Show Notes
This week on Star Trek: The Pod Directive, Tawny and Paul meet up for a quick chat before Paul dives in solo with renowned environmentalist and professor Bill McKibben. From rainstorms and earthquakes on Risa to a quest to save two whales, Star Trek has always paid attention to issues of the environment, and McKibben has taken note. Together, Paul and Bill talk through issues of Global Warming, what makes environmentalism so crucial, and what Star Trek has done right that we can actually do and apply here in the real world. Remember to subscribe to Star Trek: The Pod Directive and, if you like what you hear, leave us an Apple review.
More from Star Trek: The Pod Directive
Where do fictional languages come from? How are they devised? Hear from the creator of the Klingon language, Marc Okrand, on his process of designing the famous conlang (constructed language) and his first few Star Trek gigs. You'd be surprised by the amount of vocabulary, syntax, and grammar that go into inventing the conlang. Host David Pogue also interviews language creator David Peterson on his conlangs, including Dothraki and High Valyrian from Game of Thrones, and Angela Carpenter, a linguistics professor at Wellesley College on the history of constructed languages. We'll be back with a new episode of the Pod Directive soon!
Ever wondered how warping would work in real life? Astrophysicist Dr. Erin Macdonald knows. Erin takes the inner workings of science and makes them possible in the science fiction universe we love on Star Trek. She also highlights one of her favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, “The Magnificent Ferengi”, because everyone loves an Iggy Pop appearance. This episode originally aired on May 17, 2021.
Author and actor John Hodgman is throwing it back with Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: The Original Series. He and our hosts analyze how these shows have impacted their views on interpersonal relationships and John dives into one of his favorite Next Generation episodes, “Lonely Among Us”. He is also desperately looking for a Judge Q costume if anyone has a spare! This episode originally aired on April 12, 2021.
Sir Patrick Stewart makes a special appearance on The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert. Following Colbert's commentary, he and Stewart discuss the final season of Star Trek: Picard. Stewart also shares tidbits about himself including how he stays so young, his role as King Oberon, and what he sees as the best way to start your day. This is an episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert originally aired in February 2023.
Creator of “All the Asians On Star Trek” and the “Angry Asian Man” blog, Phil Yu, discusses Asian representation in Star Trek and beyond. He speaks to his own experiences from watching Rosalind Chao as a kid to making it a mission to interview every Asian actor who has appeared on Star Trek. Throughout the years diversity has developed, but we’re also asking: What is meaningful representation? How is Asian representation doing in Star Trek and beyond? This episode originally aired on April 26, 2021.