Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Though it wasn't always obvious, the Cold War had a profound influence on the first thirty years of Star Trek. The Cold War ended in the early 1990s, and though there's been plenty of good Star Trek, the franchise hasn't really been the same since.
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Listen to the Late Seating podcast:
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Listen to The Ensign's Log podcast:
▶RSS: feeds.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud:playlists:432476748/sounds.rss
▶Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/lemme-listen/sets/the-ensigns-log-podcast
▶Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:16 - The Cold War Context
04:11 - The Federation vs. The Klingons
07:41 - Domino Theory and Proxy Wars in Space
10:01 - Espionage and Sabotage: "The Trouble with Tribbles"
11:46 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country & the End of History
15:13 - The Next Generation: A Hopeful, Post-War Outlook
17:02 - The Loss of a Unifying Narrative
20:31 - From the Borg to Deep Space 9
24:50 - Enterprise and the War on Terror
26:10 - Streaming Era Trek and Fragmented Narratives
28:40 - Climate Change
33:50 - Why the Cold War Was a "Safe" Allegory
39:05 - The Future of Star Trek as a Mirror
40:33 - Shoutouts, Plugs and Announcements
#StarTrek #ColdWar #SciFiAnalysis #StarTrekHistory #PopCulture #SteveShives
Though it wasn't always obvious, the Cold War had a profound influence on the first thirty years of Star Trek. The Cold War ended in the early 1990s, and though there's been plenty of good Star Trek, the franchise hasn't really been the same since.
▶Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/steveshives/join
▶Watch more Trek, Actually videos at: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0-LSnSBNInfrr7MDRuXmfk1LJ_KjvaXt
▶Watch our Star Trek: Deep Space Nine watch-along series, Trek Reluctantly, at: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0-LSnSBNInet_lODHGxmTqOdJGaD4k7i
▶Listen to our Trek-themed comedy podcast, The Ensign's Log:
▶RSS: feeds.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud:playlists:432476748/sounds.rss
▶Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/lemme-listen/sets/the-ensigns-log-podcast
▶Read my photo comic, Star Trek: Nemeses: photos.app.goo.gl/yC3Jib6hNQLdsKpd7
▶Patreon: patreon.com/steveshives
▶PayPal: paypal.me/SteveShives
▶Venmo: venmo.com/thatguysteveshives
▶Twitter: twitter.com/steve_shives
▶Facebook: facebook.com/thatguysteveshives
▶Instagram: instagram.com/steve.shives
Listen to the Late Seating podcast:
▶RSS: feeds.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud:playlists:109169217/sounds.rss
▶Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/lemme-listen/sets/late-seating
Listen to The Ensign's Log podcast:
▶RSS: feeds.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud:playlists:432476748/sounds.rss
▶Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/lemme-listen/sets/the-ensigns-log-podcast
▶Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:16 - The Cold War Context
04:11 - The Federation vs. The Klingons
07:41 - Domino Theory and Proxy Wars in Space
10:01 - Espionage and Sabotage: "The Trouble with Tribbles"
11:46 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country & the End of History
15:13 - The Next Generation: A Hopeful, Post-War Outlook
17:02 - The Loss of a Unifying Narrative
20:31 - From the Borg to Deep Space 9
24:50 - Enterprise and the War on Terror
26:10 - Streaming Era Trek and Fragmented Narratives
28:40 - Climate Change
33:50 - Why the Cold War Was a "Safe" Allegory
39:05 - The Future of Star Trek as a Mirror
40:33 - Shoutouts, Plugs and Announcements
#StarTrek #ColdWar #SciFiAnalysis #StarTrekHistory #PopCulture #SteveShives
