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  • 153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck

    153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck
    2026/02/12
    John is volunteering, Alison is saying “no”, and Liz read her first book! 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: None Letters of comment Alexandra Lanes (Bluesky)Ali Baker Brown (Bluesky)Chris Garcia (email)Fiona Moore (Facebook)Ivan Sinha (Facebook)Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)Kev McVeigh (Facebook)Paul Weimer (email)Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky)Scott Edelman (Bluesky) The convention never ends Tommy Ferguson (Facebook)We also heard from Farah Mendlesohn, Fredrik V Coulter and Mike Scott SMOFcon 2026: SMOFcon 43 in Lisbon, PortugalWorldcon 2028: Bid for Nuremberg, Germany “Nuremberg in 2028 Worldcon Bid Unveils Website” on File 770 Worldcon 2028: Bid for Kigali, Rwanda They are withdrawing from the processJoin the “Worldcon in Africa” mailing list Worldcon 2029: Bid for Dublin, IrelandFan funds Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) Kat Templeton has announced her candidacyAnsible #463 reported that the ballot would be online “soon” Going Under Fan Fund (GUFF) Nominations are now open and close on 18 February! Picks John: 28 Years Later: The Bone TempleAlison: Anbernic RG 34XXSPLiz: There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm The SCP FoundationAntimemetics FAQROT13 Credits Cover art: “Alison the White” by Alison Scott Alt text: A picture of Alison with white hair, wearing a white dressing gown, and wielding a staff with a moose head. John and Liz flank her. She says “Behold! I am reborn as Alison the White!” John says “That’s a bit dramatic… it’s only a haircut” and Liz says “Pretty sure that’s a dressing gown… and are you standing on a box?” The words Octothorpe 153 are at the top. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    53 分
  • 152: Slap That Fish More

    152: Slap That Fish More
    2026/01/29

    John is summarising, Alison is eating, and it’s all Liz.

    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
      • Ali Baker Brooks (Bluesky)
      • Chris Garcia (email)
      • Duncan MacGregor (Bluesky, Mastodon)
      • Farah Mendlesohn (email, Facebook)
      • Jonathan Baddeley (Facebook)
      • Henry Balen (email)
      • Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
      • Kev McVeigh (Facebook)
      • Mike Scott (Facebook)
      • Raj (Mastodon)
      • Ron Payne (Bluesky)
      • Scott Edelman (Bluesky)
      • Shi Lala (Facebook)
      • We also heard from Kin-Ming Looi and Steve Lockley
    • Worldcon 2028: Bid for Brisbane
      • They have a sweet new logo
      • The land acknowledgement at the 2022 Hugo Award ceremony from the Chi Nations Youth Council
    • Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
      • Financial report
    • Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in Minneapolis has gone viral
    • Picks
      • John: Miniature Worlds: Little Landscapes from Thomas Bewick to Beatrix Potter
      • Alison: Titan
      • Liz: Thank Goodness You’re Here!
    • Credits
      • Cover art: “Be Prepared” by Alison Scott
        • Alt text: John’s head and shoulders appear behind a pinkish desk as if he is the puppeteer of Sooty and Sweep (Americans, ask your British friends). Sooty is pulling on Sweep’s ear. Text at the top reads “Octothorpe 152: John is preparing for the big dust-up”.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    47 分
  • 151: Only Ding-Dong for Good and Not for Evil

    151: Only Ding-Dong for Good and Not for Evil
    2026/01/15
    John is trying, Alison is watching a video and Liz is humming. 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: Global inequality (letters of comment), harassment (Montreal discussion) Letters of comment Christopher J Garcia (email) “Kenya: Where Can You See Lions?” Darin Briskman (see below)Fredrick V Coulter (Facebook)Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky)Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky) and España Sheriff “Barbarella Meets the Matmos” Lilian Edwards (Facebook)Meg MacDonald (Facebook)Paul Weimer (email)Renay (see below)Tammy Coxen (Bluesky)Tommy Ferguson (emails)We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Brina Nisbet, Farah Mendlesohn, Ivan Sinha, Kev McVeigh, Mike Scott Smofcon 42 I’ve mirrored all the Q&As on my own Dropbox because I’m grumpy Worldcon 2027: Montréal They got a website!The organisation chart A list of blogs on the René Walling harassment incidentGenevieve Valentine’s original report Worldcon 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles Join by 31 January to nominate in the Hugo Awards Hugo Awards Renay (of the fanzine Intergalactic Mixtape) has written a great guide on how to participate in the Hugo Awards“Anyone Can Vote in the Hugo Awards — And Here’s How” by Molly Templeton on Reactor“I Bet You Didn’t This Was Hugo-Eligible: Some of My 2025 Picks” by Kat Kourbeti The Last War in Albion Picks John: The Umbrella AcademyAlison: KPop Demon HuntersLiz: Astronomy Photographer of the Year The winning photograph Credits Cover art: “Three Lions Relaxing” by Liz Batty Alt text: Three lions photographed on a safari in Kenya, with glasses photoshopped onto two of them to make them look very slightly more like John and Alison. The top has words reading “Octothorpe 151” and the bottom has words reading “Definitely not about the cricket”. It is unclear why, because John edited all the cricket out. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 時間 6 分
  • 150: I Would Describe Them As European

