Episodes
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
98: Finally, Manitoba
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
John thinks it’s grandfathered in, Alison doesn’t think it’s SF, and Sandra is Liz.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, 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
- Chris Garcia
- Curt Phillips
- Mark Plummer
- Glasgow 2024’s disease mitigation policy
- Fan funds
- TAFF
- Taffluorescence! #1
- With news of the upcoming TAFF race
- Geri Sullivan’s Idea
- #13 is forthcoming
- Sandra’s books
- Picks
- John: A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (hardback, epub, Amazon)
- Alison: For All Mankind
- Sandra: Beyond Fandom: Fans, Culture & Politics in the 20th Century by Rob Hansen (ed.)
- Credits
- Cover art: “Stunt Lizard” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: The heads of John and Alison regard a lizard version of Sandra Bond who is doing stunts (on fire, skateboarding) while wearing her signature hat. The words “Octothorpe 98” appear at the top.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Stunt Lizard” by Alison Scott
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
97: The Future of Language
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
John has played some games, Alison will play some games, and Liz is playing games RIGHT NOW
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: China, being burned alive, classism
- Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- España Sheriff
- Leigh Edmonds
- Lori Anderson
- Chengdu
- Chinese v foreign attendees
- We expect stats at the 90 day mark
- WSFS remote participation
- Glasgow 2024
- Novacon
- Picks
- Gaming corner
- Credits
- Cover art: “To the LizBatmobile” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are depicted as Robin, Harley Quinn and Batman, but the Batman logo is replaced by “WSFS”. The Batmobile is in the centre of the three of them. The words “Octothorpe 97” appear at the top and the words “…to the LizBatmobile” at the bottom.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “To the LizBatmobile” by Alison Scott
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
96: A Less QR-Code-Using Society
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
John didn’t, Alison would’ve done, and Liz tried.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: China
- Was Chengdu a shower?
- Nicholas Whyte signs autographs
- Chengdu Worldcon on YouTube
- WorldconEvents on YouTube
- Site selection meeting videos are going up here
- WSFS Business Meeting” group on Facebook
- File 770’s reporting on this year’s WSFS
- Picks
- John: Hallowe’en
- Alison: New Zealand
- Liz: Poker Face
- Credits
- Cover art: “Chengdu Worldcon Report” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A giant panda stands in a metal tub wearing a rainbow show cap with helicopter blades beneath a shower made of bamboo. A purple towel with “42” on it is over the side of the metal tub. The words “Octothorpe 96” are above “Chengdu Worldcon Report” with a footnote reading “might not have been a shower after all”.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Chengdu Worldcon Report” by Alison Scott
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
95: Hugo, Girl!
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
John is playing a game, Alison is in New Zealand, and Liz’s head is on fire.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: Privilege (letters of comment), carbon emissions (GUFF), grant applications (picks)
- Letters of comment
- Dave Mansfield
- Esther MacCallum-Stewart
- Chris Garcia
- Abigail Nussbaum
- SJ Johnson
- Hugos
- Congratulations to Hugo, Girl!
- Thanks to Nicholas Whyte for
- Being our designated Hugo acceptor
- Liveblogging the Hugo Award ceremony
- GUFF
- It goes from Australasia to Europe (and vice versa)
- Stonehenge Aoteroa
- Woomera
- Te Tauaarangi Air Force
- Royal Australian Air Force
- Kākāpō family tree
- Picks
- John: Don’t Play This Game (play the demo)
- Alison: Australia
- Liz: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (epub, paperback, audiobook, Amazon)
- Credits
- Cover art: “Birds” by España Sheriff
- Alt text: A kakapo, a kiwi and a SIAMESE FIREBACK just chilling out. They look a bit like John, Alison and Liz. The words “Octothorpe 95” adorn the top of the cover.
- Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Birds” by España Sheriff
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
94: Satisfying Meat
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
John is eating cinnamon rolls, Alison doesn’t think it’s funny, and Liz has two lists.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X, on Mastodon, or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: colonialism (chapter 2), COVID (chapter 3), organised crime (chapter 5), privilege and capitalism (chapter 7).
- No letters of comment this week, normal service resumes next week!
- Books in the order they were discussed
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi
- Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
- Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
- The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Nettle & Bone, by T Kingfisher
- John’s ranking:
- Nettle & Bone
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
- Nona the Ninth
- The Spare Man
- Legends & Lattes
- The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Alison’s ranking:
- Nettle & Bone
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
- The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Nona the Ninth
- Legends & Lattes
- The Spare Man
- Liz’s ranking:
- Nettle & Bone
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
- Nona the Ninth
- The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Legends & Lattes
- The Spare Man
- Consensus ranking:
- Nettle & Bone
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
- Nona the Ninth
- The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Legends & Lattes
- The Spare Man
- Credits
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
- Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The word “Octothorpe” appears in scattered letters around the artwork, against a pinky-purple background.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
93: The Good Thing About the Hugos
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
John is husky, Alison is a dingo, and Liz is a ridgeback.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: None
- Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Ersatz Culture
- Chengdu is a shower
- Glasgow 2024
- Hugo discussion
- GUFF
- LEGO postcards from Australia
- You can donate £5 or £10 to guffeurope@gmail.com to get a personalised postcard from Alison
- Postcard from Australia for £5
- Photo postcard from the Internet for £5
- Special surprise exclusive GUFF 2023 Art postcard for £10
- Postcard with an “unreasonable special request” for £10 [don’t ask me what this means, I just wrote down the words Alison said—John]
- Picks
- We did a lot of talking about our opinions of SF this episode, so picks return in future!
