John is gaming, Alison is a pirate, and Claudia is dancing.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: It’s a live recording! Also, we say the words “dicks” and “moist” a lot; sorry about that.

• Claudia Rapp:
  • Website
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
• The Hay lecturer was Tasha Phillips, and the lecture was “Stranger than Fiction: Creatures of the Deep”
• John was wrong about that sketch, it was on the radio and is also on YouTube
• Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con 2026 in Berlin, Germany
  • Gamma Rats
  • Die Leere im Kern deiner Hoffnung
• Worldcon 2028: Bid for Nuremberg, Germany
• Worldcon 2028: Bid for Brisbane, Australia
• Picks
  • John: World on a Wire/Welt am Dracht
  • Alison: The Eastercon Business Meeting
  • Claudia: Lyneham by Nils Westerboer
    • Athos 2643 by Nils Westerboer
    • A movie is underway!
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Best panel confirmed” by Simon Bubb
    • Alt text: A picture of John, Alison and Claudia sitting behind the panel tables during the live recording. A thread from the convention Discord is being projected onto the screen behind them, with messages reading “Malcolm H: Song for Alison… Da Da Da”, “Roseanna: We’ve passed the discord comment count for the highest other item!! Best panel confirmed [rocket emoji]”, “Meg MacDonald: Teach us your wisdom”, “Frances Dowd: Drink drink drink your Heineken, oodles and oodles for everyone!”. Words have been added to the top reading “Octothorpe 157” and to the bottom reading ‘Live from Iridescence: “Best panel confirmed”’.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)