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)