John is middle, Alison is even sadder, and Liz is sorry.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Discussion of access issues (chapter 2), wealth privilege (chapter 6)

• Letters of comment
  • Abigail Nussbaum
  • Ali Baker Brooks
  • Andrew January
    • The Eastercon members’ portal
  • Caroline Mullan
  • DC
  • Farah Mendlesohn
    • Critical Friends 8
  • Jacob Holder
  • Mark Plummer
  • Meg MacDonald
• Doc Weir award
  • Dave Langford receives the trophy
    • Alt text: Dave Langford triumphantly lofts a blue Bag for Life from Tesco, which we are expected to believe contains the Doc Weir trophy. He is standing in front of a house.
• GUFF
  • The results
• Chengdu 2023
  • “The Pidu district of Chengdu announces a 10-year science fiction plan”
• Glasgow 2024
  • Town Hall Event: Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Glasgow
  • Town Hall Event: Site Selection Glasgow 2024
• Eastercon and money
• Picks
  • John: Dredge
  • Alison: Hopeland by Ian McDonald (paper, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
  • Liz: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (paper, epub, audiobook, Amazon)
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Voyagers” by Ulrika O’Brien
    • Alt text: The background is a starry, lightning-filled square in blues, purples, and yellows. Atop that, there is a spaceship, somewhat like a rocket, with engines coming out of the sides. There are yellow lights shining from it, and a ladder reaches up to a central archway. John, Alison and Liz are depicted as silhouettes, regarding it with wonder. Their shadows stretch off the canvas, and they look faintly alien or futuristic in a hard-to-define manner.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is ignorant, Alison is first, and Liz is a trendsetter.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: COVID (chapter 8).

• Letters of comment
  • Chris Garcia
    • Maundy Thursday
  • Andy Openshaw
  • Nuala on Bluesky: sorry!
  • Raj recommends pizza crunch
    • Mono
  • Raj on Mastodon
    • Track Changes
  • Meg MacDonald
  • DC’s loc
• Eastercon 2024
  • Telford
    • Telford International Centre
    • KFC
  • Catchup
    • Members’ area
    • Catchup will be closing at the end of April
  • Dealers’ room
    • Beyond Cataclysm
  • COVID
    • No reported cases, as far as we are aware
• Picks
  • John: Thunder Road: Vendetta
  • Alison: Fallout (the TV series)
  • Liz: Stardew Valley
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Vibrant Food Culture” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A drawing of a blackboard with text that reads: “Octothorpe 108 guide to Glasgow street food.” A picture of a deep fried pizza with glasses is next to text reading ’The “Coxon” pizza crunch’, a picture of three pakora with glasses next to ‘The “Scott” haggis pakora’, and a picture of a deep fried Mars bar next to ‘The “Batty” deep fried Mars bar”. Stars also adorn the backboard, and bottles of red and brown sauce are in the bottom-left-hand corner.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and Nicholas are live from Levitation!

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk 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

• Thank you very much to our stunt Liz, Nicholas Whyte!
  • Nicholas’ blog, From the Heart of Europe
• April Fool’s Day
  • The rocket in all its glory!
• The Hugo Awards
  • Hugo Award finalists
  • The announcement video
  • Thank you to everyone who nominated us!
  • Congratulations to the other Fancast finalists:
    • The Coode Street Podcast
    • Hugos There
    • Publishing Rodeo
    • 科幻Fans布玛 (Science Fiction Fans Buma)
    • Worldbuilding for Masochists
  • The first Town Hall will be on 20 April 2024
    • Tickets available on Eventbrite
    • The stream will be available on YouTube
  • Three Black Halflings
  • Tammy Coxen
    • The Glasgow Gimlet
    • Tammy’s Tastings
    • Tammy’s podcast, My Tiny Bottles
  • Bigolas Dickolas
• Gallifrey One
• BSFA
  • Join their Discord!
• Picks
  • John: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (Channel 4)
    • Our cosplay
  • Alison: Eastercon catch-up
  • Nicholas:
    • The Black Archive
    • David Whitaker in an Exciting Adventure with Television by Simon Guerrier
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Octothorpe at Levitation” by Sue Dawson
    • Alt text: John, Alison, and Nicholas Whyte stand in front of a projection of the Octothorpe podcast and behind a panel table. Each of them wears a convention badge, and Nicholas holds the Glasgow Landing Zone Rocket. Nicholas is looking at the camera, while John and Alison are not quite as good at this. The table they stand behind holds beers, coffees, convention newsletters, phone batteries, microphones, and table tents.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)