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Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

Meta Treks is a Trek.fm podcast dedicated to a deep examination of the philosophical ideas found in Star Trek. In each episode, Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison take you on a fascinating journey into the inner workings of Star Trek storytelling, deeper into subspace than you've ever traveled before.
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Now displaying: January, 2017
Jan 30, 2017

Voyager Season 6 - Essential Trek Philosophy.  

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling are joined by Kay Shaw (associated producer of Meta Treks and co-host of Trek.fm's dedicated Voyager podcast, To The Journey) to discuss their top picks for Essential Trek Philosophy from season 6 of Star Trek: Voyager. From questions of personal identity in the death and resurrection of Lyndsay Ballard in "Ashes to Ashes" to the trouble with conspiracy-theory reasoning in "The Voyager Conspiracy," Mike, Zachary, and Kay cover the philosophical themes and highlights of one of Voyager's strongest seasons.  

Chapters 
Welcome to Episode 56 (00:01:09) 
Initial Thoughts on Voyager Season 6 (00:04:55) 
Memorial (00:07:28) 
Dragon's Teeth (00:23:14) 
Blink of an Eye (00:32:14) 
Ashes to Ashes (00:44:40) 
The Voyager Conspiracy (00:54:06) 
Child's Play (00:58:36) 
Survival Instinct (01:04:47) 
Honorable Mentions (01:13:11) 
Recap and Final Thoughts (01:27:07)  

Hosts 
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling  

Guest 
Kay Shaw  

Production 
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Kit Loffstadt (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)  

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Jan 16, 2017

Ferengi Virtue Ethics. 

From the fur-wearing, whip-wielding villains of the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation to the more developed and nuanced Ferengi in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, profit is the underlying motive for practically all Ferengi action. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss Ferengi virtue ethics, or which character traits uniquely define the Ferengi. But is this drive for profit an essential biological or psychological Ferengi instinct, or is the drive for profit a culturally reinforced learned behavior? Join Zachary and Mike as they discuss the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition and the need for a kinder, gentler Ferenginar. 

Chapters
Welcome to Episode 55 (00:01:43)
Initial Thoughts on the Ferengi (00:02:52)
Rules of Acquisition: Rule-Based Ethics or Virtue Ethics? (00:06:25)
Profitability as an Underlying Ferengi Virtue (00:11:02)
Character Exceptions (00:14:35)
Ferengi Ed-Tech: Quark Speak & Spell (00:18:23)
Nature vs. Nurture - Instinct or Learned Behaviors? (00:21:10)
Nog - A Ferengi Out of Water (00:26:26)
Human/Ferengi Moral Role Reversal (00:32:58)
Ferengi Stoicism: "Nature Decays but Latinum Lasts Forever" (00:36:46)
How Should Ferengi Virtues Be Perceived by Non-Ferengi? (00:41:58)
Cultural Assimilation (00:46:18)
A Kinder, Gentler Ferenginar (00:49:56)
Ferengi Family Values (00:52:18)
Change of Heart - Saul to Paul and Zek to Rom (01:00:15)
Final Thoughts (01:02:08) 

Hosts
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison 

Production
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) 

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Jan 9, 2017

Paradoxes of Motion.  

From the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea to the 20th century physicist Albert Einstein, philosophers and scientists for thousands of years have been preoccupied with attempting to understand the seemingly paradoxical nature of motion. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling discuss three of the most famous paradoxes of motion: Zeno's Arrow Paradox, Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox, and the Twin Paradox from Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. Together Mike and Zachary recount their Star Trek themed interpretation of these classic paradoxes of motion: The Photon Torpedo Paradox, the Nenebek Paradox, and the Delaney Sisters Paradox.  

Chapters 
Welcome to Episode 54 (00:01:07) 
Initial Thoughts and Defining "Paradox" (00:02:38) 
Zeno's Arrow Paradox or The Photon Torpedo Paradox (00:06:16) 
Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox or The Nenebek Paradox (00:19:57) 
Einstein's Twin Paradox or The Delaney Sisters Paradox (00:28:25) 
Recap and Final Thoughts (00:45:28)  

Hosts 
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling  

Production 
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)  

Send us your feedback! 
Twitter: @trekfm 
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Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm 
Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact 
Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/ 
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Support the Network! 
Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

Jan 2, 2017

Children of Time.  

In the Deep Space Nine episode "Children of Time," Captain Sisko and company discover a planet with a colony of 8,000 descendants of the Defiant crew, the Defiant having been marooned 200 years in the past as a result of the attempt to escape the quantum bubble surrounding the planet. Forced to choose between saving the life of Major Kira and preserving the timeline and lives of their 8,000 descendants (dashing any hope of returning home to their lives and families on Deep Space Nine), Captain Sisko must weigh the lives of 8,000 colonists and descendants, the life of Major Kira, and the individual rights of the Defiant crew members to determine their own destiny.  

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the many philosophical themes and issues in "Children of Time." From phenomenological reflection on genealogy and legacy, to the competing rights at play in this episode's principle ethical dilemma, Zachary and Mike share their perspectives on "Children of Time" and the impact of multi-generational thinking on morality and ethics in the Star Trek universe.  

Chapters 
Welcome to Episode 53 (00:01:06) 
Comparison with Enterprise "E2" (00:02:00) 
Synopsis of "Children of Time" (00:05:09) 
The Phenomenology of Genealogy (00:08:53) 
Legacy and Legend - Multi-Generational Virtues (00:13:25) 
Worf's Mek'leth and the Things We Leave Behind (00:21:07) 
The Importance of Telling Our Stories (00:29:52) 
A Multilayered Ethical Dilemma - The Defiant Problem (00:33:06) 
The Episode's End - Resolving the Dilemma (00:38:28) 
Comparison with Judith Jarvis Thomson's Violinist Argument (00:41:54) 
A Change of Heart and Getting to Know People (00:49:28) 
Sacrificing the Duplicate Defiant Crew Members (00:55:34) 
Did Alt-Odo Do the Right Thing? (00:59:38) 
Temporal Time Lag (01:08:15) 
Final Thoughts - Quantum Duplicates and the Reset Button (01:12:23)  

Hosts 
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison  

Production 
Mike Morrison (Editor and Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)  

Send us your feedback! 
Twitter: @trekfm 
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Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact 
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Support the Network! 
Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

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