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23 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Realistic Aliens? Space Travel? Darth Vader’s Suit? What is Sci-fi? We Take Your Questions for Our Season Wrap Up: Are we more likely to discover intelligent life or have they already discovered us and Why do Hollywood aliens almost always look human?
3 november 2026 · 46 min
In this special season wrap-up mailbag episode of Unobtanium, astrophysicist Dr. Amy Mainzer and filmmaker Adam Sigel answer questions from listeners, exploring the fascinating intersection of science, storytelling, and our favorite sci-fi movies. Lees meer
From breaking down what truly defines the science fiction genre to deconstructing alien biology, exoplanet habitability, and scientific literacy, this episode bridges hard astrophysics and screenwriting logic.
Full Summary
What Defines Science Fiction?
Sci-fi acts as an experimental sandbox exploring the impact of technology and science on human lives and societal stakes.
The hosts dissect Philip K. Dick’s premise that the scientific concept itself is often the protagonist.
Genre blending in cinema: Why Inception functions as a sci-fi heist movie, Blade Runner merges tech with film noir, and Alien balances sci-fi with haunted-house horror in space.
Alien Evolution & Astrobiology:
The Goldilocks Zone & Earth’s Climate: How our G-type dwarf star, stable circular orbit, and plate tectonic cycle created the ideal conditions for liquid water and human vision tuned to visible wavelengths.
Why Do Movie Aliens Look Humanoid? The breakdown between Hollywood budget constraints (zipper suits vs. CGI) versus narrative empathy, alongside the concept of convergent evolution.
Non-Humanoid Life: The evolutionary plausibility of infrared-sensing eyes around cooler stars, deep-sea aquatic aliens (The Abyss), atmospheric floaters in gas giants, and the prevalence of microbial life in the galaxy.
What Is an Astrobiologist? How modern astronomers search for exoplanetary biosignatures and atmospheric gases to identify life beyond Earth.
The Scientific Method vs. Pop Culture Skepticism:
Demystifying scientific terminology: The critical distinction between an everyday "guess" and a rigorously tested scientific hypothesis or theory (e.g., gravity, quantum mechanics).
Why scientific self-correction and mathematical uncertainty repres…
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What is a Black Hole? The Science, the Madness, and the Mystery of Disney's THE BLACK HOLE: We look at how the 1979 film is one of the strangest, darkest, and most ambitious science fiction movies of its era.
23 oktober 2026 · 42 min
What is a Black Hole? Lees meer
Core Definition: A black hole is a region of space with an extraordinarily powerful gravitational field created when massive amounts of matter are packed into a tiny volume.
The "Divide-by-Zero" Error: In simple terms, a black hole represents a point where our current understanding of physics breaks down—a mathematical singularity where space-time equations result in an undefined state.
Event Horizon: The absolute point of no return. Gravity is so strong within the event horizon that not even light can escape, causing its trajectory to loop back inward.
Star Collapse & Supernovas
Stellar Evolution: Stars roughly 10 times more massive than our Sun fuse elements up the periodic table (hydrogen to helium, carbon, oxygen, etc.) until they reach iron.
Supernova Collapse: Once iron is reached, nuclear fusion stops providing outward pressure. The star's outer layers collapse inward onto the core in a fraction of a second, bouncing off and causing a catastrophic supernova explosion.
Core Remnant: If the remaining core mass is sufficient, it continues to crush down into a super-dense object just a few kilometers across, forming a stellar-mass black hole.
Anti-Gravity Fields
In-Movie Use: Dr. Reinhardt uses an anti-gravity energy reactor to keep the Cygnus suspended near the event horizon and to provide artificial Earth gravity aboard the ship.
Real World Physics: Repulsive gravity does not exist in real physics. Unlike electromagnetism (which has positive and negative poles that can attract or repel), gravity is strictly an attractive, one-way force between masses.
Einstein-Rosen Bridges & Wormholes
In-Movie Use: The characters discuss an Einstein-Rosen bridge as a pathway through the black hole to travel across space and time.
Real World Physics: Theoretically, an Einstein-Rosen bridge connects a black hole to a hypothetical "white hole" (a region that strictly expels matter). However, there is zero observational evidence that white holes…
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Could You ACTUALLY Survive on Mars? Planetary Scientist Dave Paige Breaks Down Ridley Scott's blockbuster film The Martian, breaking down what the film got right, what was exaggerated, and what real NASA missions face when exploring the Red Planet.
