Back in the halcyon 1990s, a syndicated sci-fi TV series warned us that it, indeed, can happen here. In this podcast we use BABYLON 5 to talk through our current political moment in an attempt to process, understand, and, perhaps, find hope.
LAST BEST HOPE: An Explicitly Political Babylon 5 Podcast
Claim This Podcastby B90 Productions
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15 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Back in the halcyon 1990s, a syndicated sci-fi TV series warned us that it, indeed, *can* happen here. In this podcast we use BABYLON 5 to talk through our current political moment in an attempt to process, understand, and, perhaps, find hope.
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🇺🇲
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3/11/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 25, 2026
#15 – The Bitch of It Is You Probably Did the Right Thing (ENDGAME, RISING STAR)
<p><a href="https://pnc.st/s/last-best-hope/bb8e7137/the-bitch-of-it-is-you-probably-did-the-right-thing-endgame-rising-star-/transcript">Read transcript</a></p><hr><p>The Earth Civil War is over, but the harder question is what comes next. Josh and John revisit season 4's <strong>"Endgame"</strong> and <strong>"Rising Star"</strong> to talk about how democracies recover from authoritarianism, why good people obey bad leaders, what makes Sheridan such an extraordinary leader, and why Babylon 5's vision of power, media, and moral courage feels uncomfortably relevant.</p> <p>This is a jam-packed episode folks. So put C\&C in standby, head down to Earhart's, and crack open a <a href="https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Zima" rel="nofollow">Zima</a>.</p> <p>\============</p> <p>CHAPTERS:</p> <p>00:00 Introduction & revisiting Endgame and Rising Star</p> <p>01:00 First impressions of the Earth Civil War finale</p> <p>04:22 Sheridan's strategy for liberating Earth</p> <p>05:04 Clark, January 6th, and authoritarian collapse</p> <p>11:12 President Luchenko and the failures of institutional politics</p> <p>15:10 Sheridan gives people permission to resist</p> <p>20:34 Obedience, hierarchy & why people follow authoritarian leaders</p> <p>29:50 Why Sheridan is different</p> <p>33:20 JMS, Superman, and moral leadership</p> <p>38:52 Bester, mercy, and Sheridan's philosophy of power</p> <p>41:31 Lochley, trauma, and loyalty to institutions</p> <p>44:44 Endgame's emotional climax & Delenn's rescue</p> <p>46:01 ISN, media capture, and modern journalism</p> <p>50:32 Algorithms, social media, and today's information ecosystem</p> <p>58:39 Rising Star, Sheridan's resignation & the Interstellar Alliance</p> <p>1:03:18 Reconstruction, Lincoln & rebuilding after civil war</p> <p>1:08:35 Leadership, power & today's political moment</p> <p>1:12:50 Russia, Babylon 5's future history & the 1990s</p> <p>1:18:14 Power versus morality in government</p> <p>1:24:22 Marcus Cole and a different vision of the warrior</p> <p>1:32:57 The Rangers vs. authoritarian military culture</p> <p>1:34:23 Why Endgame hits differently than Severed Dreams</p> <p>1:36:47 The ending Babylon 5 almost had</p> <p>1:42:34 Why Babylon 5 still endures</p> <p>1:45:10 Looking ahead to Season Five</p> <p>\============</p> <p>REFERENCES:</p> <p><a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/086.html" rel="nofollow">The Lurker&#x27;s Guide Entry for S4E20 &quot;Endgame&quot;</a> — <a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/086.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/086.html</a></p> <p>__<a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/086.html" rel="nofollow">The Lurker&#x27;s Guide Entry for S4E21 &quot;Rising Star&quot;</a> — <a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/087.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/087.html</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/086.html" rel="nofollow"><strong>__</strong></a><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/god-forgives-brothers-don-t-the-long-march-of-military-education-and-the-making-of-american-manhood-jasper-craven/ff6d1cf46c2d9b69" rel="nofollow">God Forgives, Brothers Don&#x27;t by Jasper Craven</a> — <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/god-forgives-brothers-don-t-the-long-march-of-military-education-and-the-making-of-american-manhood-jasper-craven/" rel="nofollow">https://bookshop.org/p/books/god-forgives-brothers-don-t-the-long-march-of-military-education-and-the-making-of-american-manhood-jasper-craven/</a></p> <p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/military-education-and-american-manhood-w-jasper-craven/id1462703434?i=1000769628568" rel="nofollow">The Know Your Enemy Podcast</a> — <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/military-education-and-american-manhood-w-jasper-craven/id1462703434" rel="nofollow">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/military-education-and-american-manhood-w-jasper-craven/id1462703434</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/babylon5/comments/1tkikao/severed_dreams/" rel="nofollow">Reddit discussion: Clark&#x27;s military takeover of ISN</a> — <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/babylon5/comments/1tkikao/severed_dreams/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/babylon5/comments/1tkikao/severed_dreams/</a></p> <p>\============</p> <p><*></p> <p>lastbesthopeb5@gmail.com</p>
