The Visitor.  

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophical themes in the fourth-season Deep Space Nine episode, "The Visitor." Inspired by Jake Sisko's passion for writing, Zachary and Mike discuss the relationship between creative writing, lived experience, and what the German philosopher Martin Heidegger called "Being-in-the-World." Zachary and Mike also discuss "The Visitor" as a phenomenological metaphor for various aspects of human experience, including interpersonal connection, parenthood, regret, aging, and the lifelong quest to rediscover one's true self.  

Chapters 
Intro (00:01:20) 
Initial Thoughts about DS9 "The Visitor" (00:02:46) 
Heidegger and "In-der-Weld-Sein" (00:03:44) 
Life Observed vs. Life Lived (00:10:39) 
Unresolved Moments in Time (00:18:29) 
Phenomenology of Human Experience (00:26:32) 
Metaphysical Personal Connection (00:30:16) 
Self-Sacrifice and Cutting the Cord (00:47:00) 
Experience and Change Over Time (00:51:43) 
The Old Defiant Crew Out of Mothballs (01:03:17) 
Final Thoughts (01:05:51) 
Closing (01:12:56)  

Hosts 
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison  

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