6 oktober 2026 · 47 min
Episode Description Lees meer
In this episode of Unobtainium, hosts Adam and Amy sit down with UCLA Planetary Science Professor Dave Paige to dissect the science behind Ridley Scott's blockbuster film The Martian. From the atmospheric physics of Martian dust storms to the realities of growing potatoes in extraterrestrial soil, Professor Paige breaks down what Hollywood got right, what they exaggerated, and what real NASA missions face when exploring the Red Planet.
Full Summary
Why couldn’t the movie’s massive Martian dust storm really happen? Could you actually grow potatoes in Martian soil? How cold is Mars? Is there liquid water beneath the surface? Could microbial life exist there today? How realistic are NASA and JPL’s response to Mark Watney’s predicament? And what would it actually take to keep human beings alive on a journey to Mars? But the conversation ultimately raises a bigger question: Should humans be going to Mars at all?
Paige makes the case that increasingly capable robots may be able to explore Mars more safely, cheaply and extensively than astronauts—without risking human lives or contaminating a planet that could harbor indigenous life. That leads to the most consequential scientific question of all: Is there life on Mars, and how far should we go to find it?
Along the way, the conversation explores:
Mars Environment & Atmospheric Physics: Mars has an atmospheric pressure less than $1/100^{\text{th}}$ that of Earth, composed primarily of carbon dioxide. While daytime temperatures at equatorial regions can approach room temperature, nighttime temperatures drop far below any location in Antarctica.
The Dust Storm Exaggeration: The film's inciting incident—a severe dust storm that forces mission abort—is pure science fiction. Although wind speeds on Mars can be fast, the atmospheric density is so low that high-speed winds exert only a mild breeze's force, insufficient to knock down an astronaut or damage heavy equipment.
NASA Technical Realism & JPL …
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We came for Star Wars. We found something much bigger. Inside the Lucas Museum: Star Wars, Narrative Art, and the Power of Myth
22 september 2026 · 44 min
Why does the museum look like a spaceship? What does Luke Skywalker have in common with a scientist? And could an N-1 Starfighter actually fly? Lees meer
Come inside with us.
What’s really inside George Lucas’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art? We got a sneak peek—and it wasn’t quite what we expected.
UNOBTAINIUM hosts planetary scientist Dr. Amy Mainzer and writer/producer Adam Sigel head inside the spectacular new Los Angeles museum expecting plenty of Star Wars. And yes, there are spaceships, droids and enough Death Star vibes to keep two lifelong fans happy. But Star Wars represents only a small part of what Lucas is trying to do here.
The museum is really an exploration of narrative art: the images societies have used to tell stories. These are the stories that people need to come to understand who they are, from ancient cave paintings and mythology to illustration, comics, movie posters and science fiction. That leads Amy and Adam straight to Joseph Campbell, the Hero’s Journey and the Power of Myth—ideas that profoundly influenced George Lucas and the creation of Star Wars.
And then things get very UNOBTAINIUM.
Amy makes a surprising connection between the Hero’s Journey and the scientific process itself: leaving what we know, venturing into the unknown, facing uncertainty, gaining new knowledge and bringing it home.
Along the way, we explore the museum’s spaceship-like architecture, its unusual argument about “high” and “low” art, the science behind Star Wars technology—and an N-1 Starfighter that raises the inevitable question: how much energy would it actually take to make that thing fly?
Come with us for a sneak peek inside the Lucas Museum—and a journey through Star Wars, science, mythology and the stories human beings use to understand the universe and ourselves.
UNOBTAINIUM: Where great movies meet real science.
#LucasMuseum #StarWars #GeorgeLucas #LucasMuseumOfNarrativeArt #ScienceFiction #JosephCampbell #HeroJourney #Science #UnobtainiumPodcast #Lo…
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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Superheroes, Time Travel, Aliens, Bad Movie Science and growing up in the geekosphere.
