Texas Steampunk Connection

recorded April 1, 2026 Tonight we sit down with M.L. Eaden, a new writer and indie-publisher of queer urban-fantasy and monster romance. She only began building her series of books as Covid locked us down. Now she's on her sixth book as well as a novella and short stories. mleaden.com ML Eaden on bookshop.org

recorded March 18, 2026 Between St. Patrick's Day yesterday, Spring Break this week, and SXSW in Austin, it's been a fine weekend. we barely have a topic, but things are happening! Wild Wild West Steampunk Festival ends it's 14th year and it's last. Big River Festival is given the side-eye by the city of Hannibal. Our own Johnny Steverson survives a rushed to ER with a life threatening condition! And we've learned that Steam Powered Giraffe has said they do not feel safe in the trans environment in Texas. The Steampunk community suffers along with everyone when real life injustice is allowed to continue.

recorded March 4, 2026 This week we explore steampunk inventing and some favorite inventions. Could be real, but probably imagined. Dr. Bluestocking discovers Professor BJ Sears, a prominent film editor who was compelled to create a collection of steampunk-inspired sculptures. Jack shares inspirational prose on the steampunk outlook on inventing. Professor BJ Sears' Technological Rarities

recorded February 18, 2026 Last show we planned to talk about some fun patents, but we had such a good time we didn't get to it. So we're going to try again! Dr. BS is back with us, and we've found patents for things we use every day, and others that I doubt anyone ever used! Let's go! Google Patents A random source on the internet!

recorded February 4, 2026 This week we bring you Johnny Steverson, the one-man event maker who produces the Galveston Steampunk, Pirate, and Ghost Coast Festivals. He's got big news to bring us that will really set off the summer! Also we planned to discuss Victorian patents, but never really get there. We'll return to it next show with double the patents! https://galvestonsteampunk.com/ https://www.visitgalveston.com/ https://ghostcoastfestival.com/

recorded January 21, 2026 This week we delve back into history to look at the Pinkertons. Were they detectives, or paid thugs for supervillains? I was surprised by the answers. Pinkerton's own presentation of history another (better) podcast on the Pinkertons

recorded January 7, 2026 It's a new year! Time to make new plans, and build excitement for the next build, next adventure! We're going to make some resolutions, and have the best darn 2026 whether we like it or not!

recorded December 24, 2025 It's the night before Christmas, and we're streaming our end of year wrap-up! We want to hug all our supporters and start plans for next year. Jack and the fam are back to celebrate and we look forward to a new year.

recorded December 10, 2025 Did you ever wonder about that line about “scary ghost stories” in the Christmas carol “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”? Well, we’re gonna tell y’all all about that glorious Victorian Christmas tradition! Besides Dickens' Christmas Carol, what other stories have you heard of? Lets see if we can find any. Christmas Ghosts: A Victorian Tradition Christopher Lee tells the story of a loud hotel neighbor. In the Bleak Mid-Winter: Must-Read Ghost Stories for Christmas

recorded November 26, 2025 Before Steampunk November, organizers were approached by Big Media asking about the "Steampunk Lifestyle." What does that mean, to Big Media or to us? How does steampunk play a part in your life on a regular or daily basis?

recorded November 12, 2025 Steampunk November is the longest running steampunk event in Texas. And it's in three days!! Sheriff Natalie McTavish joins us for a pre-fest hang out. What changes will there be this year? What are you looking forward to? How will we tea duel? Frankenstein The Thief and the Cobbler Powers of Darkness (Dracula)

recorded October 29, 2025 It's the last show before Halloween! Let's finish off a season of cults and strange societies with Madame Blavatsky and her occult/religious movement, Theosophy. We discuss the questionable origin story, and how Theosophy has influenced modern culture. Theosophical Society on Wikipedia Madame Blavatsky: a seeker of truth — and a fraud Henry Steel Olcott: Timeline of an Occult Pioneer William Quan Judge: A Biographical Sketch Annie Besant on BBC.co.uk Jiddu Krishnamurti on Wikipedia

recorded October 15, 2025 This Mid-October we welcome researcher Bekah June back to talk about about esoteric secret societies and strange luminaries of the time. Thax reveals the secrets of the Freemason (not real super secrets, tho.) Jack picks it up as three Masons create the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for more occultism than the Masons offered. Political intrigues and infighting commence! Freemasons Grand Lodge of Texas Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn More work from Bekah June Voicemails of the Unexplained Ms. June's published work on Amazon

recorded October 1, 2025 Tonight we celebrate the coming of October, our favorite month! Also the rapture that didn't happen on Tuesday a week past. Yeah, for real. I guess. What is the rapture, anyway? Also, since we're sliding that way, horrific religious cults of the 1800's! A warning. Some may find this episode disturbing. Listen at your own risk. Edmund Creffield and the Brides of Christ Frank Sandford and the Shiloh Compound Cult of Margaretta Peter

recorded September 17, 2025 No topic this week. Instead lets hang out and have a good old school show and tell! We haven't done one of these in months, so we're all over the place. Nautilus is still the greatest SP show we've seen in a long time. Wednesday the new season has its problems, but we still think it's a good watch. O. Henry a turn-of-the-century author from Austin, Texas Perfect Creature a vampire B movie with great SP setting Steampunk Banditos: Sex Slaves of Shark Island Thax read the free first chapter, and it was better than it had any right to be. Is this an actual good read?

recorded September 3, 2025 This week we celebrate the American laborer that keeps the wheels of industry turning. But what was it like at a time when labor drove the actual industrial revolution? TLDR, it was a horror show of course! We go from the Poor Law of 1834 to workhouses, to manufacturing fire in a locked building, to labor safety laws and the value of unions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Law_Amendment_Act_1834 https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Victorian-Workhouse/ https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha/40-years/trianglefactoryfire https://workerorganizing.org/premajority-unionism/unions/history/

recorded August 20, 2025 Tonight we begin an exploration of the tawdry underbelly of repressed Victorian society, venturing into what is not discussed in polite society. We approach Victorian drug use, medical and recreational, of opium, cocaine, and cannabis. The Steampunk Doctor: Practicing Medicine in a Victorian Mechanical Age Drugs in Victorian Britain Opium in Victorian Britain Opium Use in the 19th Century Busted: How Cocaine went from Friend to Fiend in the 19th Century How Marijuana Was Used In Victorian England Cannabis Britannica: The Rise and Demise of a Victorian England Wonder-Drug

recorded August 6, 2025 This week we are joined by Bekah June, host of cosmic horror series "Voicemails of the Unexplained." She is also a veteran steampunk, and into weird paranormal conspiracies so this should be a fun chat. Bekah's web page, Default Theory Productions Voicemails of the Unexplained Bekah's TikTok Bekah's previous project, Tales of a Broken Reality Turning the Table: A Look at The Victorian Supernatural Obsession