands of people are living & working up there. A universe where one small step wasn't the end of the story. A universe where we can find out What Could Have Been if we didn't stop going to the Moon in 1972.

Follow What Could Have Been on Bluesky for updates & announcements.

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