15 september 2026 · 24 min
What superhero would Neil deGrasse Tyson be? Where would he go if he could travel through time? And how much bad science will he forgive if a movie tells a great story? And how he grew up an athlete who lived in the geekosphere. Lees meer
In this special bonus mini-episode of UNOBTAINIUM, planetary scientist Dr. Amy Mainzer and producer Adam Sigel revisit their conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson for a wide-ranging trip through science, science fiction and geek culture.
Neil reveals why he once imagined himself as “Protector of the Geeks,” explains why the Marvel Universe has a scientific edge over other superhero worlds, and shares his personal rule for giving filmmakers a “hall pass” when the physics isn't quite right.
Along the way, we get Neil’s takes on the scientifically impossible storm that launches The Martian, why we happily accept the flux capacitor in Back to the Future, whether real physics could make time travel possible, why he'd rather visit the future than the past, and which ideas might someday let us cross the enormous distances between the stars.
Plus: faster-than-light travel, cryosleep, alien civilizations, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Comic-Con, superheroes, atomic wedgies, and the Revenge of the Nerds.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out our full episode with Neil deGrasse Tyson on STAR WARS, the Force, and the science behind a galaxy far, far away.
UNOBTAINIUM explores the real science behind the movies and television we love, with scientists, filmmakers and other extraordinary guests.
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What’s lurking in the unexplored deep? Liquid Breathing, Decompression Issues, & Alien Sea Life in James Cameron’s mysterious film The Abyss with marine geomicrobiologist Dr. Tina Treude
8 september 2026 · 46 min
Episode Description Lees meer
Could humans really breathe liquid? Could we actually live hundreds of meters beneath the ocean—and what might be waiting for us in the unexplored deep?
In this episode of UNOBTAINIUM, hosts Amy and Adam “dive” into the science behind James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi classic THE ABYSS with Dr. Tina Treude, UCLA professor and expert in marine geomicrobiology.
The biggest mystery of all is how much of the deep ocean have we actually explored. Scientists continue to encounter species they’ve never seen before, reminding us that some of the most alien environments we know of are right here on Earth. James Cameron imagined an alien world at the bottom of our own ocean. The remarkable thing is how alien the real one already is.
Hosts Dr. Amy Mainzer and Adam Sigel welcome guest Dr. Tina Treude, a UCLA professor of marine geomicrobiology. They analyze James Cameron's 1989 sci-fi film The Abyss, noting its accurate depiction of deep-sea pressure dynamics.
Gas Solubility & The Bends: Under high pressure, gases like nitrogen dissolve faster into a diver's bloodstream. Rapid ascents cause dissolved nitrogen to form gas bubbles, causing decompression sickness ("the bends"), which can block nervous system connections and prove fatal.
Decompression Protocols: To avoid decompression sickness, technical divers entering high-pressure environments must undergo controlled decompression in chambers—often lasting days or weeks—to allow nitrogen to slowly diffuse out of the body.
2. The Science of Liquid Breathing
The famous scene where a rat breathes oxygenated fluorocarbon fluid reflects real scientific experiments.
Mechanism & Benefits: Breathing oxygenated fluorocarbon emulsion prevents lung collapse at extreme depths because liquids are incompressible under pressure.
The Physical Limitation: While fluorocarbons can deliver adequate oxygen to the lungs, human respiration with liquids is bottlenecked by fluid viscosity and CO2 removal. Moving dense fluid in a…
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Could a Snake Robot Find Alien Life? | Mars, Enceladus & the Future of Space Robotics
1 september 2026 · 10 min
What does it take to build a robot that can explore another world—and maybe even help us find extraterrestrial life? Lees meer
In this special bonus mini-episode of UNOBTAINIUM, roboticist Dr. Hiro Ono takes us from the surface of Mars to the hidden ocean of Enceladus, Saturn’s icy moon.
Hiro, who joined us for our episode on BLADE RUNNER and the future of robotics, worked on the Mars Perseverance rover, helping develop autonomous vision systems that allow a robot millions of miles from Earth to understand its surroundings and navigate the Martian landscape. With signals between Earth and Mars taking minutes to arrive, a rover can't simply wait for a human to tell it what to do—it needs some ability to perceive, decide and act for itself. Then we travel much farther out.
