Antimatter Pod

Anika and Liz put on their least comfortable lounging clothes and settle in to discuss Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 6, episode 22, "Suspicions". Why is Beverly Crusher hosting an astrophysics conference? And other questions that will forever go unanswered However, this episode, which makes no sense in the context of TNG, makes a LOT of sense in the context of Star Trek: Picard, and its theme of marginalised people doing SCIENCE is resonant in 2025 You're not gonna believe this, but you can't actually just substitute Beverly for Geordi and Worf and not make any other changes to a story Breaking down the Star Trek monocultures This unremarkable episode has one of Picard's best speeches in the entire franchise Beverly Crusher puts on heels and pantyhose to lounge around at home, because athleisurewear had not yet been invited in 1993 PITCH: the next streaming movie should be about Philippa Georgiou and Guinan DOING A HEIST

It's our 200th episode! A victory for quantity over quality and our small, chill audience of friends! To celebrate, Anika and Liz are talking about Star Trek: Open A Channel - A Woman's Trek, Nana Visitor's book about women in Star Trek.  Open A Channel is much more substantial than just girl power feminism. How Lucille Ball was erased from Star Trek's narrative The throughline of mentorship We gently interrogate Nana Visitor's second wave biases We also have two separate (but related) rants about Janice Rand and the "glorified secretary" concept Hair Trek Marina Sirtis versus … a lot of people Bodyshaming from fandom. "The idea that fat people should not exist in your utopia is really horrible and RFK Jr coded." The editorial decision to exclude Michelle Hurd

Anika and Liz don their sparkliest shirts and biggest earrings, and sit down to watch Star Trek: Of Gods And Men, a fan film starring Nichelle Nichols, Alan Ruck, Walter Koenig and more. You can watch it here, or -- in a much smaller window -- watch an unauthorised HD remaster.  We're in our Alan Ruck era, but we were not prepared for the unbelievable hotness of Garrett Wang, or the SURPRISE LIBERTARIANISM. We take … issue. With the timeline-changing catalyst.  This comment from a Redditor who claims to have worked on the production sets it in context.  Of Gods and Men is in conversation with the other science fiction of its era (2006-2008) in an interesting way. Nichelle Nichols carried this movie, and it is tragic she never got a showcase like this in official Trek Alternate Universe Chekov is a LIBERTARIAN FREEDOM FIGHTER with an unspeakable wig Alan Ruck and Chase Masterton have great chemistry The costumes are … hmm. Well. You should know that the entire time Anika is talking about Alien Nation, Liz was thinking of Coneheads

Liz takes a deep dive into Usenet archives and tells Anika about fandom's earliest discussions of Star Trek: Deep Space 9! (Please note, we are still having audio problems -- despite literally nothing changing in our set ups, Liz's feed is echoing on Anika's channel. This means Anika had to be muted for a lot of the time. At this point we may have to get two tin cans and a really big ball of string to record…)  What was Usenet? (Please do not fact check Liz on the technical details.) And who was using it? The initial response to DS9 before "Emissary" aired… …and after. Here's Roger Tang's 5 January 1993 post with his impressions: "EMISSARY betrayed far too many of the storytelling flaws that have plague[d] TNG over the last two-three years." The very gendered language of the era: Picard and Bashir are "weenies", Dax and Kira are "chicks", but Dax is also a "bimbo" or "airhead" and Kira "has balls". And that's before we get to the slurs… Anika defends Terry Farrell from the Trekkies of 32 years ago. We may not be a Pittcast, but we ARE ride or die for Trinity Santos, thank you for asking. Michael Lee Jacobs' commentary on "Emissary": "It was almost painful to watch TNG right after the two wonderful hours of DS9 this evening." How much are these Usenet posters representative of the wider fandom? Where were other conversations taking place?  Babylon 5 was The Orville of the 1990s, in terms of its fans coming into Star Trek spaces to say, "Stop watching that new Trek with the Black lead, this show with the white dude is way better!" A really fascinating (and incomplete) debate about whether the Garak/Bashir interactions in "Past Prologue" were intended as a homophobic depiction of queerness. A bunch of straight men say no!  The one thing from this era (and the years following it) that we would like to bring back is people sharing their long-form thoughts on new episodes of TV. Like this post on "Duet" which Liz didn't get around to talking about! Finally, shout out to this prediction, a week after "Emissary" aired, which was completely wrong but also … kind of right?

