Dive into the complete episode list for Octothorpe. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
117: You Made That Joke Last Time, John
29 Aug 2024
00:57:22
John liked the entertainment, Alison didn’t queue, and Liz wanted soup.
Alt text: Three photographs dominate the centre of the image. The left-hand photograph is of a prototype Hugo made of rough wood and cardboard; the centre photograph is of a rough-ish wood base and tin foil rocket but with the actual acrylic and etching, and the right-hand photograph is of the finished Hugo Award. Text below the photos reads “protoprototype”, “prototype”, and “2024 Hugo”. Above, the words “Octothorpe 117” appear.
Alt text: John, Liz and Alison (I know, listener, I know) are looking off to the right holding their Hugo Awards as people take photographs of them on the stage at the SEC Armadillo.
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.
Alt text: Three ponies in the style of My Little Pony adorn the cover. The left-hand one is orange, and has a six-sided die as a cutie mark. The central one is teal, and has a rainbow Apple logo for a cutie mark. The right-hand one is blue, and has a Hugo Award for a cutie mark. They look like they are having a nice time. The words “My Little Octothorpe 106” appear at the top, and the words “Podcasting Is Magic” appear at the bottom.
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 105” and “Liz has finished reading the latest Hugo Award exposés”.
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.
Alt text: The words “Octothorpe 103 Hugo Regalia Shop” appear above a selection of costumes. There are small depictions of a clown, a pirate, a panda and a banana above full-length depictions of a member of the Catholic church (with Hugos on their mitre and crosier), a gangster (labelled “boss”, holding a Hugo), Zaphod Beeblebrox (holding three Hugos) and Jesus (with a crown of thorns but made with Hugos).
Content warnings this episode: Chinese censorship (discussion of the Hugo Awards), Jim Crow Florida (Liz’s pick), general socioeconomic inequality (John’s pick)
Alt text: Scooby, Velma and Daphne unmask the panda from last week’s cover art, and the person wearing the panda suit looks a lot like Dave McCarty. They say “It was old Mister McCarty all along!” and he says “And I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for you meddling Hugo finalists!” He is tied up with rope. The words “Octothorpe! 102” appear at the top of the image.
Cover art: “Glasgow Hotel Board Game” by Alison Scott
Alt text: A board reminiscent of a well-known board game about property trading. There are three purple properties (Campanile, Village, Moxy), each of which has one hotel. There are two teal properties (Crowne Plaza, Marriott), a replacement for “In Jail” called “In WSFS”, a Statue square featuring a man on horseback with a traffic cone on his head, and a square called Telephone Kiosk with a depiction of a police box. In the middle of the board, the words “Octothorpe Episode 101”. Each property has asterisks for the rent and the words “Rates coming very soon but not quite soon enough for this cover” appear at the bottom.
Alt text: A telegram lies with a golden thread bookmark on a plush purple surface. It has two pieces of Weetabix above text which reads “I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth episode in January 2024. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Claire R (of Croydon).” The words “Octothorpe 100” are at the top in golden lettering.
Alt text: John, Alison and Liz are on a large privy holding drinks with a snake wrapped around the privy. Speech bubbles surround them: “Have you seen my emotional support python?” “The perfect spot for the old pharts photo”, “It’s another ‘what if…’ episode”, and “Oi! There’s a queue here mate”. A banner with “Punctuation Worldcon 2030” appears at the top and the words “Octothorpe 99” appear at the bottom.
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.
We are in favour of Conann, Lovely, Dark and Deep, Mars Express, Tiger Stripes, and Mollie and Max in the Future
We oppose The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus One
The Boy and the Heron: released 8 December on 2,325 screens, made $35mn in 2023
Godzilla Minus One: released 1 December on 2,622 screens, made $45mn in 2023
Poor Things: released 8 December on 2,300 screens, made $10mn in 2023
Changes to the Hugo Awards (D10, F5–9, F11): we are in favour of D10 and F5 (with tweaks), we are against F6–8, and we are a bit nuanced (sorry) on F9 and F11
WSFA
Glasgow has ~8,400 WSFS members, WSFS membership is £45, so 5% is ~£18k
Censure resolutions and apology resolutions (D11–14, F16): we are in favour of making it clear that WSFS does not condone what happened in Chengdu
Here are links to the text of the two redacted resolutions
Software Advisory Committee (F10): we oppose consideration
Site selection changes (F12–13): we oppose consideration, and also oppose F12, and we think F13 might need a committee
A grab bag (F17–20): we oppose consideration
Some of this stuff matters but it shouldn’t get debated this year
Ratifications:
We didn’t think that all of them were worth discussing, so you can assume we’re in favour/ambivalent of the ones we don’t discuss (unless we forgot one that’s very heinous)
Bid committee contact details (E5): we are in favour
Voter contact details (E6): we are against
Independent film Hugo Award categories (E7): we are against (but we discussed this above)
Fancast compensation (E9): we are nuanced, we don’t want professionals to be in Fancast, but we’re not sure what this amendment does that helps
Eligibility (E10) and ASFiC (E12): we are in favour of the Worldcon becoming more international, but we are against these ratifications specifically
Alt text: A giant stripy purple bucket of popcorn on a cinema screen says “Octothorpe 115 WSFS Special”, and John, Alison and Liz sit in the audience, silhouetted in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. John is saying “We’re gonna need a bigger box of popcorn.”
