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Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Aug 25, 2022

Autistic representation in Star Trek

“Perhaps you’re just different,” Tam Elbrun tells Data in the Next Generation episode “Tin Man.” “Not a sin, you know, though you may have heard otherwise.” Both characters—the emotionally sensitive Betazoid and the supposedly emotionless android—have been seen by...


Nov 6, 2020

Dan Davidson on how “Captive Pursuit” saved his life.

For many fans, Star Trek has been a force for good in their lives—but few can say with certainty that they wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for their favorite show.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, a supplement to the previous episode’s look at...


Oct 31, 2020

For Starfleet officers, saving lives is perhaps the most important part of the job, even more so than exploring the galaxy and making contact with new civilizations. So when a character such as Quinn, the Q in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Death Wish,” chooses to end their own life, it invariably comes as a...


Oct 30, 2019

Phobias in Star Trek.

Killer clowns! Crashing planes! Confined spaces! Crumpets? When our most deep-seated fears hold us hostage, our ability to make rational decisions flies out the airlock. What hope, then, for the transporter-phobic officer serving on a Federation starship, or the claustrophobic Cardassian living in...


Nov 3, 2018

Mental Health, Part II: From The Next Generation to Enterprise.


When Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987, there were two striking additions to the traditional bridge crew: Worf, an emblem of the newfound peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and Deanna Troi, a professional psychotherapist. A...