Anika and Liz apply a normal amount of hair gel and step into a grim alternate universe to discuss Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Yesterday's Enterprise", including... Is this TNG's best episode? It could be! This story turns on Picard absolutely trusting the word of a Black woman Rachel Garrett was Liz's very first female starship captain The original premise for this episode is FULLY BONKERS "Yesterday's Enterprise" takes a completely novel approach to writing Tasha: what if she's just good at her job?  We engage in a bit of Sela Discourse, because why not? "Yesterday's Enterprise" sets the template for Discovery

Anika and Liz are joined by guest Jonathan to discuss a movie Jonathan calls "the greatest Star Trek movie ever made": Star Trek: Generations. Our feels run the spectrum: Jonathan loves it, Liz loves everything except the plot and script, and Anika is … not a fan.  Everything that happens on the Enterprise B is the fault of Starfleet PR This is a movie that mistrusts nostalgia, but also believes really strongly in heterosexual domesticity, which makes for an interesting internal conflict Generations gives us the very first glimpse of the fourth estate in the world of Star Trek Anika argues that Picard's arc in this film is necessary for season 3 of Star Trek: Picard to work Liz and Anika have a LOT of feelings about Rene Picard Jonathan suggests that modern nostalgia-driven franchise media is the Nexus. "The '90s are something that everybody wants to go back to, and I promise you, you do not want to go back." It's funny how Kirk's fantasy life is basically cosplaying as Chris Pike (SNW edition) Is the Nexus the real villain of this movie?

Anika and Liz are here to discuss the NEW and WIDELY REVILED streaming movie Star Trek: Section 31. And here's Antimatter Pod's hottest take yet: we ... liked it? Not because it's good! (It's not!) But ... well, have a listen while we discuss... We feel cheated that we didn't get series that Erika Lippoldt and Bo-yeon Kim wrote But is it Star Trek? Yes. Next question! We are intrigued by Georgiou's decision to go into the hospitality industry Rachel Garrett is not quite a fully-fledged character, but she has enough potential that we're sad we'll probably never Kasey Ruhl in the role again Farscape, Alias and Enterprise vibes Is Zeph a transphobic joke in human form?  The costumes by far were the best part of the movie and we have a lot to say about Rachel Garrett's collection of blue pageboy wigs

Anika and Liz don their gaudiest statement necklaces and medallions and get the band back together for an adventure in Millennial Greige, 46 years before TikTok invented that concept. Yes! It's time to discuss Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and yes, this episode is 90 minutes long, but please note that's still shorter than the movie itself. And we have a lot to talk about! Such as... Content note: In 2014, actor Stephen Collins admitted to "inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors". We have chosen to talk about his character, but not his performance - as far as the two can be separated.  Hot take: we like The Motion Picture Anika argues that Spock is the protagonist of The Motion Picture. Kirk is also in this movie. It's too often forgotten that Persis Khambatta is the first woman of colour to play the female lead in a Star Trek film (which is separate from the problem where, up until 2009, the films kept introducing new female leads rather than ever developing Uhura…) "My oath of celibacy is on record." Gene. What the fuck. Season 4 of Discovery has a lot of The Motion Picture in its DNA … and so does SNW! (Anika has a strong argument that Christine's characterisation in SNW owes more to this film than TOS) Possibly our most controversial opinion: we mostly like the uniforms Antimatter Pod: "We don't ship Kirk/Spock." Also Antimatter Pod: " Anyone who thinks that this movie is not about Kirk and Spock being in love is not watching this movie." Anika tells Liz about The Lost Years by JM Dillard, queen of the fiery red-haired psychic OFC

Anika and Liz jump headfirst into the S-field to discuss the series finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "The New Next Generation", including... We love the coda so much that it makes us like the final season more This episode had the wrong type of ship nerdery for us The trouble with Tendi Rutherford has been even more underused than usual this season, which makes his subplot here feel like it came out of the blue Carol Freeman gets the ending she deserves: her husband by her side and a new adventure A few weeks ago, we agreed that Ransom was not captain material, and we were so wrong Mariner/Ransom is CLEARLY still a thing and we're not mad about it at all

Anika and Liz are pretty sure our alternate universe selves are well-rested, organised and completely on top of their lives. But we are here to be tired, messy and talk about the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Fissure Quest"! While Anika was out touching grass, Liz was getting spoiled for every single surprise in this episode (and also getting blocked on Bsky by Mike McMahan) Jolene Blalock, our queen Curzon: why? "I don't mean to make this a carrot podcast, I just think they're a very overrated root vegetable."  Jokes about Harry never being promoted are tired, especially when we know the reason was Rick Berman's racism -- which makes this episode's twist a bit … yikes Who gets to be openly ambitious? And who has to keep their head down and wait patiently for recognition to be bestowed upon them?  Liz spoils the end The Day of the Jackal (2024) at 23:46, so deploy your skip=30 button if you need it FINALLY a Starfleet with a place for Anika Did the Harrys Kim hook up? Yes, obviously

Anika and Liz are briefly trapped on a world where months pass in the space of seconds, which gives us a lot of time to talk about how great Carol Freeman is. Yes, we're talking about Star Trek: Lower Decks' "Fully Dilated" and "Upper Decks". We liked one of these episodes! Mostly! "Fully Dilated" was a personal attack aimed at us Why is Tendi so out of character this season?  The Boimler and Rutherford subplot felt like a throwback to TNG_S8, but what works as a 140-character tweet is less successful spread over 22 minutes of animated comedy If you're going to put T'Lyn in the T'Pol role and then make boob jokes, they should be … funny "Do you know how mid an episode has to be for Data to be our favourite part?" We liked "Upper Decks" a lot!  But doctors withholding pain medication is not funny Freeman continues to be the best captain

