What better way to close out Star Trek Week then with a special episode of “Hard N.O.C. Life?”

Joining Keith on the broadcast are newest NOCs writer/professor Shawn Taylor (@reallovepunk) and actress Junko Goda (@GoJunko) as well as returning panelists Jason Sperber (@dad_strangeland), N’Jaila Rhee (@BlasianBytch) and Raymond Chow.

This special Trek episode’s topics include:

• Despite making millions of dollars at the box office, no one really likes Star Trek Into Darkness (especially since Jenn wasn’t on the show to defend it), and the Nerds explore the reasons why. Namely, Abrams and co. exploiting the fans, courting the “dudebros,” and a directing a non-menacing Benedict Cumberbatch performance.

• Speaking of Cumberbatch, the Nerds (finally) tackle the Khan-troversy of casting a very White, very British man to play a character who is meant to be South Asian and has been historically played by a Latino actor.

• Star Trek has long been praised for its ability to discuss race and other issues through the science fiction storytelling medium. But what are the problems with using alien species to stand-in for the issues surrounding race and racism in modern day America?

• Deep Space Nine was the one Trek series that race and racism didn’t need to be discussed via allegory, but tackled those issues head on. How did the only series with a Black captain navigate race and blackness? And how much of that had to do with casting an actor like Avery Brooks in the first place?

All this and more on “Hard N.O.C. Life Episode III: Star Trek Week, The Final Frontier!”

Watch this space every Friday for new episodes of “Hard N.O.C. Life” and go to our YouTube channel to subscribe!