The NoSleep Podcast
Creative Reason Media
Fiction
Unobtainium Podcast
by Adam Sigel & Dr. Amy Mainzer
Today: #40 in Fiction on our combined chart.
Chart positions today
If you like Unobtainium Podcast, try…
The Adventure Zone
The McElroys
Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep
Dr. NoSleep Studios
EXTRA ANORMAL
iEX Studios
Relatos de la Noche
Sonoro
Table Read
iHeartPodcasts
Ranking history
History builds daily. We started tracking this show on the Fiction chart recently, so the trend line appears after a second day of data.
View as table
| Date | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 | #31 | #27 |
About the show
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.
Latest episodes
-
We came for Star Wars. We found something much bigger. Inside the Lucas Museum: Star Wars, Narrative Art, and the Power of Myth
September 22, 2026 · 44 minWhy 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 Narrative Art?…
-
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Superheroes, Time Travel, Aliens, Bad Movie Science and growing up in the geekosphere.
September 15, 2026 · 24 minWhat 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. In this…
-
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
September 8, 2026 · 46 minEpisode Description 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…
-
Could a Snake Robot Find Alien Life? | Mars, Enceladus & the Future of Space Robotics
September 1, 2026 · 10 minWhat 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 Mars to the hidden…
-
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.
August 25, 2026 · 42 minIs 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…
-
More on Astrobiology with Dr. Betül Kaçar
August 18, 2026 · 10 minHosted 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
August 11, 2026 · 35 minEpisode Description 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…
-
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."
August 4, 2026 · 28 minEpisode Description 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…