Anika and Liz mediate a war between sentient shapes, and try not to ask awkward questions like, "Why do you even HAVE genders?" Okay, no, we're discussing Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles"! Another round of the "accept what makes you different" moral, which is not bad, but more suited to Bluey than an allegedly sophisticated comedy for adults (Bluey is successful for the same reason that Star Trek is successful! Competence porn and aspirational levels of decency!) "They could do anything, but they have no imagination!" is a BOLD choice of dialogue in a season this weak Teen pregnancy? The Humourless Feminist Killjoy Hour is here to ask: is Star Trek entering its natalist era? Liz talks really authoritatively about Romeo and Juliet for someone who hasn't read or watched it since 1997

Anika and Liz visit the Klingon homeworld and Starbase 80, and Anika does not partake in blood wine or corn dogs because these episodes are not inclusive for vegetarians. Yes, we're talking about Star Trek: Lower Decks episodes "A Farewell to Farms" and "Starbase 80?!", and we have a few things to say... "A Farewell to Farms" was fine Mary Chieffo deserves better It's time for Liz to admit the truth: she has a soft spot for Dr Migleemo Is Migleemo Freeman's Tuvok? It's very possible that there are external reasons that season 5 of Lower Decks hasn't been working for us The SNWification of Star Trek since 2022 Starbase 80 is symptomatic of an empire in decay What is Mariner's arc in season 5? We are here to ship Mariner/Kassia

Anika and Liz visit a fabulous resort, where we get to sit by the pool and relax while nothing bad happens and no one is weirdly stalked by their ex-girlfriend. We're discussing Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel", and spoilers, we aren't fans! The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel did not deserve this "My shoulders went up around my ears and stayed there for the entire episode." Jennifer is abusive, and it's weird how the show (and the fandom!) seems to consider this zany and delightful This is not a great season for Tendi's characterisation so far It feels like Mariner and Tendi's arcs ended in season 4 and the show doesn't quite know what to do with them now But also, less than week to the US election and Lower Decks is like, "How about an episode where a Black woman on the cusp of becoming a leader is mistreated and everyone cheers?" Guys. An Apocalypse Now parody? Groundbreaking. Anika: "I apologise to people who liked this episode." Liz: "I don't." How much has season 5 been affected by the industrial unrest across the entertainment industry? There are so many barriers to making good television at the best of times! Also, Liz talks about season 5 of Babylon 5 (sorry, Anika)

Anika and Liz meet their alternate timeline duplicates, who are exactly the same except Fake Anika is super right-wing and Fake Liz has a luscious beard. It's time! For the Star Trek: Lower Decks fifth season premiere! Liz: I don't ship Rutherford/Tendi/T'Lyn 61 seconds later… Liz: I ship Rutherford/Tendi/T'Lyn Remembering Jeri Taylor New York Comic Con: Anika has been in the presence of greatness (Carol Kane) Is Lower Decks getting tired, or is it Liz who is too tired to feel joy?  Beard Boimler and Otherford We are learning SO MUCH about Orion culture!  INCOMING HUMOURLESS FEMINIST KILLJOY MOMENT: Maybe October 2024 is not the right time for a subplot about controlling what a pregnant woman does? Anika has a Bointer for you: always try to avoid anything that makes you sound like J. D. Vance  

Anika and Liz save the world, and then settle down for some light gardening in a giant midwest McMansion. Yes, the time has come to discuss the season (series?) finale of Star Trek: Prodigy, "Ouroboros" parts 1 and 2. Anika was really onto something when she said Rok-Tahk is the new Wesley What is a good age to start watching Star Trek with kids? "At no point does Prodigy talk down to its audience." Anika's two fictional sons (Dal and Jack) in one episode! This podcast is tough on Indiana, tough on the causes of Indiana Why do so many series captains own property on Earth?  Characters from DS9 and Picard we want the Prodigy kids to meet Saving Holo Janeway

Anika and Liz send a bunch of kids off on a black ops mission, which is a cool and normal thing to do and definitely something a healthy maternal role model would do. Oh yeah, we're discussing the Star Trek: Prodigy episodes "Brink" and "Touch of Gray", including... Kids are gonna learn about plausible deniability sooner or later It was always going to be Ascensia versus Gwyn And Ascencia versus Janeway Girl you have too many nemeses, put one back Wesley's plan fails because he didn't expect Gwyn to prioritise her father. WHICH SAYS A LOT ABOUT HIM.  (A fun question: how much of Picard's relationship with his parents did he replicate with Wesley, and how does that impact Wesley's relationship with the kids now?) Like Discovery, Prodigy has a really fluid hierarchy among the kids Liz threatens to write a book called Management Lessons from Michael Burnham and Dal R'El  We are thoroughly dismayed to find ourselves shipping Holo Janeway/the Doctor

