Erin Macdonald

So many new folks! Welcome! I’m Erin, I have a PhD in gravitational astrophysics and now work as a TV writer, producer, voice actor, and science consultant. Most people know me from my work on all the modern Star Trek shows. This is a personal social page for me so expect lots of content on: (1/2)

It’s true, signing in to BallotReady is completely optional. You can access our complete voter guide without sharing any of your personal info. Our main goal is to inform as many voters as possible!

I'm a @proton.me user and I am fucking appalled by this. What is this, Proton? Because it is screaming "we're not different, we're just like the rest of big tech and you can't trust us not to be evil, either". www.404media.co/proton-to-re...

I was already loving the latest series of Taskmaster NZ but to see Hoani Hotene cover up his Harry Potter tattoo *as a prize task* is S-Tier for me.

#StarTrek #WalterKoenig

My favorite memory of Walter was on the Star Trek cruise in 2022 and due to random chance my partner and I, as well as @granades.com and @misty.granades.com, ended up having a private dinner with him. He was gracious, engaging, and genuinely interested in what we did. deadline.com/2026/10/walt...

I sold $16K in Pokémon cards and it fucking sucked aftermath.site/pokemon-card-s...

The fact that billionaires can just buy an entire film distribution company that has been running and respected for over a decade to kill a documentary about their billionaire friend and nothing can be done about it is just Fuck man

One of the most insightful comments about game development came from a former boss. He said “Making a game is like starting a band. You can’t throw money at a new studio with random AAA veterans and expect it to crank out a hit.” 🧵

One day a couple years ago @jessiegender.bsky.social and I sat in a pub and wrote the most amazing Mass Effect TV series pitch. I’m so proud of that work and just thinking about how a great friendship was borne from this wonderful sci-fi universe.

Casting a net of questionable size here, if you’re an ex-BioWare dev (or know of one who may not see this) working on something cool you’d like featured in a roundup at Kotaku, drop it below. Store page links helpful, and let me know what your role was at BW. Projects big and small welcome! RTs plz!

Star Trek Prodigy was insanely good, season two was very important to Trek continuity (both Picard and Voyager), and not enough people know this. #startrek

Better late than never: seasonal flu and Covid vaccines are now coursing through my veins! Stay healthy, friends 💉😷

I’m truly devastated by this. Mass Effect is my favorite scifi IP, and I got my start in conventions talking about the science behind it. Even more fundamentally, Dragon Age Origins made me fall in love with video games.

Your Harry Potter dollars funded this.

Now is the time to care about everyone, not “once we win” The time to care about everyone is always always always now

Definitely my favorite movie for many reasons but its feel-good nature is a big one. It’s a go-to for me when my depression reigns supreme

“The internet is a store but it used to be a library” hits me like a slug to the chest

I meet lots of folks wanting to be science advisors — here’s an opportunity!

If I could walk away from Harry Potter you can too. Don’t believe me? Listen to this podcast episode and just let the franchise die out.

"Am I depressed because my periods are ending, or did my boss use my emails to train my AI replacement and then fire me with no severance the day before I was supposed to have spleen surgery?" buff.ly/oLdL54C

If I could walk away from Harry Potter you can too. Don’t believe me? Listen to this podcast episode and just let the franchise die out.

🚫new episode!🚫 #TransTuesday If you care about trans people, let the Harry Potter books, films, show, theme park, video games, merchandise, fan-fic, & fan art go. Even pirating it keeps it alive Trans rights are more important than your nostalgia @drerinmac.bsky.social returns to discuss!

I've seen other people throw around career advice lately, so here's mine: hit your fucking deadlines. Editors don't just make them up for funsies. If you blow it once, you won't have the chance to blow it again.

I added a statement to my email signature: “None of this was written with or utilized GenAI or LLMs. Human, mistakes and all!”

What I really appreciated about this episode was being able to share my personal timeline of disillusionment as a fan alongside her descent. I hope this resonates with folks!

Thanks so much to @tillybridges.bsky.social for having me back to discuss this important topic!

🎃 October holidays at Glasgow Science Centre! We’re open every day from 10am, Friday 9 -Sunday 25 October, with: 🔸 Spooky workshops 🔸 Spellcasting School science show 🔸 Autumn Astronomy 🔸 3 floors of hands-on science 🔸 Meet the Expert sessions Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/4z45PAm

she had to hide and be stealth, it’s never mentioned the character is trans but there’s something truly magic in knowing that the next time i rewatch TNG, i will see her there and i will know that someone like me helped make the show that ignited my lifelong love of Star Trek 😭

Things Gavin Newsom has vetoed this week: -A ban on secretly recording people with smart glasses -A ban on ICE agents working for the state government -A ban on websites selling your data -A bill giving native tribes more say over water rights -A bill protecting transgender healthcare providers

If the live band 40th anniversary screening of Labyrinth is coming your way I HIGHLY recommend seeing it. The band is epic, the audience costumes are on point, and the vibe is A*.

Obligatory post this year: Me on 30 September vs Me on 1 October

Meet Backpack, your 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. Backpack is 20 years old, weighs about 1,000 pounds and got his nickname because, as a cub, he loved riding on his mom's back across the Brooks River.

I am an AI doomer inasmuch as I feel strongly that AI is doomed and that it is our responsibility to accelerate that doom.

SUPER excited for this, after a year of chasing the angle, 30 minutes of waddling around up and down a parking garage, and over 6 hours of editing: A murder of crows flies towards the camera, in front of the full Moon, set to Blind Guardian's "Nightfall" and the sound of the crows themselves. 🪶 🐦‍⬛

rip annie dillard