Season 1, Episode 102 · Unobtainium Podcast
Lucid Dreaming Is Real, but Is Shared Dreaming Also Possible? David Eagleman Discusses Neuroscience of Dreams, Memory, Consciousness in Christopher Nolan's Inception
26 May 2026 · 39 min
Episode notes
In this mind-bending episode of Unobtainium Podcast, hosts Adam and Amy are joined by neuroscientist and bestselling author David Eagleman to unpack the science behind Inception. They explore what dreams actually are, why the brain creates them, and whether concepts like dream manipulation, shared dreaming, mind hacking, and incepting your subconscious could ever become real. The conversation moves from the neuroscience of memory and perception to lucid dreaming and recurring nightmares. Also, they touch on related issues such as false memories, eyewitness testimony, processing grief, and…
Podcast
Unobtainium Podcast
Adam Sigel & Dr. Amy Mainzer · Stories · English
The Unobtainium Podcast is hosted by Adam Sigel, a Hollywood writer-producer, and Dr. Amy Mainzer, an astrophysicist. Together, they explore the science in science fiction. Each episode unpacks the Unobtainium behind movies—what’s real, what’s cinematic, and why filmmakers bend reality. This is for
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S1 · E106 · 23 Jun 2026 · 39 min
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Episode Description Blade Runner is famous for its flying cars, neon cyberpunk skylines, and bioengineered replicants—but its most enduring questions are about what it means to be human. In this episode of the Unobtainium podcast, hosts Adam and Amy are joined by renowned roboticist Hiro Ono to explore the cutting-edge science and philosophy behind Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterpiece. How close is modern technology to creating truly humanoid robots? Can Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) or large language models (LLMs) achieve actual machine consciousness? What role do memory, emotion, and…
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S1 · E105 · 16 Jun 2026 · 47 min
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S1 · E104 · 9 Jun 2026 · 33 min
Is the Force real? From hyperspace to parsecs, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joins us to discuss the science of Star Wars.
In this episode of Unobtainium Podcast, hosts Adam and Amy sit down with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to unpack the science and mythology of Star Wars. Together, they explore whether the Force resembles anything in real-world physics, from gravity and electromagnetism to quantum mechanics and multiple dimensions. The conversation dives into hyperspace travel, wormholes, faster-than-light storytelling shortcuts, and the infamous“12 parsecs” controversy, while also examining why Star Wars resonates so deeply on a human level. Along the way, they discuss the Star Wars canon, good versus…
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S1 · E103 · 2 Jun 2026 · 31 min
Is It Actually Possible to Bring Back Dinosaurs? Unearthing Ancient DNA, CRISPR, Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park with Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar
In this episode of Unobtainium Podcast, hosts Adam Sigel and Amy Mainzer are joined by astrobiologist and evolutionary scientist Betül Kaçar to explore the real science beneath Jurassic Park. Could dinosaur DNA really survive inside amber for 65 million years? How close are modern scientists to resurrecting extinct species? And what happens when humanity gains the power to rewrite life itself? The conversation dives into cloning, CRISPR gene editing, ancient DNA, microbial evolution, extinction events, and the surprising role bacteria played in transforming Earth’s atmosphere billions of…
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S1 · E101 · 26 May 2026 · 30 min
What Is the Science of Time Travel? In their first episode, Amy and Adam Go “Back to the Future” on Einstein, Paradoxes, and an Iconic DeLorean with a Flux Capacitor
What if the greatest time travel device in movie history is just a glowing Y-shaped excuse to ask bigger questions about science, storytelling, and human imagination? In the premiere episode of Unobtainium Podcast , Hollywood writer/producer Adam Sigel and rocket scientist Amy Mainzer launch a smart, funny deep dive into the science of science fiction through one of cinema’s most iconic inventions: the flux capacitor from Back to the Future . Along the way, they explore why great sci-fi doesn’t need perfect science — it just needs enough “unobtainium” to make us believe. From Einstein’s…
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12 May 2026 · 1 min
Unobtainium Podcast Trailer (Meet the Hosts)
The Unobtainium Podcast is hosted by Adam Sigel, a Hollywood producer-writer, and Dr. Amy Mainzer, an astrophysicist. Together, they explore the science in science fiction. Each episode unpacks the Unobtainium behind movies—what’s real, what’s cinematic, and why filmmakers bend reality. This is for the nerds, sci-fi fans, film junkies, and anyone curious about the science behind the story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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