Crime and Punishment.
Many different forms of punishment are depicted in Star Trek. From the Risa-like Federation penal colony in New Zealand to engramatic purges and twenty-year virtual prison sentences, Meta Treks hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the ethics of the various forms of punishment seen in the Star Trek universe. Zachary and Mike debate the different possible justifications of punishment in general, such as punishment as a deterrent, punishment as getting what you deserve, punishment as maximizing social utility, punishment as repaying a debt to society, punishment as redemption, and punishment as education. Given the real-world issues of increasing prison populations and the culture of criminalization, Star Trek provides a model of the best (and sometimes the worst) of human nature and of our ideals about how to handle the ever-present problems of crime and punishment in society.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 29 (00:01:06)
New iTunes Review (00:02:45)
The Ready Room - 200th Episode (00:06:35)
Initial Thoughts on Punishment in Star Trek (00:10:15)
Luxurious Federation Penal Colonies (00:12:19)
Federation vs. Non-Federation Punishment (00:13:30)
Possible Justifications for Punishment (00:15:21)
Intentionality and Gradations of Punishment (00:19:06)
The Death Penalty in TOS "The Menagerie" (00:21:02)
The Variety of Punishments in Star Trek (00:26:49)
Virtual Punishment - Chief O'Brien in DS9 "Hard Time" (00:29:49)
Engramatic Purge - B'Elanna Torres in VOY "Random Thoughts" (00:35:59)
Paying Debt to Society (00:41:00)
The Evolution and Future of the Prison - Michael Foucault (00:44:09)
The Bell Riots and the Culture of Criminalization (00:48:14)
The Punishment Box in DS9 "Paradise" (00:55:23)
Klingons - The Presumption of Guilt and Hereditary Punishment (00:58:12)
Compassion and Punishment - Cue the Picard Speech (01:06:05)
The Role of Anger and Disgust - Vulcan Logic or Human Emotion? (01:11:46)
Zachary's Final Thoughts (01:20:41)
Mike's Final Thoughts (01:27:23)
Hosts
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison
Production
Dennis Castello (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)
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