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We are joined by the SyFy Sistas who just launched the new round of the SyFy Sistas Legacy Fund! The Sistas have been a huge inspiration and a direct catalyst of our podcast. In this episode Tamia Harper, Yvette Blackmon Tom, and Fran Taylor talk about the origin of the Sistas, their mission to highlight Black Creators, create a safe space for people of colour in the fandom, and of course the late Sista Subrina Wood honoured by the SyFy Sistas Legacy Fund. AND we are joined by past guest of the show now turned guest host Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein! To support the Legacy Fund, and find some really cool swag, check out the official SyFy Sistas Store at the link below. Sales go directly to the Legacy Fund which itself supports social causes being undertaken by members of the fandom.  https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-official-syfy-sistas-store/ And if you know somebody in the fan community spearheading a TREKtivist cause, or you yourself are championing a cause that could use financial support, nominations are still being accepted! Use the form below! Fandom for the Federation Future! 🖖 "Boldly Go Grant" — $500 Nomination Form

Bjo Trimble! The Star Trek activist who mobilized the fandom to save Star Trek itself. In celebration of Star Trek's 60th Anniversary, we sat down with Bjo during Star Trek Las Vegas to talk about the letter writing campaign that saved Star Trek, Bjo's other activism work such as naming the first Space Shuttle "Enterprise", and how we all sustain our efforts as activists! Thanks to all who came to be a part of the discussion! Links: Bjo Trimble: The Woman Who Saved Star Trek Bjo's Facebook Page Bajoranresistance.info www.esthersecho.org

Does returning to the Moon bring us closer to a Federation future?  Witnessing Artemis, many of us felt our Trek spirits glow as four astronauts orbited the Moon bringing hope to a troubled Earth. But this "new space" industry, to which Artemis, belongs is also fueled by colonialism, nationalism, and a disregard for ecological damage. In this episode, Professor Mary-Jane Rubenstein - author of "Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race" - explores the dark side of returning to the Moon while holding tightly to our vision for a Star Trek world. Links: Mary-Jane Rubenstein | Astrotopia Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, Rubenstein Astronauts for America

Eddie Phanichkul is an entrepreneur, founder of medical protection device company VIDA, and a trained legal observer - a role which documents interactions between law enforcement and citizens. With ICE deployments in Minneapolis and the use of lethal militarized force against civilians, we explore legal observation as a way to push back. Links: https://www.mobilize.us https://shopvida.com/en-ca/pages/about-eddie-phanichkul https://willburrowsart.com 5calls.org https://teambree.com/

During the TREKtivism panel at STLV (Trek to Las Vegas), Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein raised the point that "Capitalism doesn't exist in the Federation. And we can't volunteer and fundraise ourself out of capitalism . We need to start thinking about system reform." In this episode, we continue that conversation with Dr. Prescod-Weinstein ( our first ever repeat guest!) to talk about reforming our economic system, Star Trek's depiction of an anti-capitalist future, and how the current for-profit space race is not the boldly going we asked for. Books and Resources: The Edge of Spacetime: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie – Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (Preorder) The Disordered Cosmos: A journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Dreams Deferred – Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein The Sum of Us "What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together" by Heather McGhee The Annotated Communist Manifesto Marx's Ethical Vision – Vanessa Wills Astrotopia – Mary-Jane Rubenstein The Cite Black Women in Physics Library The "Spectrum of Allies" Talking across the Divide – Justin Lee We Can't Talk About That at Work – Mary Francis Winters The Purpose of Power – Alcia Garza Dean Spade – Law professor – Trans Rights Organizer - on "activist burnout" A Few Rules for Predicting the Future - An Essay by Octavia E. Butler Links to Support the Syfy Sistas: Subrina Wood Memory Wall The Official SyFy Sistas Store | Wear hope. Fund science, stories & STEAM. | Bonfire Boldly Go Grant Nomination Form

Like many other fans, your Trektivism hosts are headed to STLV this week!  This seemed like a good time to drop our discussion from TrekTalks 4, moderated by John Champion of Roddenberry Podcasts, giving you a primer into Trektivism and what helped your hosts turn the corner from fandom to activism.  Join us in person at STLV, 9 A.M. Sunday morning (August 10th) in The Lounge at Vic's Bar, to share stories of volunteerism, activism, and acts of kindness that lead us towards the future depicted in Star Trek.