Anika and Liz are told to pack it all up and go home, Starfleet Command will be taking care of the podcasting from here on out. And we were absolutely going to obey, but fortunately some plot intervened. We're discussing Star Trek: Prodigy's "Ascension" part 1 and 2, including... Dal and Zero's arcs reach their respective climaxes The Voyager crew were also the Rogue Misfit Squadron The Doctor is at his best in a low-pressure environment, but he's programmed to think he thrives under pressure Dal speedruns his own arc in miniature and comes out the other side Zero: they're a hero, actually Flashbacks to "Such Sweet Sorrow" part 2 had Liz running to Moopsy for support Prodigy tells more overt queer stories than SNW, which is actually kind of alarming We care about shipping, not ships

Anika and Liz stumble through a series of alternate universes, including the one where we like "A Tribble Called Quest" and the one where we're good at podcasting and don't go off on long tangents about shipping. (That's a lie. That universe doesn't exist.) Liz has a hot take: she does not like "A Tribble Called Quest" and thinks it has an accidental forced-birth subtext The three Dad Genders: Girl Dad, Boy Dad, Scientist Dad Maybe we need to stop making tribble episodes MOVING ON TO THE EPISODE WE ACTUALLY LIKED The Jellico In Command Timeline Okona and Chakotay: the deadbeat dad and the dad who stepped up Did Captain Tuvix murder Janeway?  Who would win in a fight between Mirror Janeway and Emperor Georgiou?  Chakotay, formerly Hot Chakotay, is at his least attractive ever when he's reunited with Janeway, and that serves a purpose!  The best-known Evil Overlord list, as reproduced on TV Tropes The Antimatter Pod Shipping News!  Mirror Janeway and the search across the multiverse for the Chakotay with the brain cell Chakotay/Holo Janeway Zero/Maj'el Dal/Gwyn and the parallels with Janeway/Chakotay

We promised we'd be normal about Hot Chakotay, but we lied An incomplete list of people with whom Anika compares Hot Chakotay: Wolverine Deanna Troi in "A Fistful of Datas" Russell Crowe Aragon Dal finally finds his mentor Chakotay: not a girl dad Ma'jel is too gay for this. She is here for the girls and the non-binary babes and wants no part of whatever Hot Chakotay has going on Gwyn and Dal and sharing leadership Chakotay and Hologram Janeway's codependent relationship Is it possible the TNG crew didn't try very hard to reach Beverly? It took 30 years, but we finally found someone we don't ship with Kathryn Janeway Content warning: the Antimatter Pod Shipping News is more than usually not appropriate for kids this week. Yes, when we're talking about the kids show. We're the problem with fandom. 

Anika and Liz arrive at an ancient and timeless ziggurat, congratulate themselves on knowing how to spell "ziggurat", and settle down in a nice mid-century modern apartment to talk about episodes 9 and 10 of Star Trek: Prodigy's second season, "The Devourer Of All Things". Including... Wesley Crusher, Star Trek: Picard, "Assignment: Earth" and more Liz drops some obscure Doctor Who lore Why do so many time travel organisations have a mid-century modern aesthetic?  Adulthood is about making the hard choices, but youth is about rejecting the no-win scenario Anika wants to know how Janeway knows Wesley; Liz has a plethora of theories Don't worry, Anika can explain how Dal is like Anakin Skywalker

Anika and Liz don their finest flower crowns and make an appearance at a feast. What's that? You want us to go for a nice run? No thank you, we will stay comfortably seated, talking about the Star Trek: Prodigy episode "Is There In Beauty No Truth"... Star Trek bringing the anti-running agenda for 2024 Maybe these non-corporeal adrenaline junkies should look into rollercoasters It's a really nice bit of worldbuilding that telepaths are bad at consent and boundaries, but accidentally gives rise to a subtext which feels transphobic Which is not to say that this is not a wonderful episode or a great allegory about both the trans experience and disability!  But it's complicated! We talk about it at length! ALSO this Feast of Senses would have been so much creepier if Gene Roddenberry or Rick Berman were around Jankom Pog dances like a Bluey character Dal and Gwyn and relationships that exist in small moments

According to DS9 episode "Past Tense", the Bell Riots took place from 1 to 3 September 2024. Fandom is marking the occasion with, um, homelessness cosplay; we decided to repost our discussion of that two-parter from 2021. Instead of dressing up as homeless people and doing riot LARP, this is a good time to support your local homelessness organisations and vote against politicians whose policies dehumanise and further marginalise the vulnerable. ----more---- Anika and Liz sit down to discuss DS9's “Past Tense”. It's one of those episodes where we go, “This is really good!” and then talk about its problems for an hour. Everyone knows “Past Tense” is a great two-parter, but what our theory presupposes is … maybe it's deeply flawed? But seriously, “This is a great episode” is the beginning, not the end, of the conversation The great man theory of fake history The neoliberalism of DS9 Anika's big Reagan rant finally makes it through editing into an episode! Empathy versus apathy This is a really bad episode for Liz to have a total mental blank around the word “complicit” (don't worry, the long pauses are edited out) The outstanding costume and set design It's the episode where we go, “Has this just aged, like, really badly?”

