Almost five years ago, TrekMovie.com launched the Shuttle Pod podcast. Since then, Brian, Jared, Matt, and Kayla (plus some occasional guests) have been bringing you Star Trek news and views over the podwaves. For the first time, we are reaching out to our growing fan base for support.
A tip jar for our podcasters
TrekMovie.com is a labor of love and is run by a dedicated group of volunteers. But hosting the site costs money (which is why we run ads), and takes time and effort. Since 2015, the Shuttle Pod has been producing mostly bi-weekly episodes, with new podcasts every week whenever new shows (Discovery and Picard) are airing. To date, we have published 121 episodes.
We love producing the pod, and we hope you’ve loved listening. If so, and if you are able to, please consider donating to the cause! Become a patron for $1, $5, $20, or any other monthly amount. All levels get you access to anything posted on the Patreon page, which I’m guessing will mostly consist of funny behind-the-scenes moments that didn’t make it into a final podcast episode. At $5, we’ll give you a shout-out on the podcast, if you so desire. And at $20, you get a very exclusive sticker sent to you in the mail. It’s not even a special sticker, except for the fact that you have to donate $20 per month to get it, which makes it special, right?
New to the pod?
Never listened to the podcast? Got some extra time on your hands? Why not give us a shot! Here are just a few ways to listen, but we should be available wherever you get podcasts. (If we’re not, let us know!)
Check out these teaser videos to whet your appetite (there’s a whole playlist of seven videos here!):
Here is a selection of some of our most popular shows that you can play right here in your browser:
Shuttle Pod 70 – Star Trek Reunified At Last! And Star Trek Las Vegas 2019
Published on: Aug 15, 2019
The Shuttle Pod crew reconvenes after Las Vegas to discuss the big the news of the last week, along with our reflection on the big Star Trek Las Vegas convention earlier in the month. Of course the big news is that CBS and Viacom finally came to an agreement to merge, bringing Star Trek back under one roof. Brian, Kayla, and Matt discuss the history of Star Trek ownership and what the future of Trek could look like now that things are reunified. The other big Trek topic of late was what happened in Star Trek Las Vegas. The podcasters discuss the general vibe of the convention this year, and the top panels that they were most excited to attend: ‘Star Trek: Picard’ and ‘Lower Decks.’ Lastly, there’s a grab bag of news items since the last podcast that the trio of hosts discuss.
Shuttle Pod 73 – On the Ground At NYCC & ‘Short Treks’ Season 2 Reviews
Published on: Oct 21, 2019
Host Matt talks with Laurie about what it was like to be in the stadium for the New York Comic Con “Star Trek Universe” and The Orville panels. Then the duo goes in depth — discussing the two newest Star Trek: Short Treks: “Q&A” and the rather polarizing “The Trouble With Edward.”
Shuttle Pod 71 – Star Trek Day Celebration
Published on: Sep 19, 2019
The Shuttle Pod crew celebrates September 8th with reflections on their early fandom. Join Brian, Jared, Kayla and Matt as they discuss a bit of news that’s come out since the last podcast, and then jump into discussing their earliest memories of Star Trek and how they became Trekkies.
At The Disco 15 – A Look Back To The Birth And Development Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Published on: Feb 22, 2018
First seasons are always a little rough, and creating a first season of an entirely new Star Trek show — the first show since since Enterprise was canceled and CBS split from Viacom – makes for even more challenges. Listen in as Jared, Kayla, and Matt discuss the trials and tribulations of Season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery. Now that the first season of Star Trek: Discovery is over, The Shuttle Pod will be back to standard form, with bi-weekly podcast topics that span the Trek franchise.
Episode 26: Captain Picard’s Best Speeches
Published on: Nov 30, 2016
Picard is the kind of captain who can energize his crew with an inspiring speech right around the climax of an episode. Is Picard the best speech-giver in all of Star Trek? This week, the Shuttle Pod crew take a look at Picard’s best speeches. Listen to the podcast to hear Picard’s best speeches and our thoughts on each, plus rewatch these classic moments below.
Thanks for your support, and take a look at all of the Shuttle Pod podcast articles!
