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)

John is a bit rum, Alison is taking a drink, and Liz is buying beer.

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 Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode:

• Letters of comment
  • Abigail Nussbaum (email)
    • Neon Hemlock
  • Brian Nisbet (Facebook)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Ed Morland (Bluesky)
  • Elias Helfer (email)
    • Roseanna Pendlebury on fan writer
  • Florian Bailey (email)
    • Nuremberg in 2028
  • Paul Weimer (email)
    • Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF)
    • Going Under Fan Fund (GUFF)
    • Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF)
    • European Fan Fund (EFF)
  • Scott Edelman (email)
    • Eating the Fantastic
    • Chicken Shop Date
  • Tammy Coxon (Bluesky: convention sports, deduplications, staff rates)
  • Trish E Matson (email)
    • The Skiffy and Fanty Show
  • We also heard from DC, Farah Mendlesohn, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Mike Scott, and Neil Ottenstein
• British Science Fiction Association
  • BSFA members and Eastercon members can now vote on the shortlist
  • Nicholas Whyte writes on this topic
  • The Incompleat Register
• Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham
  • Lucky for None
  • Lucky for None in Space
• Eastercon 2028: Bid for Birmingham by Marcus Streets
• Picks
  • John: Alien and Aliens
    • they’re small indie movies you probably haven’t heard of them
  • Alison: Small Prophets
  • Liz: Dark Winds
• Credits
  • “Homunculeeses” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Three homunculi in jars with cork toppers who look reminiscent of John, Alison and Liz. Alison’s has a little stick with a moose head on it and a cup of coffee. The jars are on a shelf. The words “Octothorpe 155” appear at the top and “Small Podcasters” at the bottom.
• Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)