153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck

John is volunteering, Alison is saying “no”, and Liz read her first book!

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], 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
  • Alexandra Lanes (Bluesky)
  • Ali Baker Brown (Bluesky)
  • Chris Garcia (email)
  • Fiona Moore (Facebook)
  • Ivan Sinha (Facebook)
  • Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook)
  • Kev McVeigh (Facebook)
  • Paul Weimer (email)
  • Roseanna Pendlebury (Bluesky)
  • Scott Edelman (Bluesky)
    • The convention never ends
  • Tommy Ferguson (Facebook)
  • We also heard from Farah Mendlesohn, Fredrik V Coulter and Mike Scott
• SMOFcon 2026: SMOFcon 43 in Lisbon, Portugal
• Worldcon 2028: Bid for Nuremberg, Germany
  • “Nuremberg in 2028 Worldcon Bid Unveils Website” on File 770
• Worldcon 2028: Bid for Kigali, Rwanda
  • They are withdrawing from the process
  • Join the “Worldcon in Africa” mailing list
• Worldcon 2029: Bid for Dublin, Ireland
• Fan funds
  • Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF)
    • Kat Templeton has announced her candidacy
    • Ansible #463 reported that the ballot would be online “soon”
  • Going Under Fan Fund (GUFF)
    • Nominations are now open and close on 18 February!
• Picks
  • John: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
  • Alison: Anbernic RG 34XXSP
  • Liz: There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
    • The SCP Foundation
    • Antimemetics FAQ
    • ROT13
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Alison the White” by Alison Scott
    • Alt text: A picture of Alison with white hair, wearing a white dressing gown, and wielding a staff with a moose head. John and Liz flank her. She says “Behold! I am reborn as Alison the White!” John says “That’s a bit dramatic… it’s only a haircut” and Liz says “Pretty sure that’s a dressing gown… and are you standing on a box?” The words Octothorpe 153 are at the top.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)