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Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Aug 29, 2018

Untimely Ends for Star Trek’s Redshirts.

Set phasers to stun, use thrusters only while in spacedock, and—whatever you do—avoid the narrative! The last of these—taken from John Scalzi’s parodic novel Redshirts—might apply equally to Starfleet’s young supernumeraries and the ensigns of the novel’s Starship...


Aug 22, 2018

Star Trek Beyond in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, Duncan Barrett and Clara Cook host a network roundtable during a screening of Star Trek Beyond, accompanied by live orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Joining them are Amy Nelson of Earl Grey, Tony Robinson...


Aug 16, 2018

The Holodeck and Video Games.

For Starfleet’s avid gamers, the holodeck offers a seemingly endless repertoire of thrills. You can battle the Spartans at Thermopylae one minute and knock back a martini—shaken, not stirred—the next. And, you can do it all without leaving the safety (mortality subroutines...


Aug 2, 2018

Pandemics in Star Trek.


At times, the medical technology of the Federation seems almost miraculous, offering cures for pretty much everything short of the common cold (and, of course, baldness). But a sudden outbreak of an unfamiliar disease can leave Starfleet’s doctors racing to find a remedy before mass death...