Octothorpe

160: Global Nando’s Correspondents

John is not firing on all cylinders, Alison has a code, and Liz downloaded the packet.

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: Worms (Alison’s pick)

• Letters of comment
  • Andrew Thompson (Mastodon 1, 2)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
    • BSFA accounts
  • Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky 1, 2)
  • Kate Macdonald (email)
  • Kiesa (Mastodon)
  • Mike Scott (Facebook)
  • Patrick Garvey (email)
  • Paul Weimer (email)
    • The Theory of Related-ivity by Heather Rose Jones
    • “Seattle Worldcon Poet Laureate Brandon O’Brien’s Opening Ceremonies poem”
    • Also pointed out by Kathy Bond (Bluesky)
  • Raj (Mastodon 1, 2)
  • We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Ang Rosin, Caroline Mullan, Constanze Hofmann, Dave Mansfield, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Els, Ivan Sinha, James Shields, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Lilian Edwards, Phil Dyson, Tammy Coxen
• Hugo Awards
  • Intergalactic Mixtape #50
  • Intergalactic Mixtape #53
• Tim Vine is Plastic Elvis as Sam Salono in Rocker ‘Brella Fella
• Picks
  • John: Citizen Sleeper
  • Alison: Falmouth Worm-Charming Championships
  • Liz: Hades II
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Cover-Mounted CD-Rom” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A drawing of a CD-Rom with the words “Octothorpe 160” and “New!! Exclusive Octothorpe cover-mounted CD-Rom”.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

159: Taking a Stand

John ran the Games Room, Alison ran the Newsletter, and Liz was on holiday.

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:

• Ancillary Review of Books
  • Kickstarter ending at 04:59 BST (UTC+1) on 14 May 2026
  • “First of May”
• Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham
  • Batik
  • ConRunner
  • Daves Hot Chicken [do not get me started on the lack of apostrophe—John]
  • HaruhiCon
  • Alison’s 365 Play challenge
• Eastercon 2027: Unconfined in Glasgow
• Eastercon 2028: Contract in Birmingham
  • Guests of Honour: Adam Roberts, Aliya Whiteley and Chris Lintott
• Eastercon 2029: Bid for Chronologicon in Chester
  • Aiming to cap at ₆₅₀ people
• Eastercon 2030: Bid from BSFA to join with Eurocon
  • British Science Fiction Association
• Eastercon “early 2030s”: Rumblings from Northern Ireland
• Picks
  • John: Scavengers Reign
  • Alison: What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed
    • The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed
  • Liz: Slow Gods by Claire North
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Thanks Guys” by Alison Scott (comic by Randall Munroe used under a CC BY-NC 2.5 licence, typeface by Phil Elson used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 Unported licence)
    • Alt text: A stack of grey blocks being held up by two small stacks underneath. The stack is labelled “all current Eastercon digital infrastructure”, while the two small stacks are labelled “bits being thanklessly maintained by Andrew January” and “bits being thanklessly maintained by James Shields”. The words “Octothorpe 159” appear at the top.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

158: I Am the Worldcon Chair in Avignon

John, Alison and Liz dissect this year’s Hugo Awards finalists!

