Unobtainium Podcast

Exploring the real science behind science fiction in film AI summary

Adam Sigel & Dr. Amy Mainzer Visit website › Fiction · EN · 23 episodes · latest 2026-11-03

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What it is about

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 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.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
2026 Cognito Entertainment. All rights reserved.

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Latest episodes

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?

2026-11-03 · 46 min · Season 1, episode 119

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…
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.

2026-10-23 · 42 min · Season 1, episode 118

What is a Black Hole?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"…
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.

2026-10-06 · 47 min · Season 1, episode 117

Episode DescriptionIn 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…
We came for Star Wars. We found something much bigger. Inside the Lucas Museum: Star Wars, Narrative Art, and the Power of Myth

2026-09-22 · 44 min · Season 1, episode 116

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?Come inside with us. What’s really inside George Lucas’s new Lucas Museum of…
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Superheroes, Time Travel, Aliens, Bad Movie Science and growing up in the geekosphere.

2026-09-15 · 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…
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

2026-09-08 · 46 min · Season 1, episode 115

Episode DescriptionCould 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…
Could a Snake Robot Find Alien Life? | Mars, Enceladus & the Future of Space Robotics

2026-09-01 · 10 min

What does it take to build a robot that can explore another world—and maybe even help us find extraterrestrial life?In this special bonus mini-episode of UNOBTAINIUM, roboticist Dr. Hiro Ono takes us from the surface of…
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.

2026-08-25 · 42 min · Season 1, episode 114

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…
More on Astrobiology with Dr. Betül Kaçar

2026-08-18 · 10 min

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

2026-08-11 · 35 min · Season 1, episode 113

Episode DescriptionWhat 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…

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Publisher details

Owner: Cognito Entertainment
Oldest episode in feed: 05/2026
Typical length: 33 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone
Keywords: Science Fiction, Sci-Fi, Movie Podcast, Science Podcast, Science Behind Movies, Film Analysis, Movie Science, Movies

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