Hiro explains the thinking behind EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor), a snake-like robot designed to tackle one of the wildest challenges in planetary exploration: navigating the cracks in the icy crust of Enceladus, where scientists believe a vast liquid-water ocean lies beneath the surface. Could an adaptable robot someday follow those pathways beneath the ice—and search an alien ocean for signs of life? It’s a fascinating look at AI, machine vision, autonomous robots, Mars exploration, astrobiology, Enceladus and the engineering we may need to explore some of the most promising places for life beyond Earth.
And if you enjoy Hiro here, check out our full BLADE RUNNER episode, where we explore how close today's robots and artificial intelligence are getting to the science fiction imagined on screen.
Subscribe to UNOBTAINIUM for more conversations about the surprising science behind the movies and TV we love.
Follow Unobtainium Podcast!
Website: unobtainiumpodcast.com
Stay connected:
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Could the Rage Virus in 28 Days Later actually happen? Dr. Seema Yasmin joins us to unpack the terrifying real science of viruses, outbreaks, R-naught, and why this horror classic hits very differently after COVID.
25 augustus 2026 · 42 min
Is the "Rage Virus" in 28 Days Later scientifically plausible? Amy and Adam sit down with Dr. Sima Yasmin—medical doctor, former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, author and disease detective! – to separate the real science of viruses and pandemics from one of cinema’s most frightening fictional outbreaks. What exactly is a virus—and is it even alive? Could scientists really use a virus to alter human behavior? Why are viruses used as vectors in cutting-edge gene therapies (like CAR-T cancer therapy)? They also discuss incubation periods, the math of R-naught, split-brain Klüver-Bucy syndrome, and how real is the "Rage Virus" in Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's classic 2002 film 28 Days Later. Lees meer
Full Summary
Hosts Dr. Amy Mainzer (UCLA planetary scientist) and Adam Sigel (Hollywood writer/producer) welcome guest Dr. Sima Yasmin, a medical doctor and former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Officer.
Are Viruses Alive? Dr. Yasmin explains that viruses are non-living packages of genetic material (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein capsid. They cannot replicate independently and must hijack host cellular machinery to reproduce.
Viral DNA in Humans: Estimates suggest that 10% to 12% of the human genome is viral in origin. Over millions of years, ancestral viral infections integrated permanently into human DNA.
2. Viral Vectors: Science vs. Cinematic Tropes
In 28 Days Later, scientists at a Cambridge laboratory use an Ebola-based viral vector to alter primate behavior.
Real-World Viral Vectors: Humans have used viruses as delivery mechanisms since 1972. In modern medicine (such as CAR-T cancer therapy), harmless viruses (like Adeno-Associated Viruses or AAVs) are modified to carry therapeutic genes into human cells to train the immune system against cancer.
Movie vs. Reality: In real life, medical researchers use non-pathogenic viruses as vectors rather than lethal filoviruses like Ebola. Furthermore, while Ebola in movies is depicted as causing external bleeding fro…
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More on Astrobiology with Dr. Betül Kaçar
18 augustus 2026 · 10 min
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Why We Deny Scientific Warnings? A Deep Dive into the Science of Climate Change, Searching for Hope, and the Art of Integrating Science into Emotional and Evocative Storytelling
11 augustus 2026 · 35 min
Episode Description Lees meer
What begins as a discussion of climate change expands into a deep dive into the science as well as the misinformation, political inertia, corruption and the psychology behind why societies struggle to respond to existential threats—even when the evidence is clear.
McKay discusses the real-world inspiration for the film, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, and why science and storytelling must work together if humanity hopes to solve its greatest challenges.
Full Summary
The Holocene Epoch & The Greenhouse Effect
Host Dr. Amy Mainzer (UCLA astrophysicist) and director Adam McKay open with a discussion on the fundamental stability of Earth's climate over the past 12,000 years (the Holocene epoch). This stable climate enabled the rise of organized human agriculture.
The Physics of Greenhouse Gases: Amy emphasizes that climate change physics is rooted in standard quantum mechanics. Molecules of greenhouse gases like CO2 absorb specific infrared light wavelengths emitted by the Earth, increasing molecular motion which manifests as trapped thermal energy.
Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI): McKay highlights the extreme rate of trapped energy entering the biosphere—equivalent to the energy of roughly 12 Hiroshima bombs per second—moving the global climate past normal seasonal variations at an unprecedented pace.