Anika and Liz hit a speedbump with their recording schedule (stupid jobs) and then hit a speedbump with Prodigy in the form of ... two episodes that we did not entirely love? Is that even possible? We're here to talk about episodes 6 and 7 of Star Trek: Prodigy's second season: "Identity Crisis" and "The Fast and the Curious"... Both of these episodes are mainly about putting the pieces in place and setting up threads for later What type of characters are allowed to be audacious and ambitious?  Does Prodigy have a problem with body diversity and same-face?  Zero/Ma'jel and the power of being chosen by someone instead of being thrown together by circumstances Anika has a new favourite Andorian Dr Noum: great at work-life balance, maybe not so great at … his job "I'm going to say something controversial and brave." We're not NOT shipping Gwyn/Ma'jel

When it doubt, Anika and Liz seek advice from a whale. Yes, we're talking about the Star Trek: Prodigy episode "Observer's Paradox"! Kathryn Janeway pours a shot of espresso into a larger cup of coffee and then gives it to a teenager; she should not be allowed to care for children Murf definitely knows everything about the USS Discovery After thirty years, Chakotay is finally linked to a real Indigenous nation: the Nicarao people of Central America If we're not meant to be shipping Janeway/Chakotay, then why does this episode exist? The Antimatter Pod Shipping News: Anika has a terrible new OTP We have questions about the Doctor's holonovels, but ALSO romance novels are an important force for marginalised groups getting their work in front of audiences When the adult in the room is a whale

After some minor timeline mishaps, Anika and Liz finally stop to read Temporal Mechanics 101! Yes, we're discussing the fourth episode of Star Trek: Prodigy's second season, including... Intertextuality within the Star Trek canon Ma'jel upsets the group dynamic in a fun way -- every time a Star Trek starts getting stale, they should add a young Vulcan woman to the cast The binge model has robbed us of the joy of speculating wildly about who the mysterious benefactor is Ilthuran is not a regular dad, he's a cool dad! AND WE HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT HIM The Doctor is so well-used in Prodigy that we're more positive about his joining Starfleet Academy than we would have been a month ago! The Antimatter Pod Shipping News An interlude where we stop to dunk on Sarek for a while #OurBrand

Anika and Liz attempt to change the timeline so Paramount never dropped Prodigy and we got to enjoy each episode week by week … but alas, we did not pay attention in Temporal Mechanics 101.  We're discussing Star Trek: Prodigy's "Who Saves the Saviors", including… Rok-Tahk knows when to keep her mouth shut and when to tattle, and also has done nothing wrong (ever, in her entire life) Dal has never watched Star Trek and isn't about to start now We have conflicting feelings about birds, and Liz drops some Doctor Who lore Tysses and Noum are the Married Mean Gays that Star Trek has needed for eternity. Yes, we just made that up. But it's canon in our hearts. And we would subscribe to their podcast. This isn't even the first time Chakotay has abandoned a bunch of kids in the Delta Quadrant! Why is everyone so determined to put Janeway and Chakotay in parental roles when it's clear they would both be very bad at it? Jankom represents some of Star Trek's best disability rep ever Janeway is deeply flawed, and that's good writing

Anika and Liz sign up for an internship, accidentally steal a ship, and … well, we're discussing the second season premiere of Star Trek: Prodigy!  (Please note we have seen the whole season, and although we make some very virtuous remarks about sticking to the episodes at hand, we cannot be trusted to respect the Temporal Prime Directive.) The binge model and Star Trek Dal versus the education system Sexualising the Diviner Zero's story is both a trans narrative and a disability narrative  The romances in this series are super low key and free of inherent drama … but would there be a bigger fandom if the show provided more fodder for ship wars? Is that better? Or worse?  Jankom and therapy and Dr Noum Rok-Tahk, rules and Liz's Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead trauma

Anika and Liz get all dressed up to attend a wedding. They just have to figure out the meaning of life first. Easy, right? It's a very special episode as we discuss the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery, "Life, Itself"! We thought we were ready for Discovery to end, but we were wrong Liz suffered a finale-related injury and Anika has wine The Sega Star Trek: The Next Generation game (and also Jenny Nicholson's four-hour video essay about Disney's Galactic Starcruiser experience) It feels like they were setting up Primarch Tahal as the big villain for season 6 We have even more feelings about Rayner than we do about the Galactic Starcruiser video Moll's ending is not what we expected, but we like it Discovery streaming movies when? The epilogue! The Star Trek: Legacy we deserve!

Anika and Liz put buckets on their head and infiltrate a Breen ship, pausing along the way to have a serious personal conversation. We're discussing the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery (WE ARE NOT READY), "Lagrange Point"! Including... What sort of ending do we want for Moll?  We already have a crush on Primarch Tahal Michael and Book parallel Michael and Ash in "Into the Forest I Go" - is infiltrating an enemy ship a date?  We are briefly interrupted by an appearance from Anika's cat's butt Paul and Hugh have been sidestepping drama all season and it's great?  Saru: relationship role model We're not NOT shipping Rayner/Tilly

Liz has done it AGAIN: she forgot to move her microphone. She's audible but a little echoey for the first 10 minutes, before she has a horrible realisation.  Anika and Liz are spending their vacation AT THE LIBRARY, where they are checking out some books and checking in on Michael Burnham. Every single thing in this episode is Sarek's fault Libraries and archives are never apolitical Primarch Ruhn heard there were drag queens doing storytime at the Eternal Archive, and he is NOT happy about it Anika has been linking Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland for YEARS An alarming amount of people don't believe in atonement or redemption Michael's riddle is, do you understand the point of Star Trek: Discovery? Is the Federation bigoted against slime people? "What I'm about to say is going to make it sound like I ship Vance and Rayner, and I want you to know that I do."

