Episodes

Thursday Jan 30, 2025
127: Hello Buoys
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
John is incoherent, Alison is excited, and Liz is romantic.
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: None
- Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Andy Openshaw
- Chris Garcia
- Claire Brialey
- David Salter
- Ed Morland
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Irwin Hirsh
- Jonny Baddeley
- Neil Ottenstein
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- We also heard from:
- Fiona Moore, Ivan Sinha
- Readers’ recommendations
- Best Novel
- Private Rites by Julia Armfield
- I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S Beagle
- Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
- In Universes by Emet North
- The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
- Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley
- Someone You Can Build a Nest in By John Wiswell
- Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Tim Travers & the Time Travelers Paradox
- Best Game or Interactive Work:
- Tactical Breach Wizards
- Best Fancast
- Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow
- Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
- Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow
- Astounding Award
- The End of Nobility by Michael Green
- Best Novel
- Briardene Books
- Eastercon 2025: Reconnect in Belfast
- Picks
- John: Sliding Doors
- Alison: Three Men in Orbit by Sandra Bond
- Liz: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
- Credits
- Cover art: “Availability Flowchart” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A flowchart entitled “How to meet John, Alison and/or Liz at Eastercon”. The boxes culminate in “console yourself with Octothorpe 127”, and the various options are listed below, but the original file is here in case that’s more helpful to the partially sighted.
- How to meet John, Alison and/or Liz at Eastercon
- Are you going to Reconnect?
- Of course!/Not sure
- Oh go on it will be a laugh
- Oh all right then/No…
- Are they in the bar?
- Yes!
- I can’t see them
- Are you quite sure? Check again
- Oh wait… there they are
- No sign
- Is there another bar?
- Yes!
- Nope
- Are they on programme?
- Yes!
- No
- Wait till the moderator asks for questions
- But it’s Octothorpe Live!
- Is your joke very funny?
- Obviously!
- Excellent! Good to know.
- COME AND SAY HELLO
- until then…
- Are they asleep or on the loo?
- No, they look chill
- Er, yes?
- Oh, that’s a shame
- Console yourself with Octothorpe 127
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Availability Flowchart” by Alison Scott

Thursday Jan 16, 2025
126: I’ve Read Some Novels
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
John is a thief, Alison plays games, and Liz is bullied.
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: None
- Letters of comment
- Andreas Davour
- Bella Garcia
- Constanze Hoffman
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Jonathan Cowie
- June Young
- Mike Scott
- Neil Ottenstein
- Raj
- Tammy Coxen
- Zoe O’Connell
- We also heard from Bridget Bradshaw, Colin Harris, Meg MacDonald, and Shi Lala
- Fan funds
- The 2025 TAFF race has begun
- Zi Graves, Mikołaj Kowalewski, Jan Vaněk jr.
- CUFF comes to an end
- The 2025 TAFF race has begun
- Fowler Award
- Hugo Awards
- 2025 spreadsheet of doom
- Novels
- T**he Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
- The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
- The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
- Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang
- The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed
- Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer
- We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson
- Novellas
- A Mourning Coat by Alex Jeffers
- North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher
- Short Stories
- Related Works
- Track Changes: Selected Reviews **by Abigail Nussbaum
- Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the A**lt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll
- Series
- The Horus Heresy
- The Southern Reach
- The Tyrant Philosophers
- Graphic Stories
- Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio
- Dramatic Presentations
- All of Us Strangers
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Late Night with the Devil
- My Old Ass
- A Quiet Place: Day One
- The Substance
- Timestalker
- Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- The Wild Robot
- Games
- Tabletop
- Arcs
- City of Six Moons
- Mothership
- Undaunted 2200: Callisto
- Video
- Animal Well
- Caves of Qud
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdo**m
- Slice and Dice 3.0
- Star Wars: Outlaws
- Tale of the Golden Idol
- UFO50
- Other
- Tabletop
- Poems
- Fan categories
- Artists
- Alison Scott
- España Sheriff
- Podcasts
- Fanac Fan History Zooms
- Going Rogue
- Hugo, Girl!
- A Meal of Thorns
- Writers
- Camestros Felapton
- Ersatz Culture
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- Fanzines
- Ancillary Review of Books
- Banana Wings
- Ornithopter
- Unofficial Hugo Book Club
- Artists
- Debut authors
- Moniquill Blackgoose
- [Alison did not write any of her selections into the show notes and I was sorely tempted not to go through and write them all down for her but I did it for you, listener. I did it for you—John]
- Picks [isn’t this a whole episode of picks?—Liz]
- John: Earthborne Rangers
- Alison: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Liz: Horizon Zero Dawn
- Sorry Mark
- Credits
- Cover art: “Waffle of comment” by Bella Garcia
- Alt text: A picture of a Belgian waffle that looks like an octothorpe, on a white background, with the words “Octothorpe 126” above and “now with added waffle” below.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Waffle of comment” by Bella Garcia

