When Kirk and an old lover get Freaky Friday body swapped, the crew must uncover the truth. Why can't women be starship captains? Why haven't you joined our team or donated to support suicide prevention yet? Join our hike team or Donate at: humanisttrek.com/hike Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the h…

In the penultimate episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, KSM find themselves on a planet whose people have time warped into the past to escape their planet's sun going nova. Is Kirk a witch? Will Spock finally put McCoy in his place? What happens if these people fuck up the space time continuum? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Chal…

When the Enterprise drops by Planet "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", good and evil are put into a poorly executed experiment. Did Duane the Rock Monster learn anything today? Why is President Lincoln army crawling in his nice suit? Were Lincoln's own words used in this episode? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this ep…

James Kirk, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk walk into a bar. Speaking of, this episode of Star Trek: The Original Series sets the bar pretty high. This week, Kirk and the gang stumble into a scathing indictment on the class inequality in American and around the world. Is capitalism killing us? Are the people who are most subjugated essentially forced to …

When the Enterprise tracks down a rogue band of Space Hippies, Star Trek gets baked out of its mind and takes a big swing at the counterculture movements of the 1960's. Why haven't we eaten the rich yet? Is the grass greener on the other religion? Do you reach, man? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using t…

When the Enterprise finds an old recluse man with a daughter-ish/lover-ish android Real Doll, Sarah and Allie almost quit the podcast. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek P…

When Shari Lewis puts down her puppets, the Enterprise bumps into a corporeal life form who just want to be where the people are so much that they're killing everyone in their path to find some bodies. Did they kill the Zetarians or are they just off terrorizing more people? Did Scotty's new love just get dropped off at the library never to be seen…

When the Enterprise stumbles upon a planet whose inhabitants are long gone but who also left their Brinks Home Security System armed, crew members start dropping left and right, victims of a randy murderous mystery woman. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social medi…

When Star Trek takes a swing at the "overpopulation problem", Kirk is kidnapped and used to introduce a deadly STD into the population. The writers even kicked both sterilization and prophylactics past the 1960's censor goalpost. Is Earth spiraling toward overpopulation? Are we prepared to make difficult decisions for the survival of our species? P…

When Star Trek stops hiding the humanism behind the sci-fi filter, American™ racism and hatred is put on blast. They didn't even bother hiding the mirror on this one. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the sh…

When Star Trek revisits the Plane'arium storyline, the proverbial inmates have taken over the asylum led by a shapeshifting madman. Once again questions of rehabilitation, medication, and individual rights and liberty come to the fore. What effect does this new medication have on the inmate? Do inmates have the right of refusal of "care" in Star Tr…

When Star Trek trades in Cowboy Diplomacy for Marriage Diplomacy, Sarah and Allie find themselves in a very discomforting place. Why is the Federation forcing this woman to go through with the diplomatic marriage she doesn't want? Why are the Klingons even in this episode? What even are those stones in that necklace, anyway? Play along with our Sta…

When Kirk and the Gang find the missing scientists dead, they also discover some cousins of the bootyheads from the pilot. With a sun going nova imminent, can good ol' human emotion save a planet full of mute aliens that we only ever see one of? Did they even try saving any of the other aliens on the other planets in this system? Why don't people j…

Just how far would humans go to ensure our survival as a species? What would we kill to save ourselves, and where's that line? Why aren't we willing to try new things? What's Sarah's "clicker story"? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website a…

Star Trek often asks the question, "What would a civilization based on 'XYZ' look like?" This week it's the ancient Greeks and KSM find themselves in the position of defending against another powerful alien species drunk on their own power. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChall…

When Star Trek runs out of story ideas, it's time to revisit that old idea of Logic v. Emotion and how Kirk uses the best of both to be an effective leader. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patr…

McCoy catches a terminal case of xenopolychlamydia, the crew stumbles upon a Truman Show asteroid ship, and Allie's back on the dating apps. Could Allie find love at first sight like McCoy? Will she avoid the dick pics and the xenopolychlamydia? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #Starfleet…

Snoop Claus visits the studio for the weediest Christmas ever! Thanks to everybody who sent us gifts, you're the real MVP's. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up you…

When a hate vampire sets the Federations and Klingons against each other, can Uhura's sweet sweet singing bring them all together? Can we identify the hate vampires active in our own lives today before it's too late? They are EVERYWHERE! Do we even have the power to stop them? Guest: X. Ho Yen - https://xhoyenauthor.com/ Author of Minimum Safe Dist…

When Sarah and Allie are depressed and not excited about decorating for Christmas, the Ghost of Christmas Past yoinks them back to the past - 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona, to be exact. Will this stupid episode of Star Trek reignite their Christmas spirit? Not likely. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using th…

When Dr. Pulaski returns, 1960's beauty standards come under fire. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at threadless.com/humanisttrek Socials Mastodon Fa…

When a bunch of Children of the Corn on a scientific outpost cause their parents to Jim Jones themselves, they call to the guardians of the watchtowers of the East and release "he who walks behind the rows" back into the galaxy. Star Trek continues to be relevant as ever as we question whether innocent followers who don't know any better are just a…

When Kirk suffers from amnesia, will the big Manhattan musical go on? How many awful "native American" tropes can one 1960's TV series cram into one episode? Is the transporter a killing machine? Find out this week on Humanist Trek! Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on …

When the Enterprise crosses into the Romulan DMZ, Spock fingers a Romulan Commander while Kirk steals a cloaking device (treaty be damned). Is it "OK" to do things during war that would otherwise violate your values? Why does this episode seem to say "yes"? Just what does a Vulcan penis look like, anyway? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet…

