Picard: the moral center of Trek, supernovae, and Romulan stormtroopers

Episode #228 | 2020.02.11

Show Notes

In which we discuss the first three episodes

Picard

We missed you Jean-Luc! Picard as the moral center of Star Trek, and the greatest of its captains.

Romulan supernova

Romulans. How to tell a Vulkan from a Romulan? Exploding stars. Detecting supernovae. The death cycle of a red supergiant. The reliability of physics across timelines/universes. The dangers of cleaving planets.

Federation Economics

“Post scarcity” with holodecks and replicators, and the realization that there is still a limited resource: energy. Star Trek Kardashev levels.

Synthetic life

Data. Lore. Data’s “daughter” from that one time on TNG. Bio-synthetic intelligent life. How important is embodiment?

Links!

Picard: CBS All Access | Amazon
Star Trek Beyond: drone swarms, teleporters, and decompression w/ Jolene Creighton: Decipher SciFi
Star Trek First Contact: transhumanism technology and ant behavior w/ Jolene Creighton: Decipher SciFi
Star Trek IV – The Journey Home: whale margarine, transparent aluminum, and time travel: Decipher SciFi
Star Trek Voyager: water, galactic scales, and coffee replicators: Decipher SciFi
Galaxy Quest: the best Star Trek movie: Decipher SciFi
Star Trek TNG: Netflix
The Picard Song by DarkMateria: YouTube