Severance’s Consulting Neurosurgeon Explains the Science behind the Show’s Brain Procedure

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if you could completely separate your work and personal life—with the help of a brain implant? That’s the unsettling premise of Severance, the hit Apple TV+ show that just wrapped its second season. To make the science fiction feel as real as possible, the creators brought in an actual neurosurgeon, Vijay Agarwal, chief of the Skull-Base Tumor Center at Montefiore Einstein, as a consultant for the show. Host Rachel Feltman met with Agarwal to break down the real neuroscience behind Severance—and whether a procedure like the one it depicts could ever exist. Mild spoilers ahead! We recommend you at least watch through episode seven of season two before you listen. Recommended reading: The Neuroscience of Severance: What’s Real? What’s Fake? What Severance Life Would Really Be Like, according to a Psychologist Email us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Here's the truth about AI.
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0:27.8	slash UK slash AI for people.
0:34.1	For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
0:38.3	Today we're talking about the science of severance.
0:42.3	What if, instead of struggling to find work-life balance, you could completely separate your
0:47.3	professional identity from your personal one?
0:52.3	That question kicks off the Apple TV Plus show Severance, which just wrapped up its second season.
0:58.8	In the world of the show, a company called Lumen Industries requires certain employees to undergo its severance procedure,
1:06.5	which its spokespeople say means you'll never have to take work home with you again.
1:12.0	It also means you have to get a microchip implanted into your brain.
1:16.8	To help make the procedure and its effects as realistic as possible, the folks behind
1:21.4	Severance brought on a real-life neurosurgeon to consult on the show.
1:26.0	Vijay Uggarwal is chief of the skull-based tumor center at Montefiore Einstein.
1:30.6	We sat down with him to get the inside scoop on the science of severance.
1:35.2	Before we get into the chat, I'll just give a brief spoiler warning.
	...

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