It is so awkward when you literally stick a guy in a refrigerator and then his death provides motivation for his grieving partner to go on a rampage. Anika and Liz discuss season 5, episode 7 of Star Trek: Discovery - "Erigah"(!!!). It is DEVASTATING that this is Discovery's last season and we're going to lose Rayner as fast as we got him Liz accidentally talks herself into shipping Michael/Nahn and also Nahn/Ortegas We have unlocked Rayner's tragic backstory Hot take: Michael is now a better captain than (prime) Georgiou Anika is here to make it about Jack Crusher We aren't puzzle people, but neither are the Discovery writers, and it kind of shows Jett/Pelia has never been more canon

Anika and Liz infiltrate a pre-warp society, where they absolutely do not enter a race, that is clearly a trap. Not because of the human sacrifice, because of the running!  Like episode 3, this felt a bit predictable, but ALSO like a rebuke to "Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach" and "Who Watches The Watchers", so we're not mad about it What if obeying the Prime Directive is the unethical option?  (Caretaker + Who Watches the Watchers) x (Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach + Sacred Ground) - Christopher Pike/Evil Ex + Michael "Fuck the Prime Directive" Burnham Hugh Culber and ChatGPT therapy Paul and Hugh are both at turning points, but it's not a crisis for them or their relationship This season is the opposite of a mystery box Discovery has always been a series where science and religion co-exist Paramount, the most competent media company, accidentally took Anika off their Star Trek list and put her on the Knuckles list. So … we talk about Knuckles!  Is Kovich a little too omniscient? We are not here for fandom's fatshaming of Mary Wiseman

(Note: our episodes are getting shorter because the screeners are fairly low quality and don't have subtitles, so it's a bit harder to get deep into the weeds of a story than if we were recording as episodes air. But our day jobs are quite busy, so we need to record as far in advance as possible in order to make our self-imposed deadlines. It's a pickle!) Anika and Liz beam over to an eerily familiar starship, steal a locket and a plush gecko, and discuss episode 5 of Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season, "Mirrors". It's a double date for L'ak and Moll and Book and Michael! We take it back about not being able to emotionally engage with L'ak Liz has a theory about what this episode is setting up We're checking in with Hugh Respectfully, so far the puzzle isn't very puzzling Rayner's performance anxiety

Anika and Liz are caught in a time loop, which is actually a nice opportunity for a nap when you think about it. We're talking about Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange"! Let's check in with Anika, The Only Person Who Hated "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad". She thought "Face The Strange" was … good "I don't wanna sound creepy, but I have a pretty good idea of where Jason Isaacs is at all times." This season feels like an intentional final season, even though we know that's not true Michael is the collaborative leader that Pike pretends to be We are platonically shipping Rayner and Reno as BFFs Book's job in this episode is to turn up, take his shirt off and be supportive. Perfect, no notes L'ak is SO going to die So far Discovery has focused on fleshing out Rayner, but at the expense of Moll and L'ak

Anika and Liz beam down to Trill, don their finest red cloaks and hoods, and discuss the third episode of Star Trek: Discovery's season 5, "Janaal". Including... This is a perfectly fine episode, but it seems a shame to waste our limited time this season on something that is merely competent RIP Star Trek: Lower Decks Introducing the beta shift when fans are still under the impression that the alpha shift bridge crew should be the leads: brilliant trolling We have always been Wilson Cruz Appreciators, but we are appreciating him extra hard! We are concerned about Paul "Not to be a Rayner apologist, but I am definitely going to be a Rayner apologist." The Vulcan alt-right sure does endure!  Adira and Grey are cosplaying maturity (and that's okay)

First, we both have essays out!  On Raffi by Anika Dane is in the current issue of Star Trek Quarterly The Diversity Paradox: Star Trek, Star Trek fandom, and the limits of fandom as progressivism by Liz Barr is in Speculative Insight SECOND, it's time. Anika and Liz are being called away from a fancy 32nd century cocktail party to stand in an empty void and discuss the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season... Compared with the over-the-top emotional drama monarchs of Star Trek: Picard's third season, it's just nice to be with competent professionals who get the job done Picking up the threads of Star Trek: Picard's first season Captain Picard is still the most important individual who ever existed This arc so far has the Star Trek V problem: they can't actually meet God, so the real meaning of life will be the friends we made along the way Tilly has a rare but valuable anti-ambition arc Moll and L'ak have wandered in from another series, but we're not mad about it It's nice that Vance has a wife and Tilly has a love interest, but we're still shipping Vance/Tilly and we're not sorry

