Treks and Tangents
A weekly Star Trek watch along podcast, cohosted by a Star Trek newbie who likes to trek off on tangents and a Star Trek expert whose job it is to get the tangents back on trek.
Episodes
33 episodes
Amok Time (Star Trek TOS - S2E01)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Spock is dying.The cure?Apparently: getting married and fighting Kirk with a giant Vulcan salad fork.This week on Treks and Tangents, we dive into Amok Time: the episode whe...
Operation -- Annihilate! (Star Trek TOS - S1E30)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]On this episode Treks and Tangents, we break down Operation -- Annihilate!. Also known as the episode where Star Trek decided, “What if the villains were just… really gross?”These...
The City on the Edge of Forever (Star Trek TOS - S1E29)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Widely regarded as the highest-rated episode of The Original Series, The City on the Edge of Forever shows Star Trek at its absolute peak.In this episode, we break down why this s...
The Alternative Factor (Star Trek TOS - S1E28)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]When one of the most confusing episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series collides with a podcast that refuses to let nonsense slide… you get this.This week on Treks and Tangents, we dive ...
Errand of Mercy (Star Trek TOS - S1E27)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Kirk and Spock beam down expecting a war zone… and instead get the calmest, creepiest planet in the galaxy.In this episode of Treks and Tangents, we break down Errand of Mercy—from the Organi...
The Devil in the Dark (Star Trek TOS - S1E26)
[Haling Frequencies Open]Here’s a short, funny episode preview pulled from your episode’s tone and moments:A mining colony calls for help after something starts turning workers into crispy space dust… and Kirk immediately declares wa...
Surprise Bonus Episode (April Fools' - 2026)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]That's right, today is April Fools' Day! What better way to celebrate than with a bonus episode. Something familiar, but a little different. Something goofy, yet something still enjoyable. Something... well, we ...
This Side of Paradise (Star Trek TOS - S1E25)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]And we got really hot,when we saw Mr. Spock,fight a triffid that spits poison and thrills.This week on Treks and Tangents we cover This Side of Paradise: when the Enterprise crew beam...
A Taste of Armageddon (Star Trek TOS - S1E24)
In this episode of Treks and Tangents, we step into the world of A Taste of Armageddon where war is neat, tidy… and somehow even worse. When entire populations politely report for scheduled disintegration, Kirk decides mayb...
Space Seed (Star Trek TOS - S1E23)
This week on Treks and Tangents, the Enterprise accidentally unthaws one of Earth’s greatest historical mistakes: Khan and his Golden Underwear Gang. Khan quickly proves that waking up ancient super-dictators might not have been Starfleet’s bes...
The Return of the Archons (Star Trek TOS - S1E22)
Join us as we jump through the plot holes of The Return of the Archons and explore one of Trek’s earliest deep dives into authoritarian “utopias,” creepy hooded enforcers, and a Red Hour Festival so lively, it's a riot!
Court Martial (Star Trek TOS - S1E21)
When Captain Kirk is hauled into a Starfleet courtroom for allegedly leaving a crewman to die, things get tense faster than a redshirt on an away mission.This week on Treks and Tangents, we dive into Court Martial, the ep...
Tomorrow is Yesterday (Star Trek TOS - S1E20)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]What happens when the Enterprise accidentally slingshots itself straight into 1960s Earth… and suddenly we’re the aliens?This week we dive into “Tomorrow Is Yesterday”, where Captain Kirk ...
Arena (Star Trek TOS - S1E19)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]This week on Treks and Tangents, we step into the rocky wasteland of Arena from The Original Series. It’s fists, homemade cannons, questionable chemistry skills, and the slowest lizard in the gal...
The Squire of Gothos (Star Trek TOS - S1E18)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Greetings and felicitations! Quite the quirky, quizzical quadrant of Treks and Tangents this week, as we quietly queue up questions, quandaries, and quality commentary from the episode "The Sq...
The Galileo Seven (Star Trek TOS - S1E17)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]This week on Treks and Tangents, we divert to explore the episode "The Galileo Seven". We discuss how a stupid decision to send the top members of your crew out to explore a space quasar in a tin can will always...
Shore Leave (Star Trek TOS - S1E16)
[Hailing Frequencies]This week on Treks and Tangents, it’s "Shore Leave": the episode where the Enterprise goes on vacation, no one questions anything, and everyone has fun (eventually).Between imaginary tigers, fairy-tale princes...
Balance of Terror (Star Trek TOS - S1E15)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]In this episode of Treks and Tangents, we’re diving deep into "Balance of Terror"—aka the moment Star Trek basically reinvented Submarine Battles in Space!We struggle to explain how the Enterprise and the...
The Conscience of the King (Star Trek TOS - S1E14)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]This week: our Star Trek newbie and resident Trek expert dive head-first into Shakespearean drama, a murder mystery in space, and one very suspicious guy with a metal mask. Is he a brilliant thespian… or a genocida...
The Menagerie Part 2 (Star Trek TOS - S1E13)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Trapped in a chair, trapped in Talosian mind games, and trapped listening to Spock explain himself again. This week we wrap up The Menagerie, Part 2 where illusions run wild, Starfleet rules get ...
The Menagerie Part 1 (Star Trek TOS - S1E12)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]This week on Treks and Tangents we’re "reopening the cage" and exploring The Menagerie, Part 1. Together we'll unpack if Morse Code still exists, court-martial chaos, and exactly how much l...
The Corbomite Maneuver (Star Trek TOS - S1E11)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]This week on Treks and Tangents, we’re testing nerves, egos, and bluffing skills with The Corbomite Maneuver, the episode that asks: what if your greatest weapon is confidence? Our co-hosts react...
Dagger of the Mind (Star Trek TOS - S1E10)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]Strap in for a mind-bending trip to Tantalus V as Treks and Tangents tackles Dagger of the Mind. Kirk and Dr. Helen Noel visit a “therapeutic” penal colony that promises peace, love, and zero vio...
Miri (Star Trek TOS - S1E09)
[Hailing Frequencies Open] In this week’s episode, we boldly go where puberty has gone horribly wrong. Join us as Kirk, Spock, Janice and McCoy beam down to a planet full of kids who haven’t aged in 300 years—but still some...
What Are Little Girls Made Of? (Star Trek TOS - S1E08)
[Hailing Frequencies Open]On this episode, we discuss Star Trek’s most dysfunctional robot family drama: Andrea pines, Ruk looms, and Kirk tries very hard not to get turned into a glorified action figure.[End Transmission]