Robot or Not?
Jason Snell asks John Siracusa to rule on the meaning of various words and concepts. It’s not just about robots anymore.
Have a question for John? Email robot@theincomparable.com.
All Episodes
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November 4, 2024
300 Fast Food
There are so many different ways to define fast food. Is pizza fast food? Also, Jason has a story about the Shake Shake in the Minneapolis airport.
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October 7, 2024
298 Henchman
As so often happens with us, discussions of evil henchman end up becoming discussions of legal employment status.
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September 25, 2024
297 Relay Podcastathon Special 2024
Live from the Relay Podcastathon, Jason and special guest Casey Liss ask John a bunch of questions from the Robot Or Not question list.
Topics include: All-In-One computers, dates, pasta, and antique vs. retro.
It’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Please consider donating as a part of our campaign at stjude.org/relay.
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September 16, 2024
296 Catchphrase
Oh, Listener Sean wants to know about catchphrases! Well, isn’t that special?
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September 2, 2024
295 Homepods and Other Robots (or Not)
In a rare timely episode, John and Jason discuss a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple is designing a series of robots, including a “robot” that sits on a table and moves its display around, and a “robot” that follows you around your house folding laundry, reminding you of your mortality, and possibly running a viral campaign for Apple TV+ shows.
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August 19, 2024
294 Double Space
Listener Daniel would like John’s blessing for his practice of putting two spaces after every sentence he types.
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August 5, 2024
293 Severe Weather
Listener Arne received a severe weather alert for a fire. Fires are very bad, but are they weather? Are some natural disasters weather, and others not?
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July 22, 2024
292 Tea
Is “truffle mushroom tea” just a soup? Did a fancy New York restaurant play a trick on Listener David and his wife? And what is tea, really?
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July 8, 2024
291 Hawaiian Shirts
Are Hawaiian shirts just fun to wear, or are they cultural appropriation?
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June 24, 2024
290 Airport Wheelchair
Listener Erik sent us this video of self-navigating wheelchairs in the Miami Airport. Does the Roomba Rule apply?
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June 10, 2024
289 Vending Machine
Friend of the show Frank is seeking to delineate when something is a “vending machine” and when it’s just a machine that vends.
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May 27, 2024
288 El Camino
Thanks to Friend of the Show Casey, we’re talking about weird cars and car classes again.
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May 16, 2024
287 Autonomous Excavator
Listener Ivan sent in a link to an autonomous excavator that assembled a six-foot wall out of rocks. Is it the Roomba of construction materials?!
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April 15, 2024
285 Theme Songs / Skip Intro
We follow up on some feedback about our theme songs, and theme songs in general, while taking on whether we use the Skip Intro button when we should be listening to TV theme songs.
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March 28, 2024
284 ⚾️ Robot Umps ⚾️
It’s baseball’s Opening Day, so here’s our discussion of automated balls and strikes, also known as “Robot Umps,” how they relate to automated Hawk-Eye tennis calls, and why we won’t ever know how good human umpires could actually be.
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March 14, 2024
283 (Pizza) Pie
Fresh out of the oven for Pi Day, here’s a discussion of who exactly thinks pizza is a pie.
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March 4, 2024
282 Places You’ve Been
Do you have to leave the airport or get out of the car to claim you’ve been somewhere? (And are you under oath?)
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January 22, 2024
279 Streets
I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside. Sometimes the streets have no name, but other times they are named roads, or avenues, or boulevards, or drives. What does it all mean? Does Jason live on a road or a drive? When we go there, we go there with you. It’s all we can do.
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December 25, 2023
277 Coffee
A question about cold brew coffee makes us question everything about coffee. Is everything coffee? Probably not.
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December 11, 2023
276 Italian Ice
A perfectly normal discussion of Italian Ice takes a left turn and goes into outer space, where other ices are available.
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November 27, 2023
275 Musician
When is someone a musician? Are DJs musicians? And more importantly, are John and Jason musicians?
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November 13, 2023
274 Avoid All Robots
Some timely news regarding a university warning its community members to “avoid all robots.”
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October 30, 2023
273 Lies
On John’s other podcast, Casey Liss often says he lied when he means he made a mistake. So what is a lie? (Trust us, we totally answer this one.)
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October 16, 2023
272 Spoiler Policy
Listener Nick wonders what John’s policy on spoilers is. (Spoilers for “Romeo and Juliet” and “Citizen Kane.”)
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September 26, 2023
270 Relay FM Podcastathon Special
Live from the Relay FM Podcastathon, Jason and special guest Stephen Hackett ask John a bunch of questions from the Robot Or Not question list.
Topics include: Toast, Roadkill, Sandwich Order of Operations, Garage, and Cereal Soup.
Please donate to St. Jude and help move us one step closer to the day where no child dies from cancer.
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September 18, 2023
268 Sigh
Listener Jamie wonders whether his dog is really sighing. We discuss noises dogs make. Also, after posting our previous episode we realized we got the numbering of the podcast out of order. Sigh.
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September 4, 2023
269 