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

• Hugo Awards
  • Best Novel
    • A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
    • Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
    • The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow
    • The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
    • The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
  • Best Novella
    • Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
    • Cinder House by Freya Marske
    • Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
    • The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
    • The Summer War by Naomi Novik
    • What Stalks the Deep by T Kingfisher
  • Best Novelette
    • “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch
    • “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H H Pak
    • “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells
    • “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed
    • “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker
    • “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M Valente
  • Best Short Story
    • “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills
    • “In My Country” by Thomas Ha
    • “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg
    • “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro
    • “Six People to Revise You” by J R Dawson
    • “Wire Mother” by Isabel J Kim
  • Best Series
    • Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett
    • October Daye by Seanan McGuire
    • Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
    • The Chronicles of Osreth by Katherine Addison
    • The Craft Wars by Max Gladstone
    • White Space by Elizabeth Bear
  • Best Graphic Story or Comic
    • Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon
    • A Girl and Her Fed
    • A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel
    • The Invisible Parade
    • The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers
    • The Space Cat
  • Best Related Work
    • Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid
    • Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer
    • Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)” by Elizabeth Sandifer
    • Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E Butler by Susana M Morris
    • History of Westeros: “Ragnarök vs the Long Night”
    • The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom, maintained by Renay
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
    • Andor (season 2)
    • Frankenstein
    • KPop Demon Hunters
    • Mickey 17
    • Sinners
    • Superman
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
    • Doctor Who: “The Story & the Engine”
    • Murderbot: “All Systems Red”
    • Murderbot: “The Perimeter”
    • Pluribus: “We Is Us”
    • Severance: “Cold Harbor”
    • The Wheel of Time: “The Road to the Spear”
  • Best Game or Interactive Work
    • Blue Prince
    • Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
      • “Tabletop roleplaying in the world of Citizen Sleeper 2!” on Quinns Quest
    • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
    • Dispatch
    • Hades II
    • Hollow Knight: Silksong
  • Best Editor Short Form
    • Scott H Andrews
    • Jennifer Brozek
    • Neil Clarke
    • Lee Harris
    • Michael Damian Thomas
    • Sheila Williams
  • Best Editor Long Form
    • Carl Engle-Laird
    • Jaymee Goh
    • Lee Harris
    • Jenni Hill
    • Joe Monti
    • Diana M Pho
  • Best Professional Artist
    • Lulu Chen
    • Kelly Chong
    • Dave Kellett
    • Tran Nguyen
    • John Picacio
    • Tom Roberts
  • Best Semiprozine
    • Escape Pod
    • khōréō magazine
    • On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic
    • Strange Horizons
    • The Deadlands
    • Uncanny Magazine
  • Best Fanzine
    • Ancillary Review of Books
    • An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog
    • Galactic Journey
    • Intergalactic Mixtape
    • Journey Planet
    • nerds of a feather, flock together
  • Best Fancast
    • A Meal of Thorns
    • Eating the Fantastic
    • Hugo, Girl!
    • Octothorpe
    • The Coode Street Podcast
    • Worldbuilding for Masochists
  • Best Fan Writer
    • Jay Brantner for “Tar Vol”
    • Alex Brown
    • James Davis Nicoll
    • Roseanna Pendlebury
    • Jason Sanford
    • Örjan Westin
  • Best Fan Artist
    • Terri Ash
    • Geneva Bowers
    • Sara Felix
    • Richard Man
    • España Sheriff
    • Yuumei
  • Best Poem
    • “Care for Lightning” by Mari Ness
    • “Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery
    • “How to Become a Sea Witch” by Theodora Goss
    • “Landing: Seattle” by Brandon O’Brien
    • “The Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu
    • “The World to Come” by Jennifer Hudak
• Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
  • Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman
  • Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C B Lee
  • Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen
  • Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
  • They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
• Astounding Award for Best New Writer
  • Sophie Burnham
  • Kamilah Cole
  • Antonia Hodgson
  • Molly O’Neill
  • H H Pak
  • Jared Pechaček
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Vibrant Award Culture” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A cartoon. John, Alison and Liz are wearing Octothorpe T-shirts and matching purple baseball caps while standing behind a market stall clad in a very slightly different purple and with various delicacies upon it. The sign above the stall reads “Octothorpe 158 Hugo HOT takes”, with “HOT” in a little tiny fire. The sign below the stall reads “Always half-baked! Fresh off the griddle! Three-pack special!”
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

157: Moist or Shiny?

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)

156: Surprisingly Well-Adjusted Young Gentlemen

John has a headache, Alison has a cold, and Liz is fine, thanks for asking.