    150: I Would Describe Them As European
    2025/12/18

    John doesn’t want to pass out, Alison is a wuss, but Liz doesn’t think it’s gratuitous.

    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: Gore and vampirism (Liz’s pick)

    • Letters of comment
      • Chris Garcia (email)
      • Fredrik Coulter (Facebook)
      • Ivan Sinha (email)
      • Nicholas Whyte (email)
      • Paul Weimer (email)
      • Roseanna Pendlebury (email)
      • Tammy Coxen (Bluesky)
      • We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Farah Mendlesohn, Kev McVeigh, and Mike Scott
    • Chris Barkley got his Hugo Award!
    • Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
      • The Q&A
        • Videos of the Q&A on YouTube
          • Kayla Allen notes on File 770 that the sound is very poor in places
        • Smofcon 2026: Smofcon 43 in Lisbon, Portugal
        • The Worldcons that presented:
          • 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles, USA
          • 2027: Montreal, Canada
          • 2028:
            • Brisbane, Australia
            • Nuremberg, Germany
            • Kigali, Rwanda
          • 2029: Dublin, Ireland
          • 2030: Edmonton, Canada
          • 2031: Texas, USA
          • 2032: Nantes, France
            • Nantes Utopiales
          • 2033: No interest
          • 2034: Glasgow, Scotland
            • Vision statement
          • 2035: Poland
          • Unknown: Czechia
            • Festival Fantazie
    • Picks
      • John: Your Wish is My Command by Deena Mohamed
      • Alison: The Lost Nose by John Sladek
        • Sort of collected in Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek by John Sladek
      • Liz: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
    • Credits
      • Cover art: “Alison is Still Obsessed with Ukuleles” by Alison Scott
        • Alt text: A Mahalo Flying V, an Uma Blue Pineapple, and a Brunswick soprano are hanging on a Christmas tree beneath the words “Octothorpe 150”.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    59 分
  • 149: Real-Time Toilet Monitoring

    149: Real-Time Toilet Monitoring
    2025/12/04

    John is going to Smofcon, Alison has FOMO, and Liz is a horrible person.

    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: None

    • Letters of comment
      • Andreas Davour (email)
      • Chris Garcia (email)
      • Ed Morland (BlueSky on 147, 148)
        • Cyclo-cross
        • Mathmo.org
      • Emily January (email)
      • Karen Schaffer (email)
        • Literal antivirus
      • Paul Weimer (email)
        • Centrale Montemartini
      • We also heard from Alan Fleming, Ali Baker Brooks, Andrew Thompson, Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Ivan Sinha, Jan Harley, Kev McVeigh, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Shi Lala, and Tommy Ferguson
      • Famous Belgians: Simon Stevin
    • Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
      • Smofcon Q&As
        • Salute of the Jugger
        • How to stream it in the UK
      • John would like to thank Glasgow 2024 for a travel bursary allowing him to attend!
    • Novacon 2026: Novacon 55 in Buxton
      • Una McCormack
    • Picks
      • John: The Truman Show
      • Alison: Pluribus
      • Liz: The Summer War by Naomi Novik
    • Credits
      • Cover art: ”Archaeologists“ by Alison Scott
        • Alt text: John and Alison, dressed in clothes reminiscent of The Mummy, look down some stairs upon Liz’s tomb, in which her skeleton still holds her Hugo Award, framed by stonework. The words “Octothorpe 149” appear at the top of the image.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 時間 1 分
  • 148: I’m With Liz

    148: I’m With Liz
    2025/11/20

    John, Alison, and stunt Liz Emily Tesh are live from Novacon 54!

