February 12, 2026

153: Bowling Captain Kirk for a Duck

53 minutes

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)

...more