Ep 110 - Severance
- May 6
- 1 min read
Could your mind really be split in two?
In this episode of Unobtainium, hosts Dr. Amy Mainzer and Adam Sigel explore the astonishing neuroscience behind Severance, the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series that imagines a world where work memories and personal memories can be permanently separated.
Joining us is renowned neuroscientist, bestselling author, and creator of Inner Cosmos, David Eagleman, who explains what modern brain science actually says about memory, identity, consciousness, and whether anything like the "Severance procedure" could ever become reality.
How are memories formed? Could scientists erase traumatic experiences? Can different aspects of personality be isolated inside the brain? And what would happen if technology gave us the power to separate who we are at work from who we are at home?
Using one of television's most fascinating science fiction concepts as a launching point, this conversation explores the real science behind memory, neuroplasticity, artificial intelligence, consciousness, and the future of neuroscience.
Whether you're a fan of Severance, fascinated by the human brain, or simply curious about where science fiction meets real science, this episode will change the way you think about identity itself.
Topics include:
The real neuroscience behind Severance
David Eagleman on memory and identity
Can memories be erased or separated?
How consciousness emerges in the brain
Neuroplasticity and the future of brain technology
Science fiction vs. real neuroscience
Artificial intelligence and the human mind
The ethics of altering memory
Apple TV+'s Severance explained
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