Episode 430 - Dragon Con 2026 Preview

This is an interview between Mark Baumgarten, host of the MarkWHO42 podcast, and Charles McFall, Digital Media Track Director at Dragon Con, discussing the upcoming 40th-anniversary convention scheduled for September 3-7, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. Charles explained that Dragon Con has grown from 1,500 attendees in 1987 to approximately 74,000-76,000 attendees across five host hotels, featuring almost 36 programming tracks, including the BritTrack, Star Trek, Star Wars, and main programming with celebrity guests such as David Tennant, Billie Piper, Katee Sackhoff, Edward James Olmos, and Jonathan Coulton. Mark discussed his plans to attend as both press and a fan, expressing particular interest in the BritTrack programming and the famous parade that shuts down downtown Atlanta streets. They covered practical aspects, including hotel locations, accessibility accommodations, weapons policies, and tips for first-time attendees, with Charles emphasizing that Dragon Con offers something for everyone across multiple genres while maintaining its fan-run and fan-focused nature. Oh, and Mark goes on a Doctor Who Competitive Tender tangent... but of course he does.For more information, go to https://www.dragoncon.org/To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!To reach out or contact us, write to [email protected]