Friday Dec 20, 2024
125: I’m Physically Present in This Hotel Room
Friday Dec 20, 2024
Friday Dec 20, 2024
John is travelling, Alison is coding, and Liz is faithful.
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: Death (chapter 6)
- Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Jt
- Raj
- Rotsler Award
- Seattle 2025
- Upcoming Worldcons
- Vince Docherty reports from Smofcon 41
- There are many links to convention bid websites contained within
- Montréal are continuing for 2027, but Tel Aviv have suspended
- Conventions on cruise ships
- Vince Docherty reports from Smofcon 41
- Vanessa May
- Picks
- Credits
- Cover art: “Christmas Hats” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: John wears an Octothorpe Christmas jumper and a green and red hat with elf ears, Alison wears a red Christmas jumper and a moose/reindeer hat, and Liz wears a blue jumper and a Christmas tree hat. The words “Octothorpe 125” appear at the top in a Christmassy font that looks like it has snow on the letters.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Christmas Hats” by Alison Scott

Thursday Dec 05, 2024
124: The Third D Isn’t What You Think
Thursday Dec 05, 2024
Thursday Dec 05, 2024
John is horrified, Alison is spelunking, and Liz is detecting.
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:
- Letters of comment
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Andrew Hogg
- Archipelacon 2
- Caroline Mullan
- Chris Garcia
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ivan Sinha
- Jonny Baddeley
- June Young
- MonkeyKing
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- Shia Lia
- Tommy Ferguson
- Upcoming conventions
- Eastercon 2026: Iridescence at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole
- Bid chaired by Phil Dyson
- Eastercon 2027: Glasgow
- Bid chaired by Alan Fleming and David Bamford
- Eastercon 2028: Gateshead?
- Novacon 2025
- Conrunner 2026
- To be chaired by Esther MacCallum-Stewart in February
- WisCONline 2025
- Edmonton 2030
- Eastercon 2026: Iridescence at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole
- Picks
- John: Mothership
- Alison: Caves of Qud
- Liz: Rise of the Golden Idol
- (Sorry that they’re all games, Mark)
- Credits
- Cover art: “Ohmudillo” by Sophie van Setten
- Alt text: The Glasgow 2024 logo drawn in pencils and crayon, but across the middle there is a segmented creature with eight eyes and mandibles. At the top, the words “Octothorpe 124” appear in blue.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Ohmudillo” by Sophie van Setten

Thursday Nov 21, 2024
123: Infinite Amount of Annual Leave
Thursday Nov 21, 2024
Thursday Nov 21, 2024
John is going to Seattle, Alison is going to the Åland Islands, and Liz is going to Belfast.
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: Money, grim darkness
- Belfast Eastercon
- Seattle 2025
- Archipelacon 2
- Back to Our Futures
- Liz’s Adrian Tchaikovsky scoop
- Edmonton Worldcon bid
- Picks
- John: Wrath and Glory
- Alison: Timestalker
- Liz: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
- Credits
- Cover art: “Fully Caffeinated” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A coffee stain on a piece of paper on which are written the words “Octothorpe 123” and “fully caffineated”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Fully Caffeinated” by Alison Scott

Thursday Nov 07, 2024
122: Topical Pumpkin
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
John is on the periphery, Alison is carving, and Liz went to Japan.
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: con artistry, privilege, racism
- Letters of comment
- Jake Casella Brookins
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Christopher J Garcia
- Emily January
- Kat Kourbeti
- Caroline Mullan
- Zoe O’Connell
- Roman Orszanski
- Awards
- Oghenochovwe Donald Ekpeki
- Erin Cairns has reported that Ekpeki stole a story and passed it off as his own
- Cairns tried to sound this alarm on X in June
- Reactions
- Gautam Bhatia
- L D Lewis (requires Bluesky login)
- Ekpeki’s response
- Jason Sanford talks about his reaction to the news: one, two
- Picks
- John: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Alison: Bridge Command
- Alison was given free tickets by the venue’s PR team
- Liz: Japan
- Neat effects like Tokyo Disneyland’s Pepper’s ghost or Shiriki Utundu
- Liz was not given free tickets but if anyone wants to give me free tickets to Disney parks please get in touch
- Credits
- Cover art: “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A pumpkin carved with an image of Beetlejuice, with the words “Episode 122” at the top of the image and “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Octothorpe, Octothorpe, Octothorpe” by Alison Scott

