51: Getting from Here to There

Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Star Trek’s Dark Ages.

Sanctuary districts. Eugenics Wars. World War III and the post-atomic horror. It seems clear that the period between our own time and the founding of Starfleet is not one of humanity’s finest chapters. In fact, for a franchise built on an optimistic view of tomorrow, Star Trek offers more than a few glimpses of a catastrophic future.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Tony Black to look at these Dark Ages in the imagined history that is Star Trek. What does it take—as far as Trek is concerned—to get from today to a utopian future? Are we heading in the right direction? Is there hope in technology? And how far into its own history can Star Trek dip before it becomes something fundamentally different?

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) World War III (00:09:15) First Contact (00:15:05) Augmented Realities (00:27:20) Regime Change (00:36:02) Earth Exit (00:47:40) The Truth Is Out There (00:59:45) Black Mirrors (01:07:15) Final Thoughts (01:22:45)

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Tony Black Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)