May 11, 2026
#14 – Talking Heads (AND NOW FOR A WORD, THE ILLUSION OF TRUTH)
<p><a href="https://pnc.st/s/last-best-hope/34d0dd66/talking-heads-and-now-for-a-word-the-illusion-of-truth-/transcript">Read transcript</a></p><hr><p>It's our long-discussed episode on the media in Babylon 5 in which we take on two of the show's most important episodes about journalism, propaganda, and the construction of political reality: “And Now for a Word” and “The Illusion of Truth.”</p> <p>The conversation looks at how deeply news media was baked into JMS’s original conception of Babylon 5, from ISN as a central narrative device to the show’s use of documentary language, commercial breaks, and authoritative TV-news aesthetics. Josh and John discuss why ISN’s existence makes sense in-universe, how media infrastructure naturally concentrates power, and how easily a trusted news source can become an arm of the state.</p> <p><strong>00:00</strong> — Introduction: the long-awaited “media episodes” discussion</p> <p><strong>00:22</strong> — Why “And Now for a Word” and “The Illusion of Truth” work as companion episodes</p> <p><strong>00:45</strong> — JMS’s original notes reveal Babylon 5 was conceived as a historical documentary funded through a future news network</p> <p><strong>02:28</strong> — Why ISN being a single dominant interstellar news source actually makes sense in-universe</p> <p><strong>04:10</strong> — Media monopolization, capitalism, and parallels to modern corporate consolidation</p> <p><strong>05:21</strong> — Why JMS used familiar 20th-century news formats instead of fragmented social-media-style media ecosystems</p> <p><strong>08:37</strong> — “Objectivity” versus agenda-driven journalism in “The Illusion of Truth”</p> <p><strong>10:22</strong> — “And Now for a Word” as a fake CNN broadcast — and why the commercial structure feels so unsettling</p> <p><strong>11:46</strong> — The PsiCorps commercials: normalization through advertising and emotional manipulation</p> <p><strong>14:12</strong> — Why the PsiCorps propaganda is so effective</p> <p><strong>14:53</strong> — Economic precarity, capitalism, and authoritarian recruitment tactics</p> <p><strong>16:02</strong> — Babylon 5’s future remains recognizably capitalist unlike Star Trek’s post-scarcity Federation</p> <p><strong>18:16</strong> — The politics of “Why are we spending money on aliens?”</p> <p><strong>19:13</strong> — Why Dr. Franklin’s observation that most humans have never left Earth is significant</p> <p><strong>20:04</strong> — Fear of “the other” and anti-alien sentiment as political strategy</p> <p><strong>22:50</strong> — Humanity’s short-term memory and why societies abandon long-term projects</p> <p><strong>24:12</strong> — Delenn’s interview and the politics of identity, conformity, and “purity”</p> <p><strong>31:09</strong> — Londo versus G’Kar: how television framing shapes who appears “reasonable”</p> <p><strong>32:25</strong> — ISN’s supposedly “objective” framing already contains ideological assumptions</p> <p><strong>34:20</strong> — Dan Randall, “reasonable” fascism, and media manipulation through editing</p> <p><strong>35:45</strong> — Confession, propaganda, and McCarthy-era parallels in “The Illusion of Truth”</p> <p><strong>37:49</strong> — The Nuremberg trials, postwar media, and the refusal to believe “it can happen here”</p> <p><strong>39:19</strong> — Why JMS warned viewers that “The Illusion of Truth” would be difficult to rewatch</p> <p><strong>41:26</strong> — Silent footage, decontextualized imagery, and modern propaganda techniques</p> <p><strong>43:15</strong> — How conspiracy theories grow from one small true detail</p> <p><strong>44:59</strong> — McCarthyism, blacklists, algorithms, and modern forms of information control</p> <p><strong>47:08</strong> — JMS’s optimism: truth may be incomplete, but people can still learn</p> <p><strong>50:18</strong> — Why definitive historical truth is often impossible</p> <p><strong>53:27</strong> — Propaganda succeeds by offering simple, emotionally satisfying conclusions</p> <p><strong>54:29</strong> — Modern political fractures, war narratives, and media credibility</p> <p><strong>58:07</strong> — Hypernormalization and knowingly participating in false realities</p> <p><strong>59:30</strong> — AI, tech billionaires, and hostility toward introspection and nuance</p> <p><strong>01:00:38</strong> — William Shatner’s Blue Origin reaction versus Jeff Bezos’s indifference</p> <p><strong>01:03:08</strong> — Why introspection may be incompatible with certain forms of power and “greatness”</p> <p><strong>01:06:22</strong> — If humanity loses its humanity, what exactly are we trying to build?</p> <p><strong>01:07:26</strong> — Final thoughts on ISN, journalism, and why these episodes feel more disturbing now than in the 1990s</p> <p><strong>01:09:32</strong> — Closing remarks and outro</p> <p><*></p> <p>lastbesthopeb5@gmail.com</p>
April 1, 2026
#13 – Some Deep Space Franchise (HOMEFRONT/PARADISE LOST)
<p>For April Fool's Day, we show you what we'd be like as a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine podcast...</p> <p>lastbesthopeb5@gmail.com</p><p><a href="https://pnc.st/s/last-best-hope/23264d17/some-deep-space-franchise-homefront-paradise-lost-/transcript">Read transcript</a></p><hr>
15 total episodes available
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