Octothorpe 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
  • 149: Real-Time Toilet Monitoring

    149: Real-Time Toilet Monitoring
    Dec 4 2025

    John is going to Smofcon, Alison has FOMO, and Liz is a horrible person.

    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
      • Andreas Davour (email)
      • Chris Garcia (email)
      • Ed Morland (BlueSky on 147, 148)
        • Cyclo-cross
        • Mathmo.org
      • Emily January (email)
      • Karen Schaffer (email)
        • Literal antivirus
      • Paul Weimer (email)
        • Centrale Montemartini
      • We also heard from Alan Fleming, Ali Baker Brooks, Andrew Thompson, Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Ivan Sinha, Jan Harley, Kev McVeigh, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Shi Lala, and Tommy Ferguson
      • Famous Belgians: Simon Stevin
    • Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden
      • Smofcon Q&As
        • Salute of the Jugger
        • How to stream it in the UK
      • John would like to thank Glasgow 2024 for a travel bursary allowing him to attend!
    • Novacon 2026: Novacon 55 in Buxton
      • Una McCormack
    • Picks
      • John: The Truman Show
      • Alison: Pluribus
      • Liz: The Summer War by Naomi Novik
    • Credits
      • Cover art: ”Archaeologists“ by Alison Scott
        • Alt text: John and Alison, dressed in clothes reminiscent of The Mummy, look down some stairs upon Liz’s tomb, in which her skeleton still holds her Hugo Award, framed by stonework. The words “Octothorpe 149” appear at the top of the image.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 148: I’m With Liz

    148: I’m With Liz
    Nov 20 2025

    John, Alison, and stunt Liz Emily Tesh are live from Novacon 54!

    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: It’s a live recording!

    • Thanks to Emily Tesh for being our stunt Liz!
      • You can find Emily at her website, with links to socials at the bottom of the page
      • Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones
    • Visit Stow Shirts for all your Octothorpe merchandise needs
    • Picks
      • John: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
      • Alison: Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler
      • Emily: The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
    • Credits
      • Cover art: “Live from Novacon” by Steven Cain and Alison Scott
        • Alt text: Emily Tesh, John, and Alison stand in front of a suspiciously purple background which may indicate that the real background has been subtracted by nefarious photo editing. The words “Octothorpe 148 Live from Novacon” are overlaid.
      • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • 147: What? What?! No!

    147: What? What?! No!
    Nov 6 2025
    John is ready, Alison had forgotten, and Liz is surprised. 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: Animal torture (letters of comment) Letters of comment Chris Garcia (email)Ed Morland (BlueSky)Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) Pictcon 2026: PictCon 2 in Perth, 17 October Finbarr O’Reilly (email)Kev McVeigh (Facebook)Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)Paul Weimer (BlueSky, email)Tammy Coxen (Facebook)Terry Gibbs (Facebook)Raj (Mastodon)We also heard from Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein and Tammy Coxen 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction Ebon Moss-Bachrach on the red carpetEvent broadcast on YouTube LAcon V opens Hugo Awards Base Contest36th Galaxy Awards Roderick Leeuwenhart Tianwen Awards Ersatz Culture on Mastodon BKK Comics Art Festival #4 The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SFBelgian comics Asian Board Games Festival (ABGF) “Walking The Walk With RPGs In Malaysia” (paywalled on Rascal) Picks John: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship Shut Up & Sit Down’s reviewBoard Game ArenaThe dice tower Alison: The Word for World exhibition at the Architectural Association Secret Maps at the British Library Liz: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Star Wars is being properly remastered?Credits Cover art: “Nepal Spotter’s Guide” by Paul Weimer (text by Alison Scott) Alt text: A photograph of the mountains of Nepal with text overlaid, reading “Octothorpe 147 Official Octothorpe Nepal Identification Guide* (*apparently never gets old)** (** Liz might like to go to a comics con there)”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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