Reel Science

Reel Science is an Inverse series that reveals the real (and fake) science behind your favorite movies and TV.

Lais Borges/Inverse; Marvel; Getty
Reel Science

The Past, Present, and (Possible) Future of Submersible Cars

ByJennifer Walter

Will James Bond’s ocean-ready sports car ever become a reality?

Science

The Hover Cars in Your Favorite Sci-Fi Movie Might Actually Be Possible

ByJohn Wenz

It all comes down to magnets.

Reel Science

Minority Report’s Greatest Prediction Isn’t the One You Think

ByJake Kleinman

Sure, the computers are cool, but a city with no traffic? Now there’s a utopia.

Science

Dollhouse’s Absurd Sci-Fi Premise Actually Got One Thing Right

ByTara Yarlagadda

There’s a pretty good chance you’ve “recalled” a fake memory at some point.

Reel Science

NASA Could Replace the ISS With a Space Station Design Straight Out of Sci-Fi

ByTara Yarlagadda

The O’Neill Cylinder has been a pop culture fixture for three decades, but its origins go back even further.

Reel Science

What 'Her' Can Teach Us About Love In the Age of Artificial Intimacy

ByBecca Caddy

10 years later, Spike Jonze sci-fi masterpiece has only become more poignant.

Reel Science

Are Body-Snatching Aliens a Real Threat to Humanity?

ByTara Yarlagadda

It could happen, according to the experts we interviewed.

Reel Science

'Poor Things' Overlooks One Fundamental Fact Of Human Psychology

ByElana Spivack

It turns out psychological development is difficult to portray with authenticity.

Reel Science

We Still Haven’t Learned Oldboy’s Most Potent Lesson

ByBecca Caddy

“I wanted to make something that felt too real,” director Park Chan-wook said upon the movie’s release in 2003.

Reel Science

What the Best Sci-Fi Franchise of the Century Got Right (and Wrong) About ChatGPT

ByBecca Caddy

“We should absolutely be worried that we humans will not be able to control the advanced AI systems we create.”