Octothorpe Podcast By John Coxon Alison Scott Liz Batty cover art

Octothorpe

Octothorpe

By: John Coxon Alison Scott Liz Batty
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A Hugo Award-winning podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty.© John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty Science Fiction
Episodes
  • 156: Surprisingly Well-Adjusted Young Gentlemen

    156: Surprisingly Well-Adjusted Young Gentlemen
    Mar 26 2026
    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 GermanyRoboCup FederationRoboCup 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 AssociationThis 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 outYou can find John here and Alison here and Liz here“Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names – With Examples” Picks John: VantageAlison: Slay the Spire 2Liz: 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)
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    59 mins
  • 155: Ed! Ed! ED!

    155: Ed! Ed! ED!
    Mar 12 2026

    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)
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • 154: At Least I’m Not Just Internet Shopping

    154: At Least I’m Not Just Internet Shopping
    Feb 26 2026
    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 $100Hugo nominations are open Hugo Spreadsheet of DoomWe’re not recusing this year!Best Novel: On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J HavelandA Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson BennettBeautyland by Marie-Helene BertinoEvery Version of You by Grace ChanThe Raven Scholar by Antonia HodgsonThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham JonesThe Dream Hotel by Laila LalamiSlow Gods by Claire NorthLuminous by Silvia ParkThere 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 SwiftThe Incandescent by Emily TeshThe Singing Hill Cycle by Nghi VoThe Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson Best Game/Interactive Work: Newfangled electric games: Blue PrinceHades II Good old-fashioned games: The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking GameGalactic CruiseThe Lord of the Rings: Fate of the FellowshipThe Old King’s CrownStar Trek: Captain’s ChairStar Wars: Battle of HothTake TimeVantage Niall Harrison’s list of Best Translated Novels Fan funds Eurocon 2026: Metropol Con BerlinNatcon/Swancon 2026: Swancon 50 in Perth, AustraliaThe TAFF candidates are Lisa Hertel and Kat Templeton, to Metropol ConThe GUFF candidates are Farah Mendlesohn and Misha Sumra, to Swancon 50EFF nominations close on 15 March, to Metropol Con Picks John: MurderbotAlison: 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)
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    55 mins
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