Dreaming Against the Machine Episode 2: Star Trek, with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
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Apr 21, 2026 
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, physicist and author bridging cosmology and social justice, chats about Star Trek as a hopeful allegory. They reminisce fandom origins and conventions. They debate personhood through Data, race and species tropes, and labor and union themes in space narratives. They push back on reactionary uses of sci fi and celebrate community, art, and rebuilding futures.
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Early Star Trek Love Sparked By Family And Data
- Chanda Prescod-Weinstein traces her Star Trek fandom to seeing Star Trek IV at age four and bonding with her father over The Next Generation.
- She identified with Data's curiosity and moral focus and later became a convention regular, attending Vegas shows yearly.
Conventions Built A Welcoming Fandom Community
- Chanda recounts discovering conventions after Patrick Stewart canceled a Boston event, then becoming a regular at Las Vegas shows.
- She highlights finding Black fans and volunteers there, saying the Star Trek fandom felt welcoming to her.
Star Trek Is About People Not Tech
- Adam Becker argues Star Trek is less about gadgets and more about how people relate to one another in an aspirational future.
- The franchise uses space as setting to explore equity, ethics, and social relations rather than technological determinism.
