First Contact Day 2026 - What's Next for Star Trek? w/ Matt Jennings

Julian is the creator and co-host of Strange New Pod. His first experience with Star Trek was TNG and The Undiscovered Country. On his off days, he likes long walks on the beaches of Risa. Strives for the rest of his team to read the outline.

Erik is a self admitted music, video game & film geek… sometimes actor/director/writer. He has been podcasting for over 10 years. His weaknesses include shiny things, audio equipment, and collector’s editions. Oh yeah, and "Faith of the Heart."

Hawk lives in Ontario, Canada, and loves television, movies, music, and video games. He grew up on episodes of TNG and worshipped Patrick Stewart to the point of following him into male pattern baldness. Season and episode names? Yeah, he’s got that.

Equal parts Trekkie, educator, and mischief-maker, Giraffe explores fandom, history, representation, and the style of Star Trek with passion. Always ready with sharp takes, bold cosplay, and a Romulan disruptor set to stun.

Emcee Frodis is a writer, artist, and pop culture scholar from Ontario, Canada. She is Bicelestial, loving both Trek and Wars. She cannot watch anything without writing her own backstory, leading to her Daily Headcanon Minute videos. She also may or may not be Giraffe.

John is a history of the 20th and 23rd century. He knows too much about Star Trek: he's thought too much about it, both in the serious sense through THE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT, in which he treats TOS like real history, and in the less serious sense through I QUIT STAR TREK, in which he treats Voyager like cruel and unusual punishment . In both ways he has applied his passion for history to his equal love for Trek, mainly in the form of Starships, Uniforms and trying to figure out why exactly Gene was Like That.