When Spock's brain is stolen by dopey aliens, Kirk, Bones, and Scotty take RC Spock on Star Trek: The Search for Spock's Brain - Weekend at Bernie's style. Brain and brain! What is brain?! You're not high enough for this episode. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on soc…

How much do we even remember from Season 2? And what do we have to look forward to next season? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at threadless.com/hum…

What's Allie's great idea? Is Data's cat Spot canonically also a hot chick? Why do time travelers always act powerless? Will Kirk allow Marty to make sure his parents bang at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance? What are the rules of time travel anyway? How short can a miniskirt get? This episode asks more questions than it answers. Play along with…

The TOS writers once again explore the idea "What would have happened if 'x' hadn't fallen?" Not 1920's Chicago. Not Nazi Germany. No, this episode of Star Trek: The Original Series begs the question, "Men: How often do you think about the Roman Empire?" Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #…

People's fear of automation operates on "Sarah's Pendulum Theory of Everything". In the 60's? Vehicle Manufacturing. Today? AI. Can AI and the like coexist with capitalism or will ChatGPT take over the starship and start torpedoing the shit out of everything? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hash…

When the Enterprise discovers their sister ship Exeter in orbit of a planet, they find the Exeter crew has been raptured. What’s “Left Behind” is just piles of crystal meth. Meanwhile, in a different episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, some people are doing some performative jingoistic American Christian nationalism. How are these two storie…

When powerful aliens capture Kirk and the gang with another Landru device, the crew defeat them with irritation, jealousy, and boners. Roll for initiative! Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patre…

Sarah and Allie slip on some armbands and kick march around the studio... No, I'm not doing this. I refuse to put swastikas on our cartoons and there's no good jokes to write here about this literal Nazi episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. Listen to this episode, punch a Nazi, and learn from history. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cad…

It's the 1-year Anniversary of Humanist Trek! Allie and Sarah's bodies are taken over by ancient aliens that may be our great great great grandparents, Dr. Pulaski's excited to host an alien katra, and Nurse Chapel finally gets Spock inside her. OH MYYY. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #…

When Kirk and company discover the Klingons providing arms to one side of what used to be a peaceful planet, we're reminded of the many times the USA has gotten itself involved in wars across the globe. Is it right to step in and maintain equal firepower--and where does that end? You say Gumato, I say Mugato. Let's call the whole thing off. Play al…

Sarah and Allie board the Magic School Bus and shrink down to microscopic size. As the bus penetrates a giant space amoeba's boundary... actually, maybe this is all too dirty to make jokes about a kid's TV show. Join us as we blast some antimatter inside a nucleus. Seriously, did these writers know what they were doing? Play along with our Starflee…

When Allie and Sarah find themselves on a planet based on a book about 1920's Chicago mobsters, the episode encounters way more tangents and accents than usual. What might happen to a culture if a people came along and just dropped off a book? Ask Africa. And Haiti. And... Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode …

When Kirk, Chekov, and Uhura find themselves captive to "Providers" and forced to fight for their amusement, slavery is put on blast in this progressive episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at hu…

When Uhura doesn't follow the young Chinese boy's instructions and gets her Tribble wet, Fred, Scoob, and the gang find themselves waist deep in a furry mystery! Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at…

On this episode of CSI: Argelius, Piglet investigates the suspicious murder of a dancer from the nudie bar and Scotty's the primary suspect. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanist…

Captain Ahab encounters an old nemesis - a cloud whale that sucks blood for nourishment - and loses himself in the hunt. Will he break his little ships? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.…

The shot clock is running to find out how to stop Kirk and the gang from rapidly aging. How many times do we let Grandpa run his starship into the neighbor's mailbox before we take away his car keys? Is American Capitalism to blame for our lack of respect for the elderly? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode u…

The Enterprise arrives at a planet to sign a mining agreement to find the Klingons have beat them to the punch. Chaos ensues as the leader is murdered and his very pregnant wife appoints McCoy as the new baby daddy. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Vis…

Tensions run high as various alien races - including Spock's parents - gather on the Enterprise for a city council meeting, but when a delegate is found murdered, Fred, Scoob, and the gang have a mystery to solve. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit…

When the Galileo Shuttlecraft is hijacked by an energy being, Kirk discovers Zefram Cochrane trapped on a planet with a jukebox that only plays Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby". Will our heroes be able to rescue this historical hero? Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on socia…

When the Enterprise is hijacked by a sketchy new crewman, Kirk is reunited with Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Would you be tempted to put your brain in a robot body? Just how many different versions of one woman do you actually need? Which model of robot is into butt stuff? We're tackling all the hard questions on this episode! Play along with our Starflee…

Have you ever wondered why Star Trek doesn't usually do "holiday specials"? This episode holds the answer! It's the episode that asks, "What if Star Trek did a Halloween episode?" The answer is not great. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our webs…

Chasing his planet-killing whale, Commodore Ahab makes the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to save the Enterprise crew from a weapon so powerful, it would destroy all sides in a war. Sometimes Star Trek doesn't hide it's themes in sci-fi. Occasionally they come right out and say it. Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share th…

When the Enterprise finds yet another planet being run by a computer, our heroes must once again debate the merits of freeing a population who appears stagnant by human standards against the merits of allowing a culture to make their own choices and develop as they see fit. It’s the episode that asks, “What would happen if we destroyed this people’…

A transporter malfunction sends Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura to an alternate universe filled with distrust, espionage, assassinations, and some midriff uniforms. Spock is consistently logical and Uhura is a total badass in any universe! Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallen…

When an old Earth probe goes on a killing spree, Kirk must play logic chess to keep from being destroyed, too. It's the episode that has nothing to do with a changeling despite being titled "The Changeling". Play along with our Starfleet Academy Cadet Challenge -- Share this episode using the hashtag #StarfleetChallenge on social media! Visit our w…