You do realize many of your listeners are right now either finding themselves suddenly unemployed or worried about this happening, right?
Yeah. Now is an odd time to be asking for money.
And for others, some sense of normalcy is comforting. Individuals are free to do as they please, either now, or in the future when things settle down.
That is, of course, true, Phil. Still, it’s rather insensitive to choose now, of call times, to ask people to donate money to a fan website. There are thousands and thousands of people suddenly panicking because of a lack of groceries and medical supplies, an inability to pay their rent, and other financial hardships. Funding a Star Trek website is not important at a time like this. Look, I love this site as much as the rest guy, but the timing on this post was simply bad.
It’s a tip jar.
…and that tip jar could be put out at a more opportune time.
That’s up to those doing the tipping, not you.
Or, perhaps for those of us who are still employed, working from home, and participating, it’s a good time to lend our support so that those of us who can’t afford to can continue to get content from TrekMovie to help divert us.
One wonders if the advertising revenue stream will be down.
We at TrekMovie find ourselves in the same situation. Please keep in mind we do this website for free for zero profit. Some of our staff have lost their jobs, and we are looking for ways to help. If you are unable to give right now, that is completely understandable. But if you are lucky enough to be doing fine right now, this is one way you can help out our brand, if you so choose. Thanks for being a fan of the site.
Kayla,
I figured that was the case. I love the shuttlepod. My business has been cut in half but it may pick up. If it does, I will be very happy to donate to shuttlepod. You guys are the very best.
Hi. Are current events appropriate for a Trek story?
That question was nonsensical, much like the past couple of films.
You wrote in one post about insensitivity and then behaved rudely towards someone in another post. Do you expect to be taken seriously?
You just equated two entirely unequatable things. Do you expect to be taken seriously?
Look, you’re being an ass to people. Simple as that. At a time when people should be kinder. So if you really are that thoughtful, sensitive person, start acting like it.
Sucks that there are time stamps on these posts. So, even though the world is ending, and horrors, you’re just highly offended that the mods could be so insensitive to ask for a little financial support to offset cost, it’s never a bad time to take a shot at a Hollywood type. You’re going on like you’re personally making Ken Copeland’s jet payment.
Please try again. You think you made a point, but you didn’t.
Okay, I’ll be a bit more direct. You’re being an @$$hole and a hypocrite. Stop it.
Hi Bob, glad you dropped in.
About now, I’m looking for the most upbeat Trek stories in the archive.
In answer to your question though, it’s odd that in the 800-odd hours of Trek pandemics haven’t been a main storyline. A worthy subject definitely.
Closest I can think of is the DS9 episode ‘The Quickening,’ but while it had characteristics of a pandemic it was actually a deliberate disease engineered by the Dominion.
and do you think that worked? Did you like or no? Is it somehow too dark or just right for DS9.
In other news, just made a little corner of my pad into a home office since home is the name of the game now. Tiny little corner, but just enough room for the only trinket I will ever need: a Trek movie poster signed by Nimoy.
Will give it away one of these days to someone on this site since this is the best trek site around. I have had fun chatting here with some of you for over ten years! Holy!
Good luck out there.
I’ve always thought “The Quickening” was excellent!
Macrocosm is sort of a pandemic story line. Kind of. Same with Babel. And there was that one TNG episode where everybody on the Enterprise got sick because of a disease in Wesley’s skiing holoprogram.
“Naked Now”, a loose (and hugely inferior) remake of TOS’s “The Naked Time”.
That’s what I thought, something about it doesn’t scream Trek. Who knows?
I don’t see why not. But maybe in a few years.
Bob, I actually think that a pandemic could work for a Trek story from the angle of Trek’s positivity about / optimism for working the problem using science and engineering (biological and chemical) collaboration and expertise as well as the Trek refusal to give in to despair.
Not sure how Trek could do it, but one would need to flip the despair and social unraveling of something like Camus’ ‘The Plague’ on its head.
By the way, my favourite sci-fi pandemic novel is Connie Willis’ ‘Doomsday Book’ about time traveling historians from Oxford researching the period of bubonic plague in England.