Science vs. Political Inaction & Media Gaslighting
McKay shares his experiences speaking with scientists, politicians, and media professionals. Despite unequivocal empirical data, political structures and profit-driven media ecosystems frequently downplay or miscommunicate existential threats.
Scientific Communication Dilemma: Scientists often struggle to convey urgent warnings without being labeled as alarmist or shut out of public discourse.
Evolutionary Blindspots: Humans are evolutionarily hardwired to react to immediate, visible threats (e.g., an approaching predator) rather than invisible or complex systemic crises (e.g., viruses, green…
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What’s our plan for a planet-killer comet? The facts about NASA’s Planetary Defense (Kinetic Impactors vs Armageddon Nukes) and more in Adam McKay’s film "Don’t Look Up."
4 augustus 2026 · 28 min
Episode Description Lees meer
How do long-period comets (like Comet NEOWISE) actually move, how NASA’s real-life Planetary Defense Coordination Office operates, and whether kinetic impactors (like the DART mission) or nuclear explosives could divert a planet-killing object? They also dive into why the film serves as a sharp allegory for climate change, pandemic responses, corporate greed, and the politicization of science.
Full Summary
Amy Mainzer (UCLA astrophysicist and science advisor on Don't Look Up) and Adam Sigel (Hollywood writer/producer) welcome writer/director Adam McKay to discuss balancing scientific accuracy with storytelling, and why making Don't Look Up required close collaboration between filmmakers and scientists. In reality, detecting and diverting a long-period comet would take roughly five years (and likely longer) to save humanity from the impact. This is the time needed for design reviews, international management, and spacecraft development. However, cinematic pacing demanded a condensed, high-stakes timeline.
Asteroids, Comets and NASA's Planetary Defense
Orbital Mechanics: To fit the film's timeline realistically, Dr. Mainzer modeled the fictional threat after long-period comets coming from the outer solar system (similar to Comet NEOWISE, discovered in 2020). These objects approach the Sun rapidly on their first appearance, limiting advance warning.
NASA’s Real Planetary Defense: The film’s "Oglethorpe" character reflects NASA’s actual Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which coordinates with international space agencies and emergency response networks (like FEMA) to track potential threats and plan mitigation strategies.
Kinetic Impactors (The DART Mission): Kinetic redirection—knocking an object off-course by crashing a spacecraft into it. NASA successfully demonstrated this with the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, altering an asteroid’s orbital speed. However, kinetic impactors require years of lead time to successful…
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How Real is the Science in Star Trek? Amy and Adam Talk Terraforming, Genetic Engineering, and Trekkie Love for the Wrath of Khan
28 juli 2026 · 40 min
Episode Description Lees meer
In this episode of The Unobtainium Podcast, Amy shows her true Trekkie colors as she and Adam unpack the science and themes of the beloved TOS cast film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Together, they explore the ethical dilemmas of genetic engineering, eugenics, and CRISPR, along with the real-world science behind planet and star formation and the possibilities of terraforming dead planets. They also discuss why Khan Noonien Singh remains one of the franchise's best villains.
Whether you're a lifelong Trekkie, a casual science fiction fan, or simply curious about the real science behind classic movies, this episode separates science fact from science fiction while celebrating one of the most beloved films in the Star Trek Universe.
Full Summary
Hosts Amy Mainzer (UCLA astrophysicist) and Adam Sigel (Hollywood writer/producer) discuss Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and why it remains the definitive TOS cast Star Trek movie. Released in 1982, the film marked a major cinematic evolution for the franchise, transitioning from 1960s TV camp to a high-stakes, narrative-driven space opera tackling mature themes like aging, mortality, and transformation.
Genetic Engineering & Khan’s Origins
· Eugenics and CRISPR: The villain Khan Noonien Singh (played by Ricardo Montalbán) is a genetically engineered "superman" from 20th-century Earth. Designed to be ten times stronger and smarter than average humans, Khan and his followers eventually became dictators during the Eugenics Wars.
· Ethical Dilemmas: The hosts connect Khan’s backstory to modern genetic tools like CRISPR and selective breeding. The narrative raises the ethical question: Does superior physical or mental capacity give individuals the moral authority to rule over others?
