Big River Steampunk Fest and the Con Life Grind
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
Release Date: 08/14/2025
S4E3 Atlas, Erotica, and EagleEye — Welcome to the Future
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
The crew is back in full force as Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie prep for TsunamiCon and dive into a week of wild geek and tech headlines. OpenAI drops its Atlas browser, pushes Sora 2’s storyboard update, and—yes—announces that erotica is coming to ChatGPT. The team breaks down how that stacks against Google Gemini and Perplexity AI, debates the new EagleEye military HUD helmet that looks straight out of Halo, and laughs their way through Ghostbuster Magic cards, Star Trek modeling, and con chaos. What’s next? Probably holographic helmets, horny chatbots, and plexiglass at TwitchCon.
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Aliens, AI, and Airbrushes: The Rona Recovery Edition
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
Ash battles the tail end of COVID while Little Beard and Cookie recover from a wild weekend at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Between talk of ghost-hunting cats, ultraviolet bug runways, and AI Alexa getting emotional, the crew dives into deep and hilarious territory. They recap KC RenFest chaos, share an airbrush breakthrough, talk fake AI Comic Con leaks, and react to Marvel’s Wonder Man trailer — all before spiraling into Wilford Brimley’s age crisis and the immortal truth that Gen X just ages better.
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Trailers, Cons, and Tangents
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
This week on ConCast, the crew dives into a whirlwind of geekgasms, convention chaos, and a mountain of new trailers! Geekgasms: Little Beard hits the Van Gogh immersive exhibit and Wichita’s hidden Dockham speakeasy, while Ash brings his Orville model to the International Plastic Modelers Association. Cookie is busy crafting game prep for TsunamiCon. Con Drama: A cosplayer gets kicked out of Sans Japan over a “blow up your booth” comment — joke gone wrong or career-ending slip? Papa Meat vs. KC Ren Fest: The YouTuber calls it “boring until we drank.” Should the crew bring...
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ConCast S3E28 — Clowns, Space Herpes & TsunamiCon
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
Ash and Little Beard are in rare form this week, riffing on everything from Star Trek to Ice Pirates. Ash dives into Bridge Commander mayhem, while Beard dreams up cosplay plans involving “space herpes” on RC cars. The crew spirals into conspiracy theories about clowns as the true Illuminati, riffs on Land Before Time as a horror story, and debates Star Trek vs. Doctor Who crossovers. Geekgasms this week included Ash’s massive Orville model build and Beard’s autograph haul (Jason Reitman, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and more). News coverage hit on GalaxyCon’s AI-art ban, Paramount...
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AI vs. Artists: DragonCon’s Controversy
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
Ash and Little Beard dive into a wild mix of geekdom this week. From the indie juggernaut Hollow Knight: Silksong crashing servers worldwide, to Borderlands 4’s price hike backlash, to the new Jordan Peele–Hideo Kojima horror project OD, it’s a stacked gaming lineup. They also cover the TsunamiCon venue shake-up, the firestorm around AI art bans at DragonCon, and why 3D printing at conventions is facing similar questions of legitimacy. Along the way, the crew swap stories about Pokémon Go nostalgia, the strangest Disney films (yes, Pulp Fiction counts), and the collector’s hunt for...
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ConCast S3 E26 Storms and Steampunk Shenanigans
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie return from a whirlwind week of festivals, cons, and chaos. From ICT Comic Con in Wichita to the nine-block marathon that was Big River Steampunk Festival, the crew share stories of geekgasms, cosplay treasures, and late-night shenanigans. Ash talks Star Trek models and surprise connections for Jessica’s career, while Little Beard and Cookie recount the exhaustion, hilarity, and scheduling madness of Big River. Toss in storms with baseball-sized hail, Dead South concerts, Ghostbuster props, and a Romulan Warbird model worth $1,000—and you’ve got one wild...
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Turning Hannibal into Steampunk City: Festival Deep Dive
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
This week, Ash, Little Beard, Cookie, and special guest Sean Major pull back the curtain on the Big River Steampunk Festival in Hannibal, Missouri. Sean has been with the fest since its humble parking lot beginnings in 2014, and now oversees the sound and production across multiple stages, concerts, and ticketed events. We talk about the explosive growth of the festival, the challenges of running sound for five stages at once, the new additions this year (Wasteland Olympics, Boilerplate, Steampunk Ramblers), and the quirky community moments that make Big River feel like family—including the...
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Big River Steampunk Fest and the Con Life Grind
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
This week, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie dive deep into the ever-expanding world of geek culture, starting with a guest shuffle that turns into a full-on celebration of the upcoming Big River Steampunk Festival. From ICT Comic-Con’s growth to guest list geek-outs, they swap stories of past cons, celebrity encounters, and the grind of performing across multiple stages in one weekend. Along the way, the crew tackles hot topics like Gina Carano rumors, Marvel’s Spider-Man shake-ups, AI news including Perplexity’s bold Chrome bid, the Unitree R1 robot release, and even a UFC fight planned at...
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Visa, Video Games, and Discworld Philosophy
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
This week on ConCast, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie go full throttle on geek culture. They recap San Diego Comic Con’s biggest trailers, including Peacemaker and Spinal Tap 2, and dive deep into Ash’s shiny new $300 Elegoo Centauri 3D printer that’s performing as well as machines 4x the cost. The trio debates the Visa/MasterCard Steam debacle, celebrates Crunchyroll’s new anime theater initiative, and ponders the return of parody movies. Plus, plenty of love for Terry Pratchett, Tim Curry, and those chaotic internet corners where Rule 34 lives. Also: Muppets, Klingon K-Pop, and cosplay...
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S3E22: When Pirates Collide: Scallywags vs. Buccaneers
ConCast - A podcast about Conventions and Fandoms
This week on ConCast, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie are joined by Buddy from the Bawdy Buccaneers in a full-blown Ren Fest reunion that dives into everything from embarrassing smoker show stories to the rise of AI-generated VFX in Hollywood. We Geekgasam over tricorders, the secret life of Elmo’s Twitter, and the fine line between fan fiction and lawsuits. Come for the chaos, stay for the corn jokes and watermelons.
info_outlineThis week, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie dive deep into the ever-expanding world of geek culture, starting with a guest shuffle that turns into a full-on celebration of the upcoming Big River Steampunk Festival. From ICT Comic-Con’s growth to guest list geek-outs, they swap stories of past cons, celebrity encounters, and the grind of performing across multiple stages in one weekend. Along the way, the crew tackles hot topics like Gina Carano rumors, Marvel’s Spider-Man shake-ups, AI news including Perplexity’s bold Chrome bid, the Unitree R1 robot release, and even a UFC fight planned at the White House. It’s a whirlwind tour of conventions, pop culture, and the latest tech that has the fandom buzzing.