Anika and Liz fire up the ancestry.com subscription and do a deep dive into an episode which does a deep dive into Kathryn Janeway's heritage. Yes, we're watching "11:59", an episode which has aged badly but maybe wasn't ever good to start with. This is ostensibly the sort of filler episode that people now say they want more of, but it mistakes trivia for character development "Small town business owner who hates progress and reveres the past" is a type that hits different in 2024 Henry Janeway voted for Mike Pence Why are so many (white) starship captains from small town America?  "11:59" is not interested in exploring the forces that would drive a woman out of STEM and into homelessness Has any problem in the history of humanity ever been solved by a benevolent corporation?  At 26:06, Liz says "dystopian" when she means "utopian", please be assured this will keep her up at night for the foreseeable future We debate the benefits and otherwise of genealogy (content warning: from 34:03 to 34:27, this includes revelations about incest)

Anika and Liz assemble a board of inquiry and examine two episodes which turned out to be significant for Star Trek: Lower Decks - "The First Duty" and "Lower Decks". Are we gonna cry? Oh yes.  "The First Duty": Imagine if Beverly Crusher got to parent her son "Anika needs to talk about Jack Crusher" is an item in our outline We get into the really serious issue: who is dating whom in Nova Squadron? Liz's knowledge of American high school life, as gleaned from YA fiction and Archie comics Star Trek is a place where it's okay to fail   "Lower Decks": Picard's relationship with Sito The Enterprise only takes the best. So why are the bridge crew SO bad at managing staff? Except Worf, an unexpected contender for Best Boss Ever And Deanna Troi, Holder of the Brain Cell We can infer a lot about Sito's personal growth between "The First Duty" and now, and her reconnection with Bajoran culture Our semi-regular one-sided correspondence with Mike McMahon continues Critiquing Worf's contouring

Anika and Liz don their finest gold mesh and settle in to discuss a key Star Trek episode: "Space Seed"... It's been said before, but it bears repeating: this episode is super racist (would it have been better or worse if they had renamed Khan and made him Mexican?) Time to ask the real questions: why are there so many women in Star Trek named Marla? Marlene McGivers: aspiring tradwife We've found it. A woman in Star Trek that neither Anika nor Liz can defend Does SNW break "Space Seed"?  But seriously, why has La'an not changed her name How did the Eugenics Wars … work? Khan Noonien Singh: still a better world leader than Donald Trump

Last April, Anika and Liz each bought a copy of the June 1999 issue of the official Star Trek magazine. Then we had ... some other things to podcast about. But we've finally opened it, and we're talking about... Remember when we'd pay US$7.99 -- or AU$15! -- for a magazine that contained a couple of interviews, some facts we already knew about the Klingon Empire and a Bird-of-Prey pinup? The Kate Mulgrew interview:  She does not talk about her relationship with Jeri Ryan (but we do) None of the other captains of this era had to talk about how work took them away from their kids -- and Scott Bakula had a toddler when Enterprise started! (Hey, isn't it cool that now Anson Mount can request and get paternity leave, and no one's asking Sonequa Martin-Green how she balances motherhood with her career?) Putting the Janeway/Chakotay relationship on the backburner (and where they could end up in Prodigy -- that's us speculating, not Kate in 1999…) We try to picture Kate Mulgrew in the MCU and fail spectacularly Let's all take a moment to send bad vibes to Liz's grade 10 drama teacher Jason Alexander and the woke agenda 1999 NFTs Anika wants you to know that D. C. Fontana shipped Spock/Christine 25 years later, Tim Russ deserves an apology for the interview which closes the magazine

We're back for 2024! With some genuinely awful sound quality because Liz is so out of practice that she forgot to move her microphone from its place on top of the printer to … you know. Somewhere in the vicinity of her mouth.  But the show must go on, and Anika and Liz are pulling the names of Star Trek men out of a hat and deciding whether or not they're any good in bed. Yes, it's the SEX … Now That We've Got Your Attention episode, and decidedly not suitable for children. The hat has us talking about… Jack Crusher (the secret Picard baby, not Wesley's dad) Rom Shaxs Tuvok (our beloved) Jean-Luc Picard The Doctor Jonathan Archer Cris Rios Odo Gary Mitchell Narek Garak Saru Benjamin Sisko Jack Ransom Hugh Culber (with bonus Paul Stamets) Liam Shaw Dr Migleemo We also abandoned the hat to specifically discuss… Spock (Ethan Peck edition) Chakotay Will Riker Chris Pike Sarek (Vulcan's greatest love machine)

Anika and Liz do a deal with some Orions and definitely know which Chek(h)ov had the gun on the mantelpiece, it is a joke, we are only accepting criticism if it is delivered via Mark Twain impression. And Anika is not home to Mark Twain impressions. Yes, it's the finale of season 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Old Friends, New Planets"! They stuck the landing! We remain, as we have been since episode 1, a Beckett Mariner Stan Podcast You Are Not Special, Bro: The Nicholas Locarno Story Star Trek is bad at romance (but all media is bad at romance these days) …we're just gonna talk about shipping in the other series for a minute Orion is Matriarchal Capitalist Westeros and we're okay with that Anika remains SHOCKINGLY BIASED against both Migleemo and Mark Twain

Anika and Liz definitely failed Hoodlums and Racketeering 101 at the Academy, but that's FINE, we're just going to hang out on this nice jungle planet, hiding from various warring factions while we talk about the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "The Inner Fight"... Tom Paris and Nicholas Locarno are different people, which we knew, but sometimes it's nice to have it reinforced Important sidebar: which canonical Vulcans are most likely to be in an MLM and why it T'Pring's parents? Freeman is the best captain because she's the only one willing to make a fool of herself  "The First Duty", "Lower Decks" and Beckett Mariner Is Mariner the only character in the franchise who did NOT join Starfleet to escape trauma and/or her family?