    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!

    • Thanks to Emily Tesh for being our stunt Liz!
      • You can find Emily at her website, with links to socials at the bottom of the page
      • Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones
    • Visit Stow Shirts for all your Octothorpe merchandise needs
    • Picks
      • John: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
      • Alison: Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler
      • Emily: The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
    • Credits
      • Cover art: “Live from Novacon” by Steven Cain and Alison Scott
        • Alt text: Emily Tesh, John, and Alison stand in front of a suspiciously purple background which may indicate that the real background has been subtracted by nefarious photo editing. The words “Octothorpe 148 Live from Novacon” are overlaid.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 時間 7 分
  • 147: What? What?! No!

    147: What? What?! No!
    2025/11/06
    John is ready, Alison had forgotten, and Liz is surprised. 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: Animal torture (letters of comment) Letters of comment Chris Garcia (email)Ed Morland (BlueSky)Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) Pictcon 2026: PictCon 2 in Perth, 17 October Finbarr O’Reilly (email)Kev McVeigh (Facebook)Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)Paul Weimer (BlueSky, email)Tammy Coxen (Facebook)Terry Gibbs (Facebook)Raj (Mastodon)We also heard from Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein and Tammy Coxen 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction Ebon Moss-Bachrach on the red carpetEvent broadcast on YouTube LAcon V opens Hugo Awards Base Contest36th Galaxy Awards Roderick Leeuwenhart Tianwen Awards Ersatz Culture on Mastodon BKK Comics Art Festival #4 The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SFBelgian comics Asian Board Games Festival (ABGF) “Walking The Walk With RPGs In Malaysia” (paywalled on Rascal) Picks John: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship Shut Up & Sit Down’s reviewBoard Game ArenaThe dice tower Alison: The Word for World exhibition at the Architectural Association Secret Maps at the British Library Liz: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Star Wars is being properly remastered?Credits Cover art: “Nepal Spotter’s Guide” by Paul Weimer (text by Alison Scott) Alt text: A photograph of the mountains of Nepal with text overlaid, reading “Octothorpe 147 Official Octothorpe Nepal Identification Guide* (*apparently never gets old)** (** Liz might like to go to a comics con there)”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 時間 5 分
  • 146: It Winds Me Up Something Chronic

    146: It Winds Me Up Something Chronic
    2025/10/23

    John is on holiday, Alison said she’d have T-shirts ready, and Liz is back!

    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: None

    • Letters of comment
      • Doug Faunt (Facebook)
        • Corflu 2026: Corflu Pickled in Santa Rosa, CA, USA
      • Ian Hillman (DM)
      • Jonny Baddeley (Facebook)
    • Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham
      • Hotels are open: Check your emails for the link
      • Merch should be available by the time you read this
      • Bursaries are open for applications, deadline of 31 October
      • The volunteer form is open
      • Haruhicon 2026: Birmingham
      • Carrots, vitamin A, radar, and British propaganda
    • BristolCon 2025
    • World Fantasy Con 2025: Brighton
    • Armadacon 2025: Plymouth
      • British Firework Championships
    • Novacon 2025: Novacon 54 in Buxton
    • Pictcon 2025: Pictcon1 in Perth
    • Satellite 2026: Satellite 9 in Glasgow
    • Worldcon finances
      • Worldcon 2013: LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, TX, USA
      • Worldcon 2015: Sasquan in Spokane, WA, USA
      • Worldcon 2016: MidAmeriCon II in Kansas City, MO, USA
      • Worldcon 2020: CoNZealand in Wellington, New Zealand (but mostly online)
      • Worldcon 2023: Chengdu, China
      • Worldcon 2024: Glasgow, UK
        • Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
    • Picks
      • John: Tactical Breach Wizards
      • Alison: Here East
        • Conrad Shawcross – Umbilical (The Nervous System)
        • V&A East Storehouse
      • Liz: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
    • Credits
      • Cover art: “Treasures of the V&A Storehouse” by Alison Scott
        • Alt text: The Torrijos Ceiling at the Victoria & Albert East Storehouse. An elaborate, gilded and octagonal ceiling. Why yes, Alison has a new phone, how could you tell?
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    53 分