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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”.
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.”
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”.
Alt text: Three Clangers wearing homages to Sean Connery in Zardoz stand on the Moon, painted on a rock which is in turn against a purple background. The words “Octothorpe 88” appear in yellow/orange at the top.
Alt text: ”Octothorpe 114” is at the top, and the word ”Octothorpe” is written on a series of lottery balls. Below that, a bingo card, and below that, the words ”Worldcon Community Group Bingo Card". The items on the card are as follows:
From Locus #750: “The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi won with the smallest winning lead this year, just 17 points ahead Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, which had the most votes and first-place votes, and would have won without the doubling of subscriber points.”
Alt text: John and Liz stand in front of a moose-sized Alison wearing antlers in a cage fight. Alison is saying “BEWARE MY SIGNATURE MOVE THE MOOSE”, John is saying “I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SUMMER OF FUN” and Liz is saying “IS IT TOO LATE TO PICK 100 ALISON-SIZED MOOSE?” The words “Octothorpe 87” are at the top.
Alt text: A moose mug, a keyboard and a to-do list on a desk. The list reads: “Watch the cricket. Sit in the garden. Plan holidays. Octothorpe 85 art. Summer of fun.”
Alt text: Three cheeses sit on a shelf. The first cheese is thinking “FACE #1: CHEEZY GRIN”. The second is thinking “FACE #2: LONG SUFFERING ARTIST”. The third is thinking “FACE #3: FIVE EXPRESSIONS? YOU WERE LUCKY. YOU SHOULD TRY BEING CHEESE.” The words “Octothorpe 84” hang above them.
Roughly half and half between COVID chat and not-COVID chat
MUCH LIKE THE COVID RATES, BOOM [Alison doesn’t know I wrote that—John]
No picks this week – what have y’all been into?
Credits
Cover art: “Carry On the Conversation” by Alison Scott
Alt text: John, Alison and Liz have bottles of porter and wear pink T-shirts in the centre of the art, as various farcical figures surround them looking remarkably like convention attendees. “Carry On… the Conversation” is written in big friendly letters on the cover, above the words “An Octothorpe 83 production • John Coxon • Alison Scott • Liz Batty”.
Alt text: Three red pandas hold “Octothorpe” football scarves with “here we go”, “earwig o” and “be kind to your web-footed friends” as lyrics floating above. Text above that says “82: HUGO NOMINATION RECOMMENDATION SPECIAL”.
Alt text: The dragon and robot from Conversation’s logo, either side of a shield depicting two rockets with a moose head above it and a sleeping black cat below it. Text reads “Octothorpe 81: Live from Eastercon”.
Conversions for Chinese language nominees: “A factor of 1.6 will be used when converting from English words to Chinese characters. As such the fiction category breakpoints will be: 1) Short Story: fewer than 7,500 English words or 12,000 Chinese characters. 2) Novelette: between 7,500/12,000 and 17,500 English words or 28,000 Chinese characters. 3) Novella: between 17,500/28,000 and 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters. 4) Novel: greater than 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters.”
The USA says “reconsider travel”, which is level 3 of a 4-level alert, partly due to COVID which may change before October. They have level 4 alerts which are “do not travel”
I didn’t mention it on the podcast at all and it’s just for you, the show note reader, but I was watching this sketch when I was waiting for Alison and Liz this morning: ”Beavis and Butt-Head” from SNL
Alt text: Three stick figures run from Godzilla, who is depicted in the style of Godzilla Minus One. The words “Octothorpe 113” used to be at the top of the art, but Godzilla has knocked off the letters “O C T O”, is holding “H”, and is trying to eat “T”.
Alt text: Three groundhogs in the general shapes of John, Alison and Liz regard their shadow, in the shape of an octothorpe, beneath the text “Octothorpe 76”.
