Texas Steampunk Connection

recorded Novemeber 27, 2024 Happy Thanksgiving! Last chance to run to the store before they close for a WHOLE DAY! Tonight our producer, Lex, joins us to celebrate the season of thanks. She's got topics to talk about, including the underdeveloped topic of dance in steampunk, and the mechanical reanimation of dead spiders. It's gonna be a wild hour! Steampunk ladies dance at derelict Torrington dairy Necrorobotics: The Ethics of Resurrecting the Dead

recorded Novemeber 13, 2024 We've just come back from the biggest, oldest steampunk event in Texas, Steampunk November. It gets just a bit bigger and more interesting every year and we had a great time. It was emotionally hard to leave our growing friends and family in steampunk at the end. Join us and special guest, Natalie McTavish, Aka Nicole, Aka Sheriff McCannon to tell you what you may have missed. Also Texas loves HEB. It's kind of our thing.

recorded October 30, 2024 Happy Halloween! Kaely, admin for the World of Steampunk facebook group, joins us to talk spooky stuff, steampunk in Fall, big events, and celebrating a certain doctor with ADHD distractions into random geeky stuff. Dr. Bluestocking's dissertation (now complete!)

recorded October 16, 2024 Spook Season Live Stream! The darkness is upon us! Let's talk about where steampunk and horror intersect and what we're enjoying as the nights become longer. Starting with Mary Shelley and Poe, through Weird Fiction and HP Lovecraft, to modern tales that play with a steampunk aesthetic. Crimson Peak  Winchester  Ghost Ship  North American Lake Monsters  The Mechanical Grave  The Necrofessor's comic 

recorded October 2, 2024 Johnny Steverson's back! We're all in high spirits for the coming Ghost Coast Festival on the 11th to 13th, and all the spooky October shenanigans. Johnny tells us some of the details of guests and experiences to expect at the festival. It should be a good time. Ghost Coast Festival  League Kempner House 

recorded September 18, 2024 We are joined by Cedric Whittaker, Co-Captain of Airship Isabella, costume and prop makers for film and theatre, and long time steampunk luminary. He's also become a paranormal investigator with a more than a few stories. We look forward to getting spooky!

recorded September 4, 2024 Asia has always had a rich tapestry of cultures that are often a mystery to western audiences. Add to that the embrace of the steampunk aesthetic and you may have discovered SilkPunk. Writer Ken Liu coined the term as a multicultural Steampunk label. Let's chat about it! the Dandelion Dynasty - Ken Liu The SEA Is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia - Nghi Vo Gunpowder Alchemy - Jeannie Lin the Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi Tales of the Far West - Gareth-Michael Skarka Jani and the Greater Game - Eric Brown

recorded August 21, 2024 Tonight we are joined with accomplished leatherworker and long time steampunk, Lauren Bonneau. If you've ever thought to make your own leather goods but have questions, we're here for um. Ms. Bonneau's work may inspire you to just jump in. Free armor patterns, essays, discourse at The Armour Archive  Lauren's tiktok 

recorded July 6, 2024 A macguffin, an object serving merely as a trigger for a plot, is a common literary device. What macguffins do we find in Steampunk stories? Are they different than other genres?  Getting a little meta this time. Let's talk about it.  

recorded July 23, 2024 How do animals fit into your steampunk vision? What animals are the most steampunk? What animals can we see in Steampunk media? From family pets to big game, we're going to talk about animals! Steampunk Tea Duelling Rules Nantes Mechanical Elephant Little Nemo Adventures in Slumberland

recorded July 9, 2024 As the forebearer of Steampunk, what place does Cyberpunk play in out collection of stories, styles, and themes? What do we think of a future without 'retro? Lets Talk about it. Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092402/ Johnny Mnemonic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113481/ Rita's link: YMYW https://yourmindyourworld.com/

recorded June 11, 2024 It started out so innocent, learning about a Victorian confection, the Penny Lick. Which apparently was a disease vector, which lead to epidemics and death due to terrible sanitation, not just despite, but because of the invention of indoor plumbing. What a wild disgusting ride. Dangers of Victorian Penny Licks Dubious Victorian Cures 

recorded June 11, 2024 We've covered a lot of aspects of steampunk on this show. This week Jack asked what do we wish was included that we've not seen. What would you like to see in 'the scene' that you haven't? What could make steampunk more compelling, more interesting? Let's have a bit of a brainstorm, for fun.

recorded May 28, 2024 Summer is a great time to build your Steampunk kit but budgets are very tight. Between Shein, Temu, and Alibaba, what are the risks ordering from China? Tonight you can learn from our mistakes, and get some advice on finding the quality stuff from overseas. 

recorded May 14, 2024 Diverging from our punk series, tonight we discuss post-apocalyptic stories that we call steampunk, why are they SP, how are they different from more historical SP? And is there a sub genre 'punk for this?

recorded April 30, 2024 Continuing our punk series, tonight we explore the wild west of Steampunk. What makes Steampunk in America different than in Britain? Dust Punk and Weird West have a lot to offer the Steampunk genre. Lets talk about it. Burke’s Peerage lists U.K. nobles and titles Native Steampunk with Michael RedTurtle: A Personal Essay The Clockwork Century Series 

We're home from the the big spring event for Texas Steampunks, and it's time for a debrief. Let's chat with producer, Johnny "Starship" Steverson about the successes and challenges and secrets for what's to come.

recorded April 2, 2024 Continuing our punk series, tonight we explore how literary horror has crept and scuttled its way into the Steampunk scene. Weird Fiction- late 19th, early 20th cent. Supernatural fiction blending sci-fi, gothic fiction, folk tales, romanticis, ghost stories, and fantasy while avoiding genre tropes, and making them... weird. Edgar Allen Poe Cosmic Horror- Themes of Detachment and Isolation, the Unknown, the Fragility of Sanity, pointlessness of human existence, and Visceral Textures (like tentacles). HP Lovecraft The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. -HPL  

recorded March 19, 2024 Tonight we begin a series on punk genres by diving into the Dieselpunk, or Petrolpunk, theme. How is it distinguished from Steampunk? What are some examples? Where lies the 'punk'?  

recorded March 5, 2024 "What's with those goggles?" Have you been in a "Steampunk 101" lecture at any convention with a steampunk track? Near all of us have. But how would you boil down the length and breadth of our hobby(s) to a succinct message to curious normies? Tonight we will struggle over this topic while we share a drink and idle banter. Another writer's take  and another  Bonus: Bluestocking's SP music essentials