The "Genesis Device" vs. Real Astrophysics
The conversation then turns to the film's legendary Genesis Device, examining whether terraforming could ever become reality. In the film, Project Genesis offers a technology…
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Is a “Severance” Split Brain possible? How Are Memories Formed? Can Different Aspects of Personality Be Isolated Inside the Brain? Memory, Identity, and Neuroplasticity with David Eagleman
21 juli 2026 · 42 min
Could your mind really be split in two? Can a chip in your brain divide your work life from your personal life? Lees meer
Hosts astrophysicist and UCLA Professor Dr. Amy Mainzer and writer/producer Adam Sigel welcome back Stanford neuroscientist, author and creator of Inner Cosmos, David Eagleman, who also serves as a science consultant for Severance Season 3. Adam references the Hollywood development term "science-faction" to describe the show—a blend of fiction rooted heavily in real-world scientific possibilities. The core premise of the show explores the ultimate, extreme form of satirical work-life balance: surgically separating an individual's memories between their corporate life ("innies") and personal life ("outies").
How the Brain Processes Memory
To understand how a "severance chip" might function, Dr. Eagleman breaks down the fundamental mechanics of the human brain:
The Electrochemical System: The roughly 86 billion neurons in the brain fire electrical signals down axons, releasing chemicals to interact with neighboring cells.
Associative Neural Networks: Unlike computers, human memory functions as an interconnected web. Hearing a single word instantly triggers a vast, non-linear network of related memories, experiences, and references.
The Coalition of Memories: Debunking the "Grandmother Cell" (the idea that a single neuron holds a specific memory), memories are actually distributed across vast coalitions of millions of interconnected neurons working in unison.
The Mechanics of a "Severance Chip"
Dr. Eagleman, who consulted on the science for Severance Season 3, proposes a real-world hypothesis for how the fictional procedure could work. Rather than physically cutting parts of the brain, the chip would act as an electrical coding switch:
An implanted chip applies a distinct electrical code to the employee's active thoughts at work. The neurons marked with this specific "work code" only connect with a other work-tagged neurons, stopping their neural pa…
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Mining on the Moon? Explore the possibilities of Fusion Using Helium-3, a New AI Computer in Space, and the Ethics of Reaching Humanity's Next Frontier with Lunar Expert Dave Paige
14 juli 2026 · 42 min
Is the 2009 movie Moon pure fiction, or is lunar mining the future of clean energy? Could automated harvesters actually strip-mine the lunar surface regolith (moon soil)? Could we really harvest enough helium-3 to power nuclear fusion reactors on Earth? Is it possible to build a permanent moon base via NASA's Artemis missions? Lees meer
In this episode of the Unobtainium podcast, hosts astrophysicist and UCLA Professor Dr. Amy Mainzer and writer/producer Adam Sigel dive into a fascinating Moon movie breakdown. Directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son) on a modest $5 million budget, the outstanding 2009 Moon is widely celebrated as one of the best hard science fiction movies in the last 20 years. To separate cinematic fiction from orbital reality, the hosts are joined by a leading lunar and Mars expert: Dr. Dave Paige from UCLA’s Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences.
The Reality of Lunar Mining and Helium-3 Fusion
The central conceit of Moon revolves around a massive industrial operation by Lunar Industries to harvest helium-3 from the Moon’s surface to power clean nuclear fusion back on Earth. Dr. Paige suggests that mining the Moon at an industrial scale introduces massive economic and physical hurdles. Unlike nuclear fission (which splits heavy atoms), nuclear fusion jams light atoms together to release an immense amount of energy. While the movie positions helium-3 as an easily fusible miracle isotope that offers an "aneutronic" reaction (meaning it doesn't emit destructive neutrons), Dr. Paige points out a major real-world catch: a helium-3 reaction actually requires temperatures five times higher than standard hydrogen isotopes—billions of degrees Celsius—making it incredibly difficult to harness.
Scraping the Lunar Regolith: A Scarred Moon?
Helium-3 is an ultra-rare primordial isotope created just 20 seconds after the Big Bang. While it is virtually non-existent on Earth, it has accumulated for billions of years in the lunar regolith (lunar soil) …
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Why is a parasitic alien so terrifying? From Facehuggers to Xenomorphs, we dissect Space Travel, Exoplanets, and the Enduring Nightmares Implanted Within This Sci-Fi Masterpiece .
