President Barack Obama on the True Meaning of Star Trek | WIRED

POTUS is a Trekkie! WIRED guest editor President Barack Obama, WIRED editor in chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito discuss the original Star Trek series and what it reveals about our common humanity.


CONNECT WITH WIRED


ABOUT WIRED
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Through thought-provoking stories and videos, WIRED explores the future of business, innovation, and culture.

President Barack Obama on the True Meaning of Star Trek | WIRED

Starring: President Barack Obama, Editor in Chief Scott Dadich, and MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito
Executive Producer: Editor in Chief - Scott Dadich
Consulting Producer: Creative Director - Billy Sorrentino and Editorial Director - Robert Capps
Producer: Senior Producer - Sean Patrick Farrell
Supervising Producer: Executive Producer - Paula Chowles

[Tobanaman]

since Obama's term is up soon he should go on to be the next captain for the new Star Trek series

[Ashes]

He's right, Star Trek isn't all about technology, it's about philosophy. Every series of Star Trek asks moral questions to some degree.

[sparrowk]

I'm an Australian and I think Obama was awesome! It's a shame he finally has to leave office.

[Bassmaster]

Who is the interviewer? And why does he look like a detective on Law & Order SVU?

[TheSmallninjavicki]

Nicely said Mr. President. You will be greatly missed, even by us Canadians.

[SpaceKSCBlog]

Seventy-nine episodes, Mr. President. :-)

[hgwiechie]

I think the United States presidential transition from Obama to Trump is like if Captain Picard would handover the Enterprise to some Klingon villain... America wa'DIch!

[DLZ]

I love that he cites The Martian as a movie that shares the spirit of the TV series, despite its recasting of characters of color. I'd love to see Trek movies evoke that film much more than stories about good versus evil and vengeance-seeking villains.

[joeysmazzerati]

why doesn't this have more views???

[manuhortet]

As a european citizen... it seems almost crazy that so much people is wishing Trump to replace this guy.

[Kingding]

Obama isn't perfect by any stretch. But at least the guy can, at times, in these kind of situations, seem like a relatively normal person. Can you imagine Clinton or Trump in this kind of setting not coming across as completely disingenuous?

[brydakainma]

Oh jeez, did he only watch The Original Series? you have to watch all of them.

[learnteachlearn]

Obama is enjoying his time right now. No more campaign to run. lol

[SugaryCoyote]

Would Star Fleet drone random civilians?

[rideordiefabrications-rdf]

Still the best president in 2020. And now his VP is in office. Thank god the team is back. Because you know this man is on speed dial.

[gtjhuang]

I remember Obama was interviewed once and he said he is a movie buff that he likes God Father. This is also a movie a lot of people like, myself included. But God Father is dark and portraying the pessimistic part of human nature. Its message is that politicians and mafia are the same kind. I am glad to see here that Obama also likes Star Trek, and I am a big fan of it for its optimism of humanity. What Obama failed or being too cautious to deliver is that Star Trek or The Martian emphasizes collaboration among nations, not just people in America, but people of different nationalities. In The Martian, the Chinese were willing to offer their classified technology to save Matt Damon. This is the kind of collaborative spirits all nations should have, instead of keeping all the so called "classified" technologies for the sake of dominating others.

[Gal]

Him and Patrick Stewart need to have a chat, please, make it so.

[jeffyboyreloaded]

I hope Obama creates a counter-lobby organization when he's out of the presidency. An organization that gathers average citizens from all walks of life, experts on opposing sides of arguments, and starts defining the problems and solutions of tomorrow. No undue corporate influence from silicon valley, wall street, energy magnates, etc - just small simple effective. Then put that shit on youtube so we can watch it and pressure our government to do it. A lobbyist for citizens.

[ItohKuni]

God Damn, I'll miss you Mr. President :(

[mikecummings]

A Star Trek fan would know there is 78 episodes and certainly would not think there was 20