(2017-) (83 episodes / 27 appearances)
A show which taps into my other great television love – Star Trek. Having found the Trek FM network via friend Zach Moore and guesting on his show Standard Orbit, I for a while wanted to create a show all about history & culture in relation to Trek, and once I heard the learned Duncan Barrett on Trek FM’s philosophy show Meta Treks, I knew he’d be the ideal flight partner for this one. I messaged him, ideas flew, and the rest is future history.
I have since stepped down as a co-host, but Primitive Culture is a thrill to research and record, and I am excited to appear semi-regularly as a guest to talk Trek.
2017
1 – Destroyers of Worlds
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, ENT’s Degra & VOY’s Jetrel
2 – LeVar Burton’s Stand In
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing The Manchurian Candidate in relation to TNG’s ‘The Mind’s Eye’
3 – One for the Hero, One for the Villain
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing The Wrath of Khan in relation to 19th century literature
Supplemental 1 – Caught off Guard
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing modern terrorism in relation to Trek
4 – Flirty Fly-Boys
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing the legacy of WW2 in TOS
5 – Computer, End Program!
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Westworld in relation to Trek’s holodeck
6 – Brave New Worlds
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Shakespeare in Trek (Part 1)
7 – Were I Human
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Shakespeare in Trek (Part 2)
8 – Not Futile
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing the Maquis in Trek and the French WW2 Resistance.
9 – Yippie-ki-yay
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Trek in relation to 90’s action movies
14 – The Trek is Out There
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Trek in relation to The X-Files
15 – Existence is Futile
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing time loops in Trek and beyond. Recorded live near London’s Trafalgar Square.
16 – More, More, More, More, More!
with Duncan Barrett, Clara Cook & Tony Robinson
Discussing ‘Directors Cuts’ of movies, including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Recorded live at the Prince Charles Cinema, London.
2018
24 – Heart of Lightness
with Duncan Barrett
Comparing Star Trek: Insurrection with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and talking Michael Piller’s Fade In.
26 – Clara Dropkicks a Borg
with Clara Cook
Fan fiction in Star Trek and as a whole, including my own foray into scripted Trek-fic, Star Trek: Premonition.
27 – The Purview of the Diplomats
with Duncan Barrett & Keith R.A. DeCandido
Star Trek and Federation politics, including comparisons to The West Wing and Keith’s book, Articles of the Federation. (Last episode as co-host of the show)
43 – Diversity Is Survival
with Duncan Barrett, Clara Cook, Tony Robinson, Lee Hutchison, Una McCormack and lots of Star Trek actors!
The first of three live episodes from Destination Star Trek 2018 at Birmingham’s NEC. I appear co-interviewing Alexander ‘Doctor Bashir’ Siddig, talking to Trek author Una McCormack about DS9, and previewing & reacting to DS9 documentary, What We Left Behind.
44 – From Space Nazis to the Starry Sea
with Duncan Barrett, Clara Cook, Lee Hutchison and Larry Nemecek
The second live at DST 2018 episode and quite a special one, as I feature in two live panels on the NEC Excelsior stage. The first discussing Trek and WW2, the second hosting a panel discussing the book, Star Trek: The Human Frontier, and Trek’s links to nautical literature.
45 – Weekly Trek
with Duncan Barrett, Clara Cook, Lee Hutchison, Tony Robinson, Rob Chapman and Rick Everson
The third and final live DST episode, from the Hilton Metropole hotel, talking about Trek’s links to repertory theatre.
2019
51 – Getting From Here to There
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing Star Trek’s ‘Dark Ages’; WW3, the post-atomic horror, and how near or far we may be as a species now to the Federation future.
58 – Eating Our Own Tail
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing fandom as related to Star Trek: Discovery and how we are falling heavily prey to nostalgia. See also Standard Orbit ‘TOS Season 0.5’.
61 – Checkmate!
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing games in Star Trek, particularly in relation to DS9 episode Move Along Home, and 1960’s TV series The Prisoner.
64 – Would I Lie to You?
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing the Rashomon effect in Star Trek, particularly around episodes such as TNG’s A Matter of Perspective and DS9’s Rules of Engagement.
70 – All the World’s A Bridge
with Duncan Barrett
Discussing, live from Destination Star Trek 2019, the role of the classically trained theatrical actor in Star Trek.
Cultural Conversation 