Charlie Carden

Shows: Secret Friends Unite!, Code 47, Holocron Chronicles

Charlie was geeking it up as an immature ovum - his parents watched STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES in the dorms of Central Michigan University in the 1960s. 

After he was born, he snagged his first Marvel Comic at age 6-- Star Wars # 65, at the Notre Dame Pharmacy in his hometown of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. At this point - it was ALL OVER for him!

After spending many lonely teenage nights reading comics, watching Star Trek movies and shows and the Star Wars Original Trilogy until the VHS tapes damn-near wore out, he’s become a quirky adult who gets to live the dream, even founding a chapter of the International Star Trek fan club with his lovely wife April.

Since Fall 2014, he’s been making podcasting magic with BFF Todd Oxtra in the form of THE SECRET FRIENDS UNITE Podcast, and running the SFU Facebook geek discussion group. CODE 47 followed in 2020 and THE HOLOCRON CHRONICLES in 2021!

He can also be found on the SFU Patreon on shows like SPOTLIGHT, THE FACTS OF GEEK LIFE, A BAD TRIP TO THE MOVIES WITH THE CARDENS (with April) and SPINNER RACK.

Charlie and April live in East Grand Rapids, Michigan with their mutt Albus and three mischievous cats.

Find him on Threads , BlueSky and Instagram at TheCeeThree and having a blast over the SFU Discord!

Todd Oxtra

Shows: Secret Friends Unite, Co-op Mode

Todd lives in The Twin Cities, Minnesota with his wife, son, dog and cats. He’s an MSU graduate, and Air Force Veteran and a mild mannered Logistics Guru by day.

His fandom began in the 80’s with Voltron, DC comics, He-man, Transformers Star Wars and the Atari 5200. Today his geek focus is on PS5 and PC, comics from all publishers, new Star Trek, Game of Thrones, The Witcher, MCU and DC TV.

In college in 1995, he met up with Charlie Carden and that’s when the Secret Friends Unite was formed. In 2013, they created the SFU Facebook group to connect geeks and in 2014, the podcast was launched. In 2019, Mark Carabin joined the team and launched Co-op Mode video game podcast with Todd, becoming the first SFU spinoff.

Find him on BlueSky @toddoxtra.bsky.social

Peter Stine

Code 47, Holocron Chronicles

Hailing from the State of Michigan, Peter dwells in a household with a predilection for all things fantasy and sci-fi.

He began his nerd life in utero as his parents watched both Star Trek and Star Wars. After that, he quickly picked up fantasy novels and a plethora of science fiction. And yes, he was one of those nerds who basically had the Star Trek Encyclopedia memorized in middle-school. This interest continued in college and influenced many other aspects of his academic career; he even wrote his capstone Philosophy thesis on Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the question of the divine.

When not out saving the universe from intergalactic synthetic menaces, Peter can be found working on Starship Excelsior, the Roll and Review YouTube channel, terrifying telemarketers with his Smeagol impression, and, of course, co-hosting on Code 47 since 2021 and Holocron Chronicles in 2025, taking over for departing host Mark.

You can also find him on BlueSky @petrusaquinas.bsky.social