In this episode, Shashank and Barry continue their DS9 25th Anniversary celebration by deep diving the PoliTreks of some of the most dubious characters of the series. In no particular order, these characters offer a tonal shift in the Star Trek story as it developed through DS9's seven seasons. Along with news, that, at time of recording was not fully resolved (we are happy to hear all of the trapped Thai students and their coach were rescued safely, and we are sad to hear of the loss of one of the rescuers) we also look at how each of our respective countries celebrate their founding holidays.

In this episode, Barry and Shashank discuss, at length, toxic fandoms in the Star Trek Community, and in other communities.

Shashank takes into account a core logic of toxic behavior that exists within the current political world, and connects similarities to how many behaviors are mirrored by those who are abusive, hold a narrow view of what a fandom is, and can classically be seen as trolls.

Barry, on the other hand uses a perspective of Leftist philosophy to reveal how as political views and ideals change, so does fandom and franchises.

In News, Shashank and Barry do their best to stay measured while discussing the case of the 1500 children lost by ICE. Shashank shares a couple of odd poll numbers about some world leaders and Barry reacts. Shashank gives us an update on how his newly adopted puppy, General Zod, is doing.

For our main topic, special guest Amy Nelson who, among many other things, is a teacher joins Shashank and Barry who are also in the education field and talks about her love of teaching. The trio also discuss many topics in which Trek and education intersect such as: "How do we use Trek in the classroom?" Things get especially competitive when Trek merchandise in the classroom is brought up.

For our main topic, we have one question: IS EDWARD JELLICO GOOD? In the debut episode of DebateTreks, co-host Barry DeFord takes on TrekRanks host Jim Moorhouse in an epic war of words over the topic of Edward Jellico.

In News, co-host Shashank Avvaru shares his thoughts about the White House Correspondents Dinner controversy, the Iran deal and explains his absence in the news segment of the previous show.For our main topic, we have one question: IS EDWARD JELLICO GOOD? In the debut episode of DebateTreks, co-host Barry DeFord takes on TrekRanks host Jim Moorhouse in an epic war of words over the topic of Edward Jellico. One loves Jellico, the other loves hating him and neither of them are shy about holding back their opinions!

Moderator Shashank Avvaru hangs on and tries to make sense amid the chaos!

In this week's episode, Shashank and Barry sit down for a wonderful chat with Ryder Wilhelm, and Dan Deevy (the founder of Gaaays in Spaaace!) on the experience of being a member of the LGBTQ+ Community within Trek Fandom. This discussion is both entertaining and illuminating and we are sure you will enjoy it!

Section 25 is a series of PoliTreks episodes celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Through critical examination and comparison to the real world, Shashank and Barry rejoice in characters, episodes, moments, dialogs - everything DS9 in lists of twenty five. First up? Five of twenty-five Fascinating DS9 Characters: Kira, Tosk, Jem'Hadar, Tom Riker and the Grand Nagus.

Revenge politics, nasty tactics of the righteous, and space guerilla warfare! Shashank and Barry continue their 'PoliTreks Of' Series this time with a perennial favorite, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Join us for a rousing discussion of what political messages come from this movie and what i's real-world contexts and underpinnings can tell us about our society.

On our eighth episode of PoliTreks, Shashank and Barry delve deep into the political underpinnings of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in the first of our series - 'The PoliTreks Of'.

We look at working relationships and how people in higher positions can sometime usurp those in lower positions, how Artificial Intelligence poses a major existential threat to humankind (something TMP does well at portraying with V'ger), and how the TMP, along with Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Alien sets it among the great Sci-Fi movies that kicked off the genre in its modern form.

For Episode 7, Shashank and Barry get the distinguished pleasure to speak with Manu Saadia, author of 'Trekonomics'. This is the essential book on the discussion of what a 24th Century economy would really look like, socially, politically, and, of course, economically. Manu's book also challenges contemporary views on scarcity and offers changes to our own society. In our interview, we discuss the real-world implications of Trekonomics, along with deep dives into the salient points within his book. This was a joy to record and we hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode, Shashank and Barry delve deep into the message of environmentalism in Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Here we discuss the implications of the now 30+ year-old movie to our environmental situation today, how to approach the different challenges we face, and some the things that both Shashank and Barry have applied to their own life with regard to being stewards of the environment.

Take heart, there is good news along with some of the heavier things that are discussed and we look forward to the discussion with our listeners!