Thursday Oct 24, 2024
121: All About the Vibes
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
John, Alison and Liz read Grass by Sheri S Tepper.
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: Rape, consensual interspecies sex, murder, classism, plague/disease
- Adam Roberts’ review of Grass
- Credits
- Cover art: “Three Little Hippae” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: Three hippae stand on a landscape of alien grass and plants in blue, purple, red, teal, and orange underneath a pinkish sky. The words “Octothorpe 121” appear at the top and the words “Grass Sheri S Tepper” appear at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Three Little Hippae” by Alison Scott

Friday Oct 11, 2024
120: Activate Liz
Friday Oct 11, 2024
Friday Oct 11, 2024
John does a funny voice, Alison recoils, and Liz loves big stats and she cannot lie.
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: Death (chapter 5)
- Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Emily January
- España Sheriff
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ivan Sinha
- Nicholas Whyte
- Tammy Coxen
- 2024 Hugo Voting Statistics
- Picks
- John: The Substance
- Definitely not Subterranea
- Alison: UFO 50
- Liz: Alien Clay
- John: The Substance
- Credits
- Cover art: “Judge Coxon” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: Words read ‘Octothorpe 120: Introducing Judge Coxon. “I am the lore”’. They are around a picture of John as a Judge in the style of 2000AD, holding a big stack of books. The logo of the Clarke Award may or may not appear in the artwork.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Judge Coxon” by Alison Scott

Thursday Sep 26, 2024
119: Only One of Them Is My Bludgeoning Hand, John
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
John is not assigning blame, Alison is someone, and Liz is bludgeoning.
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 or on Instagram) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: Sexual assault (Neil Gaiman allegations, at 39:28 to 42:02).
- Letters of comment
- Niall Harrison
- On our Hugo win/recusing
- Andy on Mastodon
- Chris Garcia
- Meg MacDonald
- Perianne Lurie
- Renay
- Sandra Bond’s poem
- On info desk and maps
- Alan Fleming
- Doug Faunt
- Peter Sullivan
- On communications
- Chris Garcia
- Duncan MacGregor on Mastodon
- On WSFS Business Meeting
- June Young (email, 9 September)
- Chris Garcia (email, 29 August)
- Martin Freeman circa 2001
- Post from Nicholas Whyte on consultative vote
- DC on Mastodon
- Duncan MacGregor on Mastodon
- Raj on Mastodon
- Our brand is now WSFS Commentators and people like it?
- Laurie Burchell
- On Worldcon attendance numbers
- Miscellaneous
- Hugo finalists: Raj on Mastodon
- Programme: aoanla on Mastodon
- Back to Our Futures
- We also heard from:
- Ali Baker Brooks, Angela Rosin, Catherine Pickersgill, Curt Phillips, Damien Warman, Dave Coxon, España Sheriff, Farah Mendlesohn, Fiona Moore, Fran Dowd, Gav Reads, Iain Clark, Jonathan Baddeley, Julie Faith McMurray, Karen Schaffer, Leigh Edmonds, Lilian Edwards, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Phil Dyson, Roseanna Pendlebury, Trish
- Neil Gaiman
- Future Worldcons
- Seattle 2025
- Seattle is having a Poetry Hugo
- Seattle has announced a judged film festival
- LAcon V looks good
- Good guests
- “The LA in 2026 bid received 452 out of 531 votes cast.”
- Tel Aviv in 2027
- Brisbane in 2028
- Seattle 2025
- The latest episode of FANAC History Zoom is “The secret history of Plokta”, with Steve Davies, Sue Mason, Alison Scott, and Mike Scott
- Picks
- John: Alien: Romulus
- Alison: KAOS
- Liz: Control
- Credits
- Cover art: “We got a lot of letters” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A famous photograph of Margaret Hamilton standing beside printed outputs of the code that took the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon, overlaid with the words “Octothorpe 119” and “Our Listeners Write In”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “We got a lot of letters” by Alison Scott

Thursday Sep 12, 2024
118: Och Aye, Sci-Fi
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
John is savage, Alison hates paper, and Liz likes stationery.
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: harsh criticism (Publications), racism (Picks)
- Glasgow wants your feedback on Facebook
- Worldcon photography
- Halls 4 and 5
- Communications
- Picks
- John: The Acolyte
- Alison: Nimona
- Liz: The Case of the Golden Idol
- Credits
- Cover art: “Armadillo Pins” by Sara Felix (lettering by Alison Scott)
- Alt text: Three pins of armadillos flying colourful spaceships are on top of a piece of paper with blobs of glue that look like planets. The lettering “Octothorpe 118” appears above in a similar style to the pins.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Armadillo Pins” by Sara Felix (lettering by Alison Scott)