No harm in being inspired by current events. We’re hardly going to boycott Stephen King’s The Stand because of Covid-19. Besides, all that time-travelling back to the 20th century: are we 100% confident time travellers didn’t bring back something lethal we’re not equipped for? I assume diseases and viruses have evolved as much as the 23rd/24th century humans carrying them? Not sure I want to know what the Klingon version of a flu looks like to a human.
Bob, current events have heavily influenced Trek stories since TOS.
Respecting Trek plots centered around a pandemic, there have been several:
VOY – “The Phage” is about a species (the Vidiians) infected with a disease that causes bodily deterioration, forcing them to steal vital organs from other species in order to survive.
DS9 – “The Quickening” has already been mentioned.
TOS – “The Naked Time” is about a disease spread throughout the Enterprise crew by physical human contact.
TOS – In “The Deadly Years,” the Enterprise landing party (except Chekov) becomes infected with a disease that causes rapid aging, though it’s not spread by human contact.
TOS – In “The Mark of Gideon,” the daughter of the planetary leader is intentionally infected with a communicable disease, in order to introduce sickness and death into their overpopulated society.
TNG – “The Naked Now” is a variation on TOS “The Naked Time” centered around a virus spread by physical human contact.
TNG – In “Unnatural Selection,” Dr. Pulaski contracts a rapid-aging aireborne disease created by the hyperfunctioning immune systems of genetically engineered children. From her self-imposed quarantine, Pulaski races against time to develop a cure to the disease before it kills her.
Come on, Cygnus, you’re getting rusty. I doubt Mr. Orci was speaking strictly to pandemic related Trek stories. I see plenty of conspiracy theories on my personal feeds from more conservative friends to think he may be fishing for that angle. By happy coincidence, that theme has been in play the first season of ST:P, with synthetic life the contagion. I say happy coincidence, because when these stories were being hammered out, no one had yet heard of Covid-19.
Phil
Oh? Well, everyone here is talking about pandemic-themed Trek stories. I suppose a conspiracy theory angle on it could be interesting. The problem I see with it is that there have been so many conspiracy theories, especially over the past two decades, that they’ve become more or less synonymous with “low information” or what used to be called ignorance. The resolution to any of these conspiracy theories over the past two decades always boils down to getting sufficient information from reputable sources. The JFK assassination conspiracy is unique in that it was officially ruled a conspiracy by the U.S. government, and there’s a ton of compelling circumstantial evidence that it was a conspiracy.
All of the others, though, boil down to paranoiacs overestimating their own level of knowledge in a given area or areas and refusing to listen to experts. Some of them make very compelling videos that utilize intentional misrepresentations of statements by experts to build their case. But you never see, for example, a panel of 10 reputable structural engineering experts saying that the nine-eleven attacks were “an inside job” or whatever. It’s always, at most, a lone expert whose statements are taken out of context. Anyway, I think that, in order for it to be interesting, a conspiracy theory angle would have to be unique — something other than just a government perpetrating a grand deception on the citizenry. I mean, that could be the basic premise, but the main theme would have to go well beyond that.
Let’s not forget Miri, and its unintentionally deadly virus….
Thanks for starting this. I love using Patreon to support my favorite online content creators. It’s totally optional and helps the creators with IRL expenses. This is really important now that many content creators have lost (or have significantly reduced) their primary income. I hope my tiny contribution helps keep the best Trek pod running!
Bob,
I think it is terrible that people are attacking you on this site after you are kind enough to drop in and say hi to us fans. And I say this as someone who does not really like your Star Trek work. But that doesn’t matter. You are a human being who is being friendly, and you do not deserve this bad treatment. This site is replete with people who hide behind their screens, launching anonymous Internet insults. What they don’ t realize is their attacks only reveal bad things about who they are and nothing else.
Bob, thank you for dropping by. Now more than ever, I hope you live long and prosper.
Maybe after the government economy stimulus plan, more people would be in the position to give to their favorite podcast. Well, that would be me! I jus found out today that IB cancelled all their exams, so I lose out of a lot of money as an examiner.
But there’s always Star Trek…
Today is William Shatner’s 89th birthday! Happy birthday, Bill!
I wouldn’t be opposed to subscribing to (paying for) the website, but my interest in podcasts is essentially zero.