- Credits
- Cover art: “Flying to Australia” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A photograph of Alison’s Apple Watch on a plane to Australia. This episode of Octothorpe is playing on that Apple Watch, which is on her wrist.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Flying to Australia” by Alison Scott
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
92: Shouting From Inside the Room
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
John went to Reno, Alison went to San Francisco, and Liz went to Chicago.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: Murder and sexual violence (chapter 4)
- Letters of comment
- Chris Garcia
- Dave Mansfield
- Duncan MacGregor
- Ersatz Culture
- Irwin Hirsch
- Juan Sanmiguel
- Nick Hubble
- Peter Sullivan
- ConFrancisco
- Chengdu is a shower
- The Hugo Voter Packet still doesn’t have Best Fanzine or Best Fan Writer
- Ersatz Culture’s page on the Hugo Voter Packet now contains downloads for both
- Arthur Liu/Heaven Duke has two pages in Chinese covering similar ground: one, two
- Glasgow 2024
- Progress Report 2 is now out
- They’ve got a big organ
- John is moderating “The Media of Storytelling: Print v Screen” for Glasgow Presents
- 21 September at 19:00 BST
- Dan Hanks, A M Justice, Jim Mcleod, and R W W Greene
- Tickets are free
- Picks
- John: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978)
- Alison: The Thin Man (1934) and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells (1896)
- Liz:
- Credits
- Cover art: “1993 Time Machine” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A drawing of España Sheriff with “gosh wow oh boy oh boy” in a thought bubble to the left of a drawing of Alison saying “displays include Hugo history and antique vibrators” behind an info desk. Computer monitors display the text “Coming soon! Websites!” and “Try Virtual Reality, it’s the next big thing”. A Dalek and the Golden Gate Bridge adorn the scene. Above, the words “Moscone North” are below the words “We travel to a land that photography forgot” which are in turn below “Octothorpe 92”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “1993 Time Machine” by Alison Scott
Friday Sep 01, 2023
91: O— O— O—
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Friday Sep 01, 2023
John is a journalist, Alison is fundraising, and Liz is approved.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: None
- Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Ali Baker Brooks
- Chris Garcia
- David Curry
- Edward Morland
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Jonathan Baddeley
- Lori Anderson
- The Clarke Award
- Liz read them all! 🌟
- Hugo Voter Packet
- Site selection
- Voting has started!
- Seattle in 2025
- Alison’s GUFF plans
- If you are in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Christchurch, Picton/Nelson, Wellington, Auckland or Perth, email Alison
- Picks
- John: The (Kenner)Spiel des Jahres shortlist
- Alison: LEGO
- Liz: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (hardback, epub)
- Credits
- Cover art: “Plenty of Bits” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: A photograph of three mini figures made to look like John, Alison nad Liz with a dragon in the background. John is holding a lightsaber, Alison a fish and a cup o f coffee, and Liz an ice cream. Two cats accompany them.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Plenty of Bits” by Alison Scott
Thursday Aug 17, 2023
90: Resolutely Alison All the Time
Thursday Aug 17, 2023
Thursday Aug 17, 2023
John, Alison and Liz read Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: Murder, death
- Other works we discussed:
- Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
- Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
- Rosewater by Tade Thompson
- This didn’t make the edit due to Liz’s audio being troublesome
- The 2018 Hugo Award ballot
- Credits
- Cover art: “Standard-Sized Cryochambers” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: Three cryochambers marked “Coxon J, Scott A and Batty L” reside in a room marked “Clone Bay”. John and Liz’s heads are visible through the windows int heir chambers; Alison’s is not. Blood floats in front of them underneath the words “Octothorpe 90”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Standard-Sized Cryochambers” by Alison Scott
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
89: The Winner Does Not Receive a Pie
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
John is sitting, Alison is watching, and Liz is typing.
Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, check out our subtitles/transcripts, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media.
Content warnings this episode: AI (chapter 3), China (chapter 4), colonialism (chapter 5)
- Letters of comment
- Abigail Nussbaum
- Chris Garcia
- Duncan MacGregor
- Edward Morland
- Ersatz Culture
- Farah Mendlesohn
- Ash by Mary Gentle
- Raj
- Roman Orszanski
- Transcription
- We have uploaded transcripts and subtitles for Episodes 49, 62, and 72 as part of our Hugo Voter Packet submission
- What do people want from transcripts? Do any of our listeners use them?
- You can find the transcripts and subtitles for episodes on our GitHub
- Glasgow in 2024
- Liz has taken a role in the Programme Division as the Area Head of Podcasting Content
- John’s panel suggestion: “Why don’t podcasters just shout? Why use microphones? Our panel discusses the pros and cons of literally shouting into the void.”
- Please put this into the programme suggestion form
- Glasgow in 2024 has released an AI Art Statement
- Liz has taken a role in the Programme Division as the Area Head of Podcasting Content
- Chengdu Worldcon
- Picks
- John: Asteroid City
- Alison: Beyond a Boundary by CLR James
- Miles Jupp’s Fibber in the Heat
- Liz: The Last Blade Priest by WP Wiles
- Credits
- Cover art: “Eight-Fingered Monkeys” by Alison Scott
- Alt text: Three monkeys, each with eight digits on their hands and eight on their feet, do the classic “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” triptych under the words “Octothorpe 89”.
- Theme music: “Surf Shimmy” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
- Cover art: “Eight-Fingered Monkeys” by Alison Scott