7 juli 2026 · 36 min
What makes the deep-space horror classic film Alien (1979) one of the scariest science fiction movies ever made? Amy and Adam explore science, psychology, and the enduring power of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece. In space, no one can hear you scream—but there’s plenty to talk about. Lees meer
Full Summary
In this episode of the Unobtainium podcast, astrophysicist and planetary scientist Dr. Amy Mainzer (UCLA) and Hollywood writer-producer Adam Sigel break down Ridley Scott’s 1979 cinematic masterpiece, Alien in search of an answer to why this movie is one of the most terrifying sci-fi horror movies of all time. The hosts shift the lens to explore how the film grounds its cosmic dread in real-world evolutionary biology, planetary science, and a dash of quantum physics.
The Hollywood Tropes of Space Travel: Cryosleep and Faster-Than-Light Travel
The discussion kicks off with some quick math and a hint that the Nostromo navigates near the real star system Zeta Reticuli, located 37 light-years from Earth. In the film, the crew will travel this distance in just ten months, meaning they are moving at roughly 44 times the speed of light. Dr. Mainzer notes that while true faster-than-light travel is impossible under current scientific paradigms, the film cleverly suggests a quantum physics loophole involving theoretical particles called tachyons. The hosts also debate the practical limits of cryogenic sleep (hypersleep), noting that its inclusion adds a gritty, unglamorous layer of authenticity to space exploration.
The Search for Exoplanets and Extraterrestrial Life
As a planetary scientist, Amy bridges the gap between Hollywood fiction and modern astronomy. She reveals that over the last two decades, space telescopes like the Kepler mission have proven that nearly every star in the night sky hosts its own solar system. However, most known exoplanets discovered so far are hostile gas giants (like Jupiter or Saturn) or "super-Earths" lacking evidence of liquid water or breathable …
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Is Godzilla Fission or Fusion? From Radiation Mutation to Blue Atomic Breath, Nuclear Physicist Stephanie Diem Unpacks This Superb Homage Monster Movie.
30 juni 2026 · 41 min
Episode Description Lees meer
Is Godzilla Minus One just a wonderful homage to the classic monster movies or is it the ultimate warning about nuclear energy? 🦖⚛️
In this episode of Unobtainium, Adam and Amy break down the real science, historical context, and emotional power of Godzilla Minus One. Joining the conversation is Professor Stephanie Diem, a nuclear physicist and engineer, and Professor of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to separate nuclear facts from the King of the Monsters science fiction.
Along the way, they discuss the difference between fission and fusion, the realities of radiation, and the challenges of communicating complex science to the public. But the episode also digs into the film's deeper themes: postwar trauma, guilt, sacrifice, resilience, and humanity's complicated relationship with powerful technologies. The result is a fascinating look at how a giant radioactive lizard (or maybe a wayward dinosaur?) became cinema's most enduring metaphor for the atomic age. And why Godzilla Minus One resonated with audiences around the world.
From the history of postwar Japan to the cutting-edge future of clean energy, they’re unpacking it all!
Full Symmary
What makes Godzilla such an enduring pop culture icon? Godzilla Minus One took the world by storm, returning the King of Monsters to his terrifying roots as a symbol of nuclear destruction while delivering a deeply human story about trauma, survivor's guilt, and rebuilding after World War II.
In this episode of Unobtainium, Adam and Amy dive into the Godzilla science, history, and emotional power of the film with Professor Stephanie Diem, a nuclear engineer and professor of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They break down the realities of nuclear engineering, including the fundamental differences between nuclear fission vs. fusion, how real-world nuclear reactors work, and whether Godzilla's devastating atomic breath is scientifically closer to a …
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Can Robots Feel? Roboticist Hiro Ono joins us to explore consciousness, mortality, AI Robots, and what it means to be human as we discuss Ridley Scott’s thought-provoking sci-fi film Blade Runner.
23 juni 2026 · 39 min
Episode Description Lees meer
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 mortality play in shaping identity? From artificial intelligence and robotics to Roy Batty's famous "Tears in Rain" monologue, this conversation examines why Blade Runner remains the ultimate exploration of what it means to be human—and why its warnings feel more relevant in today's era of generative AI than ever before.
