Podcast Episodes
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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."
Season 1 Episode 112
Episode Description
How do long-period comets (like Comet NEOWISE) actually move, how NASA’s real-life Planetary Defense Coordination Office operates,…
2 months, 4 weeks ago
How Real is the Science in Star Trek? Amy and Adam Talk Terraforming, Genetic Engineering, and Trekkie Love for the Wrath of Khan
Season 1 Episode 111
Episode Description
In this episode of The Unobtainium Podcast, Amy shows her true Trekkie colors as she and Adam unpack the science and themes of the…
3 months ago
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
Season 1 Episode 110
Could your mind really be split in two? Can a chip in your brain divide your work life from your personal life?
Hosts astrophysicist and UCLA Profess…
3 months, 1 week ago
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
Season 1 Episode 109
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 …
3 months, 2 weeks ago
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 .
Season 1 Episode 108
What makes the deep-space horror classic film Alien (1979) one of the scariest science fiction movies ever made? Amy and Adam explore science, psycho…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Is Godzilla Fission or Fusion? From Radiation Mutation to Blue Atomic Breath, Nuclear Physicist Stephanie Diem Unpacks This Superb Homage Monster Movie.
Season 1 Episode 107
Episode Description
Is Godzilla Minus One just a wonderful homage to the classic monster movies or is it the ultimate warning about nuclear energy? 🦖…
4 months ago
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.
Season 1 Episode 106
Episode Description
Blade Runner is famous for its flying cars, neon cyberpunk skylines, and bioengineered replicants—but its most enduring questions …
4 months, 1 week ago
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
Season 1 Episode 105
In this episode of Unobtainium, Amy, Adam, and UCLA planetary scientist Dave Jewitt (discoverer of the Kuiper Belt) explore Stanley Kubrick's masterp…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Is the Force real? From hyperspace to parsecs, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joins us to discuss the science of Star Wars.
Season 1 Episode 104
In this episode of Unobtainium Podcast, hosts Adam and Amy sit down with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to unpack the science and mythology of St…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Is It Actually Possible to Bring Back Dinosaurs? Unearthing Ancient DNA, CRISPR, Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park with Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar
Season 1 Episode 103
In this episode of Unobtainium Podcast, hosts Adam Sigel and Amy Mainzer are joined by astrobiologist and evolutionary scientist Betül Kaçar to explo…
5 months ago