A Hugo Award-winning podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty.
Octothorpe
Claim This Podcastby John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty
5.0(14 reviews)
159 episodes
Updated Weekly
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧
34
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality34
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement85
Podcast Overview
A Hugo Award-winning podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
4/29/2020
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34
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality34
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement85
5
Excellent Areas
1
Good Performance
13
Growth Opportunities
excellent
Episode Length
1h 6m
Performing excellently!
good
Publishing Consistency
Every 14 days
Recommendations available
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needs improvement
Show Notes Quality
2.0/5
Recommendations available
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Recent Episodes
June 18, 2026
162: Do You Have Stirrups on Your Bicycle?
John wasn’t overcrowded, Alison likes it small, and Liz has never been. 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: Drug use, war (John’s pick) Letters of comment Christopher J Garcia (email) DC (Bluesky) Els (Bluesky) Ivan Sinha (Facebook) Premier Inns in Llandudno Jonathan Harden (Bluesky) Nicholas Whyte (email) “Best Related Work eligibility for the Hugo Awards” Scott Edelman (Bluesky) Eating the Fantastic Tommy Ferguson (email) Trish Matson (Bluesky) Shokz OpenSwim Pro Alison: Raj (Mastodon) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, aoanla, Jonathan Baddeley, Neil Ottenstein Satellite 9 Ottoman Coffeehouse Blood on the Clocktower Bristol 1350 Codex Naturalis Farah Mendlesohn is running a one-day event about Frances Hardinge Worldcon 2028: Former bid for Nuremberg, Germany Worldcon 2028: Bid for Brisbane, Australia Paul Weimer (email) Clouds and stuff UK Games Expo 2026 “UK Games Expo 2026 breaks NEC attendance records as infrastructure buckles under massive crowds” at GeekNative by Andrew Girdwood “Stupid Games, Stupid Prizes” by Tim Clare Some discourse on Bluesky Picks John: Starship Salvager by Jarrom Strong Alison: Hades II Liz: Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier Game Over by David Sheff Credits Cover art: “Scenes of the Village” by Alison Scott Alt text: A photograph of Portmeirion made to look like a stamp or a postcard, with words overlaid saying “Holiday greetings from Portmeirion, be seeing you…”. Above reads “Octothorpe 162” and below reads “Alison has gone on holiday again”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
June 4, 2026
161: You Pay Your Money, You Send Your Books
John, Alison and Liz read the Clarke Award shortlist. 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: Gun control and dystopian government (The Dream Hotel), body dysmorphia (Luminous), child abuse (The Salt Oracle) The Arthur C Clarke Award Medium Substack Website This year’s shortlist Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Luminous by Sylvia Park There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson This year’s submission list Credits Cover art: “Judge Coxon’s Last Stand” by Alison Scott Alt text: John, wearing a Judge Dredd-style helmet with the Clarke Award logo on it and holding a lightsaber, dispenses judgement from behind a wall of books. The words “Octothorpe 161” appear above him, whilst words below say “Arthur C. Clarke Award 2026: Judge Coxon’s Last Stand”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
May 21, 2026
160: Global Nando’s Correspondents
John is not firing on all cylinders, Alison has a code, and Liz downloaded the packet. 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: Worms (Alison’s pick) Letters of comment Andrew Thompson (Mastodon 1, 2) Chris Garcia (email) Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) BSFA accounts Jake Casella Brookins (Bluesky 1, 2) Kate Macdonald (email) Kiesa (Mastodon) Mike Scott (Facebook) Patrick Garvey (email) Paul Weimer (email) The Theory of Related-ivity by Heather Rose Jones “Seattle Worldcon Poet Laureate Brandon O’Brien’s Opening Ceremonies poem” Also pointed out by Kathy Bond (Bluesky) Raj (Mastodon 1, 2) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Ang Rosin, Caroline Mullan, Constanze Hofmann, Dave Mansfield, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Els, Ivan Sinha, James Shields, Jonathan Baddeley, Kev McVeigh, Lilian Edwards, Phil Dyson, Tammy Coxen Hugo Awards Intergalactic Mixtape #50 Intergalactic Mixtape #53 Tim Vine is Plastic Elvis as Sam Salono in Rocker ‘Brella Fella Picks John: Citizen Sleeper Alison: Falmouth Worm-Charming Championships Liz: Hades II Credits Cover art: “Cover-Mounted CD-Rom” by Alison Scott Alt text: A drawing of a CD-Rom with the words “Octothorpe 160” and “New!! Exclusive Octothorpe cover-mounted CD-Rom”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
159 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Octothorpe?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates weekly.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 10 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
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