Full Episode Summary
What makes us human? More than forty years after its release, Blade Runner (1982) remains one of the most influential and thought-provoking science fiction films ever made. Ridley Scott's cyberpunk Neo-Noir masterpiece continues to trend today, shaping critical conversations around artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, consciousness, memory, identity, and the future relationship between humans and machines.
In this episode of Unobtainium, Adam and Amy sit down with roboticist Hiro Ono (Georgia Tech, formerly NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) to explore the real-world science behind Blade Runner, its iconic replicants, and the core themes first posed by Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The Science of AI and Humanoid Robots
How close are modern autonomous systems and machine learning models to the human-like replicants imagined in the film? Could true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) ever emerge from neural networks? Together, the hosts and Hiro dive into whether an advanced machine can possess true …
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Alien Intelligence, Physics of Space, a Homicidal AI, and More with UCLA planetary scientist (and discoverer of the Kuiper Belt) Dave Jewitt on Kubrick’s Masterpiece
16 juni 2026 · 47 min
In this episode of Unobtainium, Amy, Adam, and UCLA planetary scientist Dave Jewitt (discoverer of the Kuiper Belt) explore Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey—a film that remains one of the most scientifically realistic depictions of humans in space and a transformational moment for sci-fi cinema. From the physics of artificial gravity and existing in vacuum to HAL 9000, human evolution (what’s the story with those actors playing the apes?), and the search for alien intelligence, the conversation examines what the movie gets right and where it bends the rules. And incredibly, why its mysteries continue to captivate scientists and audiences nearly sixty years later. Along the way, they discuss the possibility of advanced civilizations (plus the reason why the Monolith is black), the dangers of technology (poor Hal, are humans are the real problem?), the purpose of exploration, and the profound question at the heart of Kubrick's vision: what comes next for humanity? Lees meer
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For Dave Jewitt:
https://faculty.epss.ucla.edu/~jewitt/David_Jewitt.html
https://www.kavliprize.org/david-jewitt-autobiography
#Kubrick #2001aspaceodyssey #science #scifi #starchild #unobtainiumpodcast #physics #Kuiperbelt
#space #hal9000 #film #moviescience
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Is the Force real? From hyperspace to parsecs, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joins us to discuss the science of Star Wars.
9 juni 2026 · 33 min
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 evil, selflessness versus selfishness, the psychology of belief, and why the Force endures as a timeless metaphor for power, destiny, and transformation. Funny, philosophical, and deeply nerdy, the episode explores why Star Wars continues to shape modern culture nearly 50 years after its release. Lees meer
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Is It Actually Possible to Bring Back Dinosaurs? Unearthing Ancient DNA, CRISPR, Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park with Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar
2 juni 2026 · 31 min
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 years ago. Along the way, the episode explores the deeper themes that make the Jurassic Park films endure: scientific ambition, chaos theory, corporate greed, the ethics of de-extinction, and humanity’s endless desire to control nature — even when nature refuses to cooperate. Equal parts funny, philosophical, and scientifically grounded, the discussion reveals why Jurassic Park remains one of the most compelling science fiction franchises. Lees meer
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For Betül Kaçar :
Website: https://www.kacarlab.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betul.kacar.astro
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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
26 mei 2026 · 30 min
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? Lees meer
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 theory of relativity and real-world time dilation to wormholes, paradoxes, plutonium, and the narrative genius of a time-traveling DeLorean, the conversation moves between real physics and Hollywood storytelling craft.
The result is a lively exploration of why science fiction matters: not just because it predicts the future, but because it helps us imagine it.
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Lucid Dreaming Is Real, but Is Shared Dreaming Also Possible? David Eagleman Discusses Neuroscience of Dreams, Memory, Consciousness in Christopher Nolan's Inception
26 mei 2026 · 39 min
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. Lees meer
Also, they touch on related issues such as false memories, eyewitness testimony, processing grief, and the unsettling idea that our brains constantly rewrite reality. Along the way, they examine how Christopher Nolan’s film turns neuroscience into cinematic storytelling — using dreams not just as a sci-fi premise, but as a metaphor for filmmaking itself: the act of planting ideas inside someone else’s mind. The result is a fascinating exploration of consciousness, imagination, and why the line between reality and perception may be thinner than we think.
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Website: https://eagleman.com/
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Unobtainium Podcast Trailer (Meet the Hosts)
13 mei 2026 · 1 min
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. Lees meer
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