Colonel Bree Fram shares her story, from her first experience with Star Trek to her career in astronautical engineering and as a Space Force Colonel. In an emotional conversation, Bree opens up about the pain of the Trump administration's ban on transgender people serving in the military, how it directly impacted her career and life, and how she's moving forward. Links: https://www.breefram.com/ https://www.thetrevorproject.org

"How would you describe yourself to someone who couldn't see?" asks Bruce Horak, Engineer Hemmer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  Bruce joins us to talk about his work as an actor, painter, and now filmmaker with his upcoming documentary Boldly Going for which there is currently an active IndieGoGo campaign.  Boldly Going is described as "a groundbreaking documentary that chronicles Bruce Horak's inspiring journey as the first blind actor to play a blind character in the Star Trek franchise (Strange New Worlds).  But this a story that goes far beyond Bruce's on-screen character. Despite losing 90% of his vision to childhood cancer.  In this film, we follow him across North America and beyond as he meets others who have overcome barriers to find creative freedom and purpose.  In each encounter, Bruce paints a portrait of the person he encounters creating a moment of connection captured on canvas." Support Bruce's fundraiser at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/boldly-going-documentary#/

We are excited to be joined by Jarrah Hodge of the legendary Women at Warp podcast which recently just wrapped with its final ever episode. In addition to co-hosting and producing Women at Warp, Jarrah is also a communications, advocacy and engagement specialist with extensive experience in the non-profit sector and labour movement. She is now serving as the communication lead at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. In light of Canada's recent Federal Election and ongoing housing crisis, we were eager to hear about Jarrah's ongoing work. We also talk about visiting another podcast – The Treksperts Briefing Room where we talked DS9's "Past Tense" with Star Trek writer Lisa Klink! Links from the Episode: https://www.womenatwarp.com/ https://trekkiefeminist.com/ Ladies Who Trek Ottawa Fan Group https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CFUhsAx3u/ IKV Phoenix Ottawa Fan Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/ikvphoenix/ Treksperts Briefing Room featuring the TREKtivism Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/past-tense-part-1-ds9-s3-ep-11-w-trektivisms-matthew/id1552937601?i=1000699624114

Library for the Kind and Trek Long Island founder Stefanie Gangone and Paul Adams, Director of Diversity Programming and Convention Operations at TLI, appear on the podcast to talk about the history of both organizations and what to expect from the upcoming Star Trek-focused event happening May 30 - June 2.

This month's guest is science fiction author, science communicator, and host of The Big Sci-Fi Podcast, Adeena Mignogna. Adeena is currently spearheading a grassroots fundraising campaign by the "Star Trek Family" online community group. which is providing financial relief to those impacted by fire damage in Los Angeles. The Star Trek Family campaign has already raised nearly 7,000 dollars! You can support the fundraising effort by visiting https://www.stfamily.org/disasterrelieflafires And also be sure to visit Adeena's website and check out her expansive science fiction body of work, including Star Trek tie-in material, at https://adeenamignogna.com/

Scientists are superheroes!  And those scientist superheroes can be and look like anybody. That's the message of STEAM Superheroes - an organization that creates content, programs, and an upcoming comic book series designed to inspired and motivate youth to pursue careers in STEAM. In this episode, we speak to STEAM Superheroes team members (and Star Trek fans) Linda Zaruches, Dr.  Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio, and LaShana Lewis about the STEAM Superheroes Comic series, the importance of representation in STEAM, and how scientists are agents of social change. Find out more about STEAM Superheroes and support their comic at https://steamsuperheroes.org/

October is both Mental Health Awareness and National Antibullying Month. Chase Masterson stops by the show to talk about her 501(c)3 nonprofit Pop Culture Hero Coalition, its history, as well as her own super hero origin story. Pop Culture Hero Coalition uses evidence based video and tools with engaging pop culture references to teach behavior health skills in ways young people find relatable, teaching inclusion and acceptance in hopes to end bullying. For more information or to donate, https://www.popculturehero.org

In our special Trek the Vote episode, Heather Rae Barker interviews Emily Levy, founder and director of Scrutineers, an action-oriented, nonpartisan online community working for USA election fairness & transparency. Heather and Emily talk about the history of the organization and how they help educate, train, and mobilize nonpartisan election scrutineers. For more information or to donate to Scrutineers: https://scrutineers.org/about/mission-history/ For more information about Trek the Vote - https://www.trekthe.vote

In late September, we were invited to host a TREKtivism panel at Thunder Bay's ThunderCon! Thunder Bay is Matthew's hometown and he was honoured to be invited back for Canada's first TREKtivism panel and our first TREKtivism booth at a convention! We were joined by Patrick Kwok-Choon of Star Trek Discovery, the Ontario Klingon Cosplaying group of Peter and Caelan Hutchison, and ThunderCon representative Elise Frizado to talk about fundraising as Klingons, how conventions can support local initiatives, and being neurodivergent on a starship! You can also support a current ALS research fundraiser spearheaded by the Klingons in memory of Discovery's Ken Mitchell by going to https://alscanadawalktoendals.als.ca/ontario/teamklingon