Rick and Todd talk about the Ferengi and their development in the Star Trek canon, especially in Deep Space Nine. We go through all 285 Rules of Acquisition (OK not really, but we talk about them). We talk about Ferengi characters like Quark, Rom, Nog, Grand Nagus Zek (“Inconceivable”) and female Ferengi characters Pel and Ishka, who fight the misogyny of Ferengi society.
Rick and Todd talk about the Star Trek character Q. We review episodes in which Q has made an appearance and discuss his significance to the development of the characters and of humanity. As a method of interpretation we look at Q as a kind of mythological ‘Trickster’ archetype, common to many world mythologies and great works of literature; a character who causes mischief but also shakes things up in significant and even necessary ways.
Rick and Todd discuss lessons of leadership from the great leaders of the Star Trek canon. What were the different leadership styles of Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and others? What worked? What didn’t? We also discuss some of the other captains of the canon, including some who offer excellent lessons of how not to lead.
Rick and Todd get together to talk about humanoid origins in the Star Trek universe. We discuss two episodes. In “The Chase” the crew of the Enterprise discovers the traces of an ancient ancestor common, via panspermia, to humanoid species across the galaxy. In “Distant Origin” the crew of Voyager encounters a Voth scientist who has discovered that the Voth originated from Earth and are humanoid descendants of hadrosaurs.
Todd Decker 