The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Latest Episodes:

Deep Dive: Pee-Wee Herman's Bike Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

David and Ryan are joined by reliable props expert Jay Skwarlo who has abandoned TIE Pilots for red bikes to discuss all things Pee Wee's Big Adventure for the film's 40th anniversary. The guys discuss every iteration of the 13 (!) bikes made for the movie, those Jay has handled, those he's restored, those he's still looking to meet ($10,000 reward offered), why Large Marge is still terrifying, whether Jay needs to consider changing his name now, and the enduring charm of this gem of the 1980s that gave us the genius of Paul Reubens and Tim Burton in one zany creative sundae. We wouldn't sell this episode for all the money in the world! Not for a hundred million, trillion, billion dollars!

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

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Upgrades Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

Today on the pod, David and Ryan discuss the thing that every collector seeks: making their collection better. Specifically, taking a piece in your collection and upgrading it. That can mean anything from going from production-made to screen-used, from stunt to hero, from un-matched to screen-matched and beyond! How do the guys approach an upgrade? How crazy does "needing" (we are sick people) an upgrade drive them? What's a delta? All that, some macroeconomic theory from Ryan, and more on this week's The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of!

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

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¡La Colección de Guillermo del Toro! Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

What's almost as good as getting the legendary Guillermo del Toro on the podcast to talk about his collection? Getting his collection on the podcast to talk about it! Join David and Ryan as they dive into the catalog for Heritage Auctions' Guillermo del Toro Collection: Bleak House, Part 1 coming to you live on September 26th! The guys cover everything from Cronos to Nightmare Alley with all the Hellboys, Pan's Labyrinths, and Shapes of Water in between! It's sure to be a truly unique, terrifying, and cinematic collecting event! Exclamation points!

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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Bonus Episode: The Propstore EMLA, LA Post-Auction Breakdown Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

On a very special, unscheduled, unsponsored episode of the podcast, David and Ryan hop on the mics to review the September 2025 Propstore auction. What did they win? What did they lose? What did they think of the results? Did David win a lightsaber? Did Ryan decide what to bid on? Hint: someone made some dough, and someone spent too much.

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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Mailbags are Our Bag Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Listener questions have piled up, so between auctions David and Ryan are diving in with their virtual letter openers to unseal and read. The questions and answers cover every kind of topic under the sun, including: buying pieces from reputable productions via disreputable vendors, buying pieces from disreputable productions via reputable vendors, the guys' favorite pieces by sentimentality factor, price trends in the hobby, House of the Dragon props, props we should really just give to our co-host (and visa-versa), preservation and restoration conversation, auction rules and minutiae, the Ghost of Greg Jein, and -- who's stronger, Mickey Mantle or Superman?

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

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Live on Tape: The September 2025 Propstore EMLA LA! Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

David and Ryan get on the blower to cover the categories and days 2 and 3 of the Propstore auction, which kicks off tomorrow, September 4th! Hear all about David's anxiety over Darth Vader's lightsaber and Ryan's over the sheer amount of Keaton Batman stuff he has look at before the auction really even begins. They discuss the little things they love that might fly beneath the radar as well as what they think the weirdest thing in the auction might be. And: what would their kids love? What would their wives hate? What would they buy for each other? Who is bidding on terrible Dean Cain props? What really /is/ the worst Prometheus prop? Oh yeah, and another update on fakes. They're comin' out of the walls, man!!

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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Deep Dive: The Lightsaber (Part 2) Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Lucasfilm (and laser sword) expert Brandon Alinger returns to the podcast a mere week before freaking Darth Vader's freaking hero lightsaber goes under the hammer at Propstore. Together, he, David, and Ryan discuss the lightsabers of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and dive deep into the Vader saber that Propstore discovered earlier this year. New Jedi secrets will be unearthed, new jokes will be made, and you will be dazzled. It's guaranteed.

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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The September 2025 Propstore EMLA... LA Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

It's Q4 and another massive auction season is nigh upon us. The fun kicks off with Propstore's September live auction and 1,400+ lots from all your favorite (and some unfavorite) films and TV shows. Join David and Ryan as they page through Day 1 of the sale and cover everything from 2010 to Zardoz and everything in between, including Clockwork orange canes, wonderful Batman toys, Indy whips (and belts), Jaws' jaws clappers, Sauron helmets, flashy things, hippie-slaying flamethrowers, the Rocketeer, Genesis devices, Picard's flute (Round 3 -- or is it 4?) and, of course, Darth Vader's Lightsaber. Join the guys for all the jokes and insights you've come to love and also for a very special Stuff Dreams Are Made Of career retrospective on Dean Cain.

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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Deep Dive: The Lightsaber Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

It's not as clumsy or as random as a blaster. It's an elegant weapon for a more civilized -- yadda yadda. The iconic weapon of the Jedi Knight is certainly in the zeitgeist these days. In September, Darth Vader's screen-matched hero fighting lightsaber will go under hammer at Propstore Auctions, a first for any screen-used piece in this very special category. To herald its coming, David and Ryan are joined by the person who probably knows more about the lightsabers of the original trilogy than anyone, Lucasfilm expert and COO of Propstore Los Angeles, Brandon Alinger. In Part 1 of this long and chunky deep-dive Brandon takes the guys through all the lightsabers of Star Wars: A New Hope. Come into our dark cave of knowledge. Your weapons -- you will not need them.

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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Deep Dive: Gremlins Edition Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

The inimitable Tom Spina returns to the podcast to shine a bright light on a topic he seems to know everything about: Gremlins and Mogwai. Having professionally restored almost 80 of the wee beasties, Tom regales David and Ryan with his knowledge of all the ins and outs of the stunts, heroes, marionettes, puppets, giant versions and SFX versions built for Joe Dante's Gremlins and Gremlins II and throws cold water on any Gremlins myths that might be stuck up your chimney of prop knowledge. But don't listen to this episode after midnight -- we at the Stuff Dreams Are Made Of can't be responsible for what might happen. Or for any of Ryan's Gremlins puns. ~Mogwai singing~

Email: dreamsaremadeofpodcast@gmail.com

SDAMO - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/propspodcast.bsky.social

SDAMO - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/propspodcast/

SDAMO - TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@props.podcast

David Mandel - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidhmandel/

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