Enterprising Individuals

We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrek Discovery episode “Terra Firma, Part 2”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

Whether or not you want it, 2020 is coming to an end and we've got a look back at the past season of Enterprising Individuals episodes. Plus, a tribute to dearly departed author and friend of the show, Dave Galanter. May you find a better year waiting for you under the tree this Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Remember Dave with his online memorial!
http://www.dave-galanter.com

Help support the show when you shop on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/?tag=jet01-20&linkCode=ez

Learn the stories behind your favorite Trek episodes on Backtrekking!
http://www.twitter.com/backtrekking

Communicate with us on Facebook and Twitter and the Just Enough Trope Discord!
http://www.facebook.com/eistpod
http://www.twitter.com/eistpod
https://discord.gg/APk2cCy

Join our crew on Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/eistpod

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprising-individuals/id1113165661?mt=2

We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrek Discovery episode “Terra Firma, Part 1”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

Dr. Djoymi Baker joins the show this week to talk about Star Trek and mythic storytelling. The characters of Trek seem larger than life and it's not by accident; in addition to using the tropes of epic storytelling to enthrall and entertain its audience, the Trek franchise has striven to establish itself as modern mythology with iconic heroes. On the show, we discuss the ways in which Trek employs myth to market itself, the representation of "God" and religion in Trek, the "myth" of the Federations utopia, the epistolary nature of Trek storytelling, paratextual fan materials, being your own Mary Sue, casting Jesus as your captain, and why it's only "Deep Space" if you're not in your own backyard.

All this talk of religion and I forgot to make a "Faith of the Heart" joke!

Check out Djoymi's Book, "To Boldly Go", and read her thoughts about Star Trek: Picard!
https://amzn.to/3n62mfZ
http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2020/5/18/return-and-renewal-star-trek-picard-1-of-3-djoymi-baker-amp-roberta-pearson?rq=picard

Communicate with us on Facebook and Twitter and the Just Enough Trope Discord!
http://www.facebook.com/eistpod
http://www.twitter.com/eistpod
https://discord.gg/APk2cCy

Join our crew on Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/eistpod

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprising-individuals/id1113165661?mt=2

We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrek Discovery episode “The Sanctuary”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

Get ready to catch an important arrow as we wonder "Who Watches the Watchers"!

Data visualization engineer and designer Millie Pettit joins the show this week to discuss an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that presents a pitiless examination of Starfleet's most sacred law: the Prime Directive. While assisting a team of scientists observing a developing world, the Enterprise crew accidently reveals their existence to the planet's natives. Now, Picard must choose between letting a nascent society slip back into darkness or sacrificing his life to protect their future!

The Federation holds sentient life in the highest regard, but that tenet of their egalitarian philosophy comes with the strictest prescription. In seeking to avoid "playing God" with disadvantaged societies, Starfleet captains are often called on to make choices even gods would find daunting. On this episode, we discuss the humanist catechisms of Federation society, the singularity of Trek's universe of morality, the presumption inherent in the Prime Directive, the utilitarian implications of the "needs of the many", Roddenberry's struggles in portraying a moral but areligious society, the godlike aliens of Star Trek, and the godlike power of a Starfleet captain.

We also discuss the navel-gazing of intergalactic liberalism, data visualization now and in Trek's future, ROCK CLIMBING, no sympathy for goo monsters, altruism as a fictional technology, who gets trolley'd, the REAL Picard maneuver, why you need a Chad scientist, genetic haircuts, Kirk vs. Jesus, Rorschach, Bobby Hill, a ton of sci-fi allusions, and our first Foundation reference!

"Have I failed you in some way?"

Follow Mollie on Twitter and check out her study on Wesley episodes!
https://twitter.com/mollzmp
https://datascopeanalytics.com/blog/wesley-crushes-ratings

Learn the story behind your favorite Trek stories with BackTrekking!
http://www.twitter.com/backtrekking

Argue philosophy with us on Facebook and Twitter and the Just Enough Trope Discord!
http://www.facebook.com/eistpod
http://www.twitter.com/eistpod
https://discord.gg/UeytGNP

Buy us a compound bow on Patreon and Ko-Fi!
http://www.patreon.com/eistpod
https://ko-fi.com/E1E01M2UA

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprising-individuals/id1113165661?mt=2

We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrek Discovery episode “Unification III”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

This week, The Star Trek Communist Will Nguyen joins the show to talk about Marxism and socialism in the Star Trek franchise! Everyone gets that no money, replicators, and an equal distribution of wealth is how the Federation became a utopia, but maybe it's not quite that simple. On the show, we talk about the flaws in Trek's "socialist" utopia, how money doesn't equal capitalism, the parallels between the USSR and the Federation, Space Che Guevara, "degenerated space worker state", DS9 as the ultimate laboratory for examining space economy, the challenges of 2020 that capitalism is failing to meet, and why we can't wait for replicators to build a socialist society.

#RIP Herb

Follow Will on Twitter and check out the podcast!
https://twitter.com/boomerniner
https://socialistrevolution.org

Communicate with us on Facebook and Twitter and the Just Enough Trope Discord!
http://www.facebook.com/eistpod
http://www.twitter.com/eistpod
https://discord.gg/APk2cCy

Join our crew on Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/eistpod

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprising-individuals/id1113165661?mt=2

We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrek Discovery episode “Scavengers”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

Slip on your lobe enhancers because we're learning the "Rules of Acquisition"!

Author and educator Cassandra Rose Clarke joins the show this week to discuss an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in which Quark gets a lesson in Ferengi inequality. When Grand Nagus Zek wants to expand Alliance trade into the Gamma Quadrant, he picks Quark as his front man. But when Quark picks a female Ferengi posing as a male as his partner, he'll learn an uncomfortable truth: that females have the lobes for business, too!

The Ferengi went from weird, whip-wielding cavemen to sophisticated and complex players on the global stage and their resulting story potential increased exponentially. Through their seemingly ludicrous society of oppression and obsession with wealth, the writers behind Star Trek were given a foil for the egalitarian and moneyless Federation and a way to comment on modern American sentiment and late-stage capitalism. On this episode, we discuss the stark realities of the Ferengi worldview and Ferengi society, the heroism and courage of a tragic character like Pel, violence as an economic tool, the way that capital beats even the explorers to uncharted territory, the assumed problematic nature of the Ferengi's portrayal, and the ways in which the federation might deal with "unenlightened" cultures.

We also discuss the all-age appeal of Trek, namedropping the Dominion, How to Succeed in Business by Crossdressing, the perspective of a 900 year lifespan, the "Zeroth Directive", the LGBTQ+ friendly future of the Federation, anarcho-capitalism hold the "capital", the transparent aluminum ceiling, ear pills, wingman Dax, gettin' the yips, and tulaberries. Lots of tulaberries.

All this and Wallace Shawn, too!

Follow Cassandra on Twitter and learn more on her website!
https://twitter.com/seeorsea
https://www.cassandraroseclarke.com

Get Cassandra's latest novel, "Forget This Ever Happened", on Amazon!
https://amzn.to/2UHr8GY

Learn the story behind your favorite Trek stories with BackTrekking!
http://www.twitter.com/backtrekking

Play Tongo with us on Facebook and Twitter and the Just Enough Trope Discord!
http://www.facebook.com/eistpod
http://www.twitter.com/eistpod
https://discord.gg/UeytGNP

Buy us tulaberries on Patreon and Ko-Fi!
http://www.patreon.com/eistpod
https://ko-fi.com/E1E01M2UA

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprising-individuals/id1113165661?mt=2