Qapla'!  Nass rejoins us as we use the politically complex Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as a mirror for occupations and colonial policy, including the "making the desert bloom" trope and Odo's lesson about justice. 

 

We also discuss the tensions between the needs of space drama and political statement, the power dynamics of scarcity, the climate denial of Geordi La Forge, the "soft path" for water management, the radical potential of 3D printing, and why everyone pronounces Quark's name differently. 

 

Our five minute focus this week: Starmer?  Out of touch?  Never!  

 

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IMDB entry for S2e17 of TNG, "Samaritan Snare" 

 

IMDB entry for S5e2 of TNG, "Darmok" 

 

About the Tamarian language 

 

Keir Starmer has said he is a friend to Palestinians – but his latest speech doesn’t square with that - Richard Burden in The Independent (2021)  

 

I demonstrated against Tzipi Hotovely’s appearance at LSE. This is why - Sayf Abdeen in The Independent (2021) 

 

Russians - Sting (1985) —A snapshot from the Cold War 

 

Trekonomics - Manu Saadia (2016) on Hive  

 

Water management: Soft water paths - Peter Gleick (2016)  

 

6 reasons technology alone can't solve water scarcity - Will Sarni at Greenbiz (2014)  

 

LeVar Burton Reads “Face Value” by Sean Williams