menu Home chevron_right
NEWS & CULTURE

How to understand your dreams & nightmares | The Gray Area

Vox | June 10, 2026



Sean talks with dream scientist Michelle Carr about what dreams are, why we have them, and what they might reveal about the mind. They discuss nightmares, lucid dreaming, memory, consciousness, and whether dreams are just random brain noise or a kind of overnight therapy. They also explore why dreams feel so real and what the strange world of sleep can teach us about waking life.

Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Michelle Carr

00:00 Intro
00:53 What are dreams for?
05:14 Are dreams simulations?
10:45 Why do we forget our dreams?
17:31 Why do we have nightmares?
26:31 What are lucid dreams?
41:28 Can lucid dreaming backfire?
42:51 Is there a connection between dreams and consciousness?

We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday.

Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members.
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what’s really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H

Written by Vox

Comments

This post currently has 10 comments.

  1. @Dead_pixelz_

    June 10, 2026 at 6:01 am

    Most of my dreams disappear after waking but I’ve had dreams that are like sequels to dreams I had months ago, and I feel the connection because it’ll be the same setting, the same feeling and characters. How the heck do I remember something from months ago but it vanished from my memory the morning I woke? What is the value in recalling that kind of dream? I guess it could just be false nostalgia, whatever the reason is for that, I guess I won’t know.

  2. @bermei5187

    June 10, 2026 at 6:01 am

    I think dreaming is simply just the body's way of keeping the brain alive the same way all your other organs need to keep working while you sleep.

Comments are closed.




This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play