Why We Dream

What are your dreams really telling you? Renowned sleep researcher Dr. Robert Stickgold joins Dr. Stieg to unravel the mysteries of dreaming. From the bizarre to the brilliant, dreams are a window into how the brain processes memory, emotion, and problem-solving. Learn why your brain needs to dream, how dreams shape your waking life, and what science says about interpreting them. Whether you're a vivid dreamer or rarely remember a thing, this episode will change the way you think about what your brain is doing when you go to sleep at night. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit

You can listen to Why We Dream online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Why We Dream is an episode from This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg by Dr. Phil Stieg.

This episode is 32:03 long.

This episode was published on Aug 8, 2025.

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