What’s more Star Trek than violating the Prime Directive? This week’s “Discovery” episode feels familiar in a very good way. Jason defends Captain Burnham in imaginary Prime Directive court, but Judge Scott is not hearing it. Also, we spend a surprising amount of time wondering about how replicated food works. We blame Culber’s abuela. - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

James Thomson, the developer behind PCalc and Dice by PCalc (and other things), joins Scott to discuss "Genesis" (TNG S7E19). Topics include the many similarities between James and Neil Diamond, Blockbuster Video, and dubious science in this episode. - Scott McNulty with James Thomson.

With Dan away for the week John and Guy fumble their way through a brief look at whats on deck in superhero land. - Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.

In the final episode of The Price of Beauty, the adventurers take the battle to the hags…when they aren’t repeatedly pulling Townley from the abyss. - Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent and Monty Ashley.

Strap in, friends! We’ve got so much to talk about this month, including Cowboy Carter, embracing our fandom selves — past and present, revisiting the 80’s, Heather’s first in the wild fan encounter, and Stacy’s first-time guesting on another podcast. (We’re a poly podcast.) Mostly, we’ve got a lot of squeeing going on. - Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

A tale of dishwashers and large sinks. - John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

The penultimate episode of The Bad Batch has somehow both a lot going on and maybe not enough? Your Star Wars pals are here to discuss turbolifts unsafe for children, robot hands and, of course, proximity sensors. Lucasfilm - Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar and K Benesh.

At long last, this episode of “Star Trek: Discovery” answers the question fans have been asking about for decades: What’s under that Breen helmet? Wait, was that not your question? How about some backstory for this season’s antagonists? No? You wanted to know more juicy details about the Mirror Universe? Well, we don’t know what to tell you. Look in the mirror. We did. - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

Uh oh. It’s the Nevada episode. This is the one Lex was worried about before he and Brian started rewatching Studio 60. And it’s the first half of a two parter. But… maybe it wasn’t as bad as Lex remembered? It has John Goodman. It has time travel storytelling. How bad could it be? Only way to find out? Start Sorkin’ in it. - Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.

Why does discussing the overlooked 1991 classic “Dead Again” feel like we’re living a past life? Maybe it’s the shock of seeing young Sir Kenneth Branagh (attempting a weird American accent) and Dame Emma Thompson. Maybe it’s Sir Derek Jacobi making us wonder if that stutter is an “I, Claudius” reference. Maybe it’s the whole romantic fantasy thing, with a Hitchcockian past intruding on a 1990s present. - Jason Snell with Glenn Fleishman, Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra, Dr. Drang and...

Return to the Eighties’ version of the Sixties as we explore summer camp, first loves, progressive politics, and never putting Baby in a corner. After this week’s Dirty Dancing mission, we’re saying forget cop/not-a-cop pairings, let’s have more dancer/not-a-dancer matchups. - Annette Wierstra with Stacy Watnick.

Somehow, the answers to questions submitted by you, the listeners, about the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been stretched into three entire editions of Feuding Families! And we saved the best for last! Well, we didn’t, but we had fun playing, and we think you’ll have fun listening. - Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar, Chip Sudderth, Monty Ashley, Glenn Fleishman, Moisés Chiullán, David J. Loehr and Kelly Guimont.

Our heroes are stuck in a hallway, and their only means of defense are arson and ice rinks with a dash of desperation. - Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent and Monty Ashley.

Podcasters: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out! Jason Snell talks about marine life in J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” (1948). - John McCoy with Jason Snell.

Thanks to Listener David, we return for this special episode where we react to the opening of an age-old pack of Magnum, p.i. Trading Cards. Images should appear in your podcast player as we go, or you can see them in the show notes on the website. - Jason Snell, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr.

Down in the depths of precode cinema, where Shelly likes to spend torrid nights, there’s a depiction of how a department store can be a little Peyton Place, and how Warren William is never to be trusted. The great precode lothario stars with very young Loretta Young and Wallace Ford (who we just saw as a middle-aged creep in The Breaking Point) as her love interest. Aside from the sleaze, it’s kind of fun to see how a department store works in the 1930s. - Shelly Brisbin with Micheline...

The Bad Batch nears its finale and your Star Wars pals Dan, Tony, and Kat are along for the ride as the team “rescues” an Imperial admiral and makes their way to Tantiss. We discuss stunning vs. shooting, stage business, and nice white uniforms. Lucasfilm - Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar and K Benesh.

For your reconsideration. - Joe Rosensteel and Dan Sturm.

In this episode, we discuss “The Wrap Party,” a Studio 60 episode that certainly exists in our timeline. Things happen! For example, an old guy wanders into the studio. Matt and Sim go clubbing, sort of. Jordan tries to make friends. Listen, we’re still absolutely enjoying Studio 60, and we’re having plenty of fun chatting about it, but this episode doesn’t make our top 10 list so far. That’s ok! You’re in good hands with your ol’ pals Lex and Brian. Let’s do what we do best, and that’s go...

It’s time to celebrate the music of the first decade of this century via our 2000s album draft! From opera to show tunes, we’ve got several musical styles covered—and those are just Andy’s picks! Why do James’s picks leave us cold? What is Erika’s favorite Beat Saber band? Why does Kelly use karaoke as therapy? How does Shelly tactically use remixes? And why did Brian insist on editing this episode? - Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, James Thomson, Shelly Brisbin, Erika Ensign, Kelly...

The party reunites, beats up some statues, and encounters language barriers in their quest to save a scared Dwarf from a questionable wellness clinic. - Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent and Monty Ashley.

Time may change me, but I can’t trace time! We ping-pong through the personal history of the USS Discovery as Michael tries to teach herself how far she’s come, Rayner learns to let the Burn go and live a little, and Stamets gets to construct a box to crush a Time Bug. Also, a Short Trek is surprisingly relevant! We break it all down. - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

We follow up on some feedback about our theme songs, and theme songs in general, while taking on whether we use the Skip Intro button when we should be listening to TV theme songs. - John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

It is episode 200 of everyone’s beloved super-hero TV shows, movies, and dumb jokes podcast — BIFF! This week we tackle X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In which things happen to our hero rougjly in sequence until the end where he forgets them all. As a special episode two hundred treat we quickly revisit the various shows we’ve watched over the years and give a few briefs thoughts about each. Biff has a been great fun for all of us and we’d like to thank you all for reading along and being true...