Anika and Liz beam down to a cave, get trapped, and record the shortest regular episode of Antimatter Pod yet! But that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy Lower Decks season 4 episode 8, "Caves", or that we're not going to discuss important issues such as... It is not, in fact, time for Lower Decks to break up the band (But it is time for them to see other officers, and that's okay!) Are Vendorians real? Anika has doubts Liz has THREE VERY SPECIFIC BONE SQUICKS and so far this season Lower Decks has hit two of them This is an episode about fear of the unknown, and also Star Trek's consistent skepticism of conspiracy theories  

Anika and Liz grow some tomatoes and share some feelings in Evil Podcaster Therapy. Specifically, we're sharing feelings about Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "A Few Badgeys More", including: This episode was made for Anika, except it's about characters she doesn't care about The birds in Liz's neighbourhood were extra loud just for us The evil AI trope We're getting all Asimovian up in here Like and subscribe to Badgeycast, the new podcast hosted by Badgey and the Cosmic Koala! Er, how many times has the Federation almost been destroyed by an AI using its subspace network? Guys, please install a firewall or antivirus software or something? (Is it a metaphor? For social media?)

This episode is brought to you by Slug-O-Cola, platonic relationships, and Beckett Mariner's emotional crisis Is Beckett Mariner okay? Do Tendi and Rutherford have feelings for each other? Are we meant to think that they do?  We need to admit that Migleemo is the sex god of the Cerritos If there isn't a thriving Landlord Cops fandom by the time this episode drops, we will be VERY disappointed Liz predicts there will be Rom Discourse "Joe Biden is not Rom. BUT…"

It's Romulan ale o'clock! Anika and Liz fill their yard glasses with something brightly coloured and alcoholic, don their finest diplomatic bicycle shorts, and discuss Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Empathological Fallacies"! This episode is truly a gift for Star Trek Las Vegas cosplayers Anika's Totally Spies theory Liz's Daria theory Here on the Taking Things Too Seriously Podcast, we are curious about the evolutionary implications of Catians hunting Betazoids "Shaxs, man. Shaxs." HOLISTIC SECURITY

Faced with a choice between attending a wedding or dressing up as Mark Twain for conflict resolution via roleplay, Anika and Liz will DEFINITELY take the open bar. We're discussing season 4, episode 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Something Borrowed, Something Blue"! ORIONS! LIZ'S BELOVED! Are the Orions really all that secretive about their culture, or is it just that the Federation never asked?  The Orions need a gender equality movement Liz: "I don't know why I'm so unfocused." It's because she was coming down with covid.  Anika is not a fan of Mark Twain We are familiar with your human "humour". We understand "jokes" Antimatter Pod has a lot of feelings about labour and workplace justice

We've updated our operating systems and speedrun the allamaraine game, and now Anika and Liz are sitting down to discuss the third episode of the fourth season of Lower Decks, "In the Cradle of Vexilon"... We don't mind a bit of a workplace hierarchy now and then Liz has a WHOLE THEORY about how Captain Freeman's command style is why Beckett Mariner is the way she is We go off on a tangent about Voyager, specifically about that time Naomi Wildman died and was replaced by a duplicate. So, um, if dead baby chat is not for you, skip from 13:30 to 14:40! Ransom the art critic: chef's kiss Is a Gorn wedding the solution to ALL problems? Yes

While Liz navigates a series of Voyager-themed obstacles, Anika encounters an adorable creature who eats bones. Yes, it's time for the season 4 premiere of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and we're here to talk about... "We're not gonna do Tuvix Discourse." We absolutely did Tuvix Discourse Voyager as a museum, curation styles and fandom: Liz has a THESIS Maybe the real Starfleet is the friends we made along the way Friendship ended with Beckett/Jennifer, Tendi/T'Lyn is our best friend now We're going to do our very best to pretend to be shocked when it turns out that Beckett and Ransom have been a thing all season We have NO IDEA who the mysterious new villain is, but we're cautiously prepared to rule out Boba Fett Liz has a recurring nightmare about bananas having bones, and, well. Ep 2 was very difficult for her. We already know there won't be Moopsy merch, but what if Paramount releases Moopsy merch?  Lower Decks is completely sincere (about Star Trek, about its characters) and that's why it works Editor's note! Due to audio bleed, it was impossible to edit out all the overlaps and interruptions this week. Yikes, eh? Apologies for all the throat-clearing and overtalk and the whole thing where Anika is substantially louder than Liz…