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
  • Liz said “RoboCup world championship” not “RoboCop world championship”
    • RoboCup Germany
    • RoboCup Federation
    • RoboCup on Wikipedia
  • Alexandra Lanes (Bluesky)
  • Ali Baker Brooks (Facebook)
  • Ang Rosin (Facebook)
  • Ed Morland (Bluesky)
  • Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook)
  • Fredrik V Coulter (Facebook)
  • Juan Sanmiguel (email)
  • Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)
  • Neil Ottenstein (Facebook)
  • Paul Weimer (Bluesky, email)
  • Phil Dyson (Facebook)
  • Renay (email)
    • Hugo Award Recommendations!
  • We also heard from Alex Holden, Finbarr O’Reilly, Kev McVeigh, Roseanna Pendlebury, Shi Lala
• GUFF result
  • Farah’s Facebook group: From Perth to Perth!
• Nebula Awards
  • The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association
  • This year’s nominees
    • “How SFWA Is Administering the Nebula Awards Policy Against LLM-Use” on File 770
    • “Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur’s GOTY wins over use of generative AI” on Polygon
  • G Willow Wilson’s thoughts on the Best Comic category
• Locus
  • 2026 fundraiser
• Eastercon 2026: Iridescence
  • The program is out
  • You can find John here and Alison here and Liz here
  • “Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names – With Examples”
• Picks
  • John: Vantage
  • Alison: Slay the Spire 2
  • Liz: Formula 1: Drive to Survive
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Eastercon Planning” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A black-and-white cartoon. John is behind a stack of games, saying “Games Room”; Alison is behind a stack of printers and paper, saying “Newsletter”; Liz is on a beach reading with sunglasses and a cocktail. In purple, the words “Octothorpe 156 Eastercon Planning:” appear at the top and “questioning our life choices” at the bottom.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

155: Ed! Ed! ED!

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)

154: At Least I’m Not Just Internet Shopping

John is nominating board games, Alison should read more, and Liz bought two memberships.

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
  • Andrew Hogg (Discord)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
  • Kev McVeigh (Facebook)
  • Phil Dyson (Facebook)
  • Esther MacCallum-Stewart (Facebook)
  • Jonny Harden (Mastodon)
  • Paul Weimer (email)
  • We also heard from Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, Els, Farah Mendlesohn, Kin-Ming Looi
• Worldcon 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles, USA
  • Staff memberships are $100
  • Hugo nominations are open
    • Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
    • We’re not recusing this year!
    • Best Novel:
      • On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland
      • A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
      • Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
      • Every Version of You by Grace Chan
      • The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
      • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
      • The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
      • Slow Gods by Claire North
      • Luminous by Silvia Park
      • There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
        • We believe this is eligible because (a) the version published in 2025 is different to the previously self-published version and (b) there is precedent through Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
      • When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift
      • The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
      • The Singing Hill Cycle by Nghi Vo
      • The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson
    • Best Game/Interactive Work:
      • Newfangled electric games:
        • Blue Prince
        • Hades II
      • Good old-fashioned games:
        • The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game
        • Galactic Cruise
        • The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
        • The Old King’s Crown
        • Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
        • Star Wars: Battle of Hoth
        • Take Time
        • Vantage
  • Niall Harrison’s list of Best Translated Novels
• Fan funds
  • Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con Berlin
  • Natcon/Swancon 2026: Swancon 50 in Perth, Australia
  • The TAFF candidates are Lisa Hertel and Kat Templeton, to Metropol Con
  • The GUFF candidates are Farah Mendlesohn and Misha Sumra, to Swancon 50
  • EFF nominations close on 15 March, to Metropol Con
• Picks
  • John: Murderbot
  • Alison: The UFO 50 soundtrack
    • VVVVVV
  • Liz: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Alison forgot she had to do the cover” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: Text reading “OCTOTHORPE 154* *See, it’s like this. This is the first day of 2026 that hasn’t been cold, or wet, or both, so instead of doing the Octothorpe cover I went for a nice walk. And bought no board games, but a jigsaw. And did the jigsaw. Sorry.” The text is on top of a photograph of a bridge and some trees underneath a blue sky.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck

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, Portugal
• Worldcon 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 process
  • Join the “Worldcon in Africa” mailing list
• Worldcon 2029: Bid for Dublin, Ireland
• Fan funds
  • Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF)
    • Kat Templeton has announced her candidacy
    • Ansible #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 Temple
  • Alison: Anbernic RG 34XXSP
  • Liz: There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
    • The SCP Foundation
    • Antimemetics FAQ
    • ROT13
• 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)

152: Slap That Fish More

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)

151: Only Ding-Dong for Good and Not for Evil

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 incident
    • Genevieve 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 Academy
  • Alison: KPop Demon Hunters
  • Liz: 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)