Alt text: Liz and Alison (dressed in their Sunday best) take John (dressed in Star Wars cosplay but with short trousers) to see Cthulhu, depicted in a cage at the zoo.
Alt text: Three rodents stand under a mantlepiece covered in holly above a roaring fire. John’s stocking has dice and is orange; Alison’s has moose and is green; Liz has molecules and is blue. Rodent John is holding a B2-EMO coffee mug and wearing entirely Gregg’s-themed Christmas wear. Alison has her knitting, and is wearing red, orange and green Christmas wear. Liz is crocheting and is decked out in tasteful indigo. Each of the rodents is having a thoroughly lovely Christmas and wishes you the same!
Alt text: The text “# Octothorpe” written in fonts that make it look like the Andor logo, and “Seventy Two” written in the Star Wars logo, in a golden colour on black.
Alt text: A drawing of a Canadian Consulate, adorned with Scottish and Canadian flags, and a banner which says “Edinburgh NASFiC 2024: Presupports $60 inc. free T-shirt”. A mountie is in front of the building, which is in the Greco-Roman style. OCTOTHORPE 70 is written at the top, on a light purple sky above the building.
Alt text: Three figures with long brown hair and brown bears are central in the image. They look eerily like Chris Garcia. The left Chris Garcia is wearing John’s glasses and a Flintstones shirt with his arms folded; the central Chris Garcia is wearing Alison’s glasses and a black shirt with his (her?) arms outstretched and fingers doing horns; and the right Chris Garcia is wearing a stripy blue-and-white top and appears to be doing a wrestling move in a downward fashion. The left Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “WELCOME TO THE VERY 69TH EPISODE OF OCTOTHORPE. I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The central Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The right Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “AND I’M CHRIS GARCIA. IN THIS EPISODE I REVEAL MY MULTITASKING TIPS”. The text “What if… all three of us were Chris Garcia? appears in a typeface reminiscent of classic Tintin covers in the top-centre of the artwork. The top-left corner has “Octothorpe 69 Nov 2022” written in the style of a comic cover; the top-right corner has “Rejected by the Comics Code Authority”. In the bottom-right hand corner the words “You can catch Chris Garcia every month in Journey Planet and the Drink Tank” appear. A barcode in the bottom-left hand corner is actually cunningly-disguised text that reads (ROT13 to avoid spoilers) “Lbh ner Puevf Tnepvn naq V pynvz zl svir cbhaqf”. The background is two shades of purple.
Alt text: The Glasgow 2024 logo with black line drawings of John, Alison and Liz on three planets. Alison has a tiara. In place of the words “Glasgow 2024” are the words “Octothorpe 68”. The logo is on a background in Octothorpe’s purple.
Cover art: “That Octothorpe Series” by España Sheriff
Alt text: John, Alison and Liz stand in the transporter on a Constitution-class Federation starship. They are mid-transportation, made of sparkles instead of fully fleshed out. The words “Octothorpe 112” appear beneath them.
Alt text: A commemorative plate with a blue rim which says “Octothorpe 67” and “Number #2 in an obviously infinite series” on it. Within that there is another commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow Star Trek uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in Lower Decks; Alison in the centre wearing a red Star Trek uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue Star Trek uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip. In the top-right corner there is text reading “UNIQUE COMMEMORATIVE PLATE OF A COMMEMORATIVE PLATE”.
Alt text: A purple square with “OCTOTHORPE 66” written at the bottom and inset, a photograph of John, Alison, and Liz. John is wearing a grey suit with a Hugo Award finalist pin and a matching purple tie and mask; Alison is wearing a black mask, a burgundy dress, a tiara by Sara Felix, and has glitter on her temple; and Liz is wearing a green dress and matching mask, a necklace by Vanessa Applegate, and a yellow shrug. They are against a backdrop which has alternating Hugo Award logos and Chicon 8 logos.
Alt text: Two hand drawn maps of the world described by the game, in handwriting, one on an iPad and one on paper. They are atop a purple square which says “Octothorpe 65”.
The following are us on the Chicon 8 guide: John, Alison, Liz
Wait for a second for the data to come in to replace the “this user is not found” page rather than deciding it didn’t work before immediately closing the tab (see also: Alison)
Liz: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney+)
Star Wars games
I could do links to Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch games with Star Wars in, but I feel like you can probably just do that yourselves, listeners. I know, the service here is terrible
Alt text: A commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow Star Trek uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in Lower Decks; Alison in the centre wearing a red Star Trek uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue Star Trek uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip.