Texas Steampunk Connection

recorded August 5, 2026

This week: the Victorian technological marvels found in the... in the The WC? The little boys' and girls' rooms? The euphemism. Thax blames the Queen for the Big Stink of 1858. Jack discusses the strange history of the bathroom tissue.

Stinky facts about he Great Stink

recorded July 22, 2026

We're at loose ends when Dr. BS has to step back with a migraine. Jack and Thax talk beers and whiskey, revisit the robotics from last episode since we didn't get to let him present, and Thax reviews and underappreciated nerf, the Zombie Strike Crossfire. Is it dumb or your next side iron?

recorded July 8, 2026

In a steampunk world where modern computers and cutting edge AI don't exist, how do robots work ? Is it magic? Or techno-gibberish involving cogs and springs? We'll try to break it down!

from Thax's notes:
The Sandman — a story of mistaken identity resulting from the love affair between the protagonist Nathanael and an automaton.

Rossum's Robots from R.U.R. — although these are artificial biological workers rather than mechanical robots, the play introduced the word "robot" to the world. 

recorded June 24, 2026

The heat of summer is on and we have to take our hobbies indoors. Dr. BS explores a few Victorian hobbies, while Thax claims the west was full of wild west fanboys. 
Jack tracks how the ceiling fan became a fixture in the new electrified century!

recorded June 10, 2026

We've returned from the steampunk event of the season, and are catching our breath. Trinkets were traded, and teapots were raced. Now that it's over, Con-drop must not stop our inspiration for new plans!
Jack has been exploring the concept of time and how industrialization, and the pocketwatch, redefined how we understand time on a new planetary scale. Your mind may get twisted.

recorded May 27, 2026

We always get a little anxious this close to a big event, so we're playing by ear tonight. Thax just learned about 'trinket trading' that occurs at renfaires, and even at steampunk events, but undercover. Have you interacted this way? Good or no?
Also from refaire, Rat Pucking! Seems like an easy adaption to our sensabilities with a bit of bad cockney and olde slang phrases tossed about.
See you in Galveston!

trinket trading explained on reddit

Rat Pucking explained!

 

recorded May 13, 2026

This year we've lost Wild Wild West Con, and Steampunk November is cancelled at least for 2026. Galveston Steampunk Festival is left as the only big SP event in Texas this year! Johnny Steverson finally talks about how just this spring smoking and vapes almost ended him and took half a lung.  But he pushes forward like a lunatic to give us Galveston Steampunk Festival IV this June!
Y'all, Johnny is a confirmed ride-or-die steampunk. Respect.

recorded April 29, 2026

Tonight we are venturing into the Victorian Kitchen... or so we thought. Thax discovers in Victorian London there are no kitchens, only starvation or bad bread. Bluestocking reports the pre-electricity "ice box" for the well off, and Jack discusses the value of the cast iron pan.

Note, Galveston Steampunk Festival is a month away! Make plans now!

recorded April 15, 2026

Tax day and only a weeks until Goggles, Gears, and Springs, Steampunk Festival; a FREE Steampunk event!! Tonight we welcome Danny Watson and Kelly Bombino who started this event in beautiful Eureka Springs, AR. This is the second year of the Steampunk festival with a full list of events to attend.

find out more at https://www.steampunkinnprojects.com/

Goggles Gears and Springs on Facebook

Steampunk Inn Bed and Breakfast

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