Star Trek has been part of Dave Bowman’s life since childhood. Remembering Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart brings him back to the characters, stories, and lessons that stayed with him through Navy service, fatherhood, and decades of watching the Enterprise explore the unknown.

A conversation with his son Ben opens a personal reflection on Chekov, Captain Kirk, and Jean-Luc Picard, from the humor of “The Trouble with Tribbles” to the historical warnings woven into the original series. Dave also remembers submarine leaders whose example inspired the same respect Patrick Stewart brought to the captain’s chair.

Then, The Next Generation episode “The First Duty” supplies the central question: what happens when loyalty to a team, political party, or personal ambition takes precedence over telling the truth? Dave applies Picard’s lesson to public leadership, voters’ responsibilities, and the Navy’s warning about longer deployments, drawing on his own experience to consider the consequences for sailors and their families.

A personal episode about growing older with Star Trek and the responsibility that comes with having the conn.

#StarTrek #PatrickStewart #WalterKoenig #Leadership #Navy #PlausiblyLive

Did somebody mistake an Eddie Murphy comedy for a campaign manual? Dave Bowman opens with The Distinguished Gentleman and Alaska’s two Dan Sullivans, examining an alleged election spoiler scheme, Trump’s demands for prosecution, and a similar namesake stunt in Washington state. Deliberately confusing voters deserves scrutiny regardless of which party tries it.

Then, baseball’s looming labor showdown has Dave questioning the arguments for a salary cap. With Milwaukee and Tampa Bay reaching the World Series, how convincing is the claim that smaller-market teams cannot compete? A lifelong baseball fan weighs competitive balance, ownership priorities, and the possibility of a lockout disrupting the 2027 season.

Finally, a tragic report about a woman who relied on ChatGPT for medication decisions prompts a personal admission: Dave has also sought AI guidance about an injury. His costly experience raises questions about leading prompts, reassuring answers, and the limits of a chatbot’s medical judgment.

Politics, baseball, and some hard-earned skepticism on Plausibly Live: The Dave Bowman Show.

#AlaskaSenateRace #MLBLockout #ChatGPT #TheDaveBowmanShow #PlausiblyLive

What does government by the people mean when voters approve an initiative and the fight immediately moves to court? On this episode of Plausibly Live: The Dave Bowman Show, Dave examines Washington’s battles over natural gas policy, taxes, girls’ sports, and the possibility of public power in Kitsap County. He explains why election coverage finally drove him to turn off the morning news, while arguing that frustration with the system makes voting more necessary.

The scrutiny extends to President Trump’s remarks about higher fuel prices and who actually benefits when Americans pay more at the pump. Drawing on a German journalist’s reflections after World War II, Dave considers the responsibility citizens carry when their own preferred leaders say things that deserve a challenge. From Olympia to Washington, D.C., this episode asks how much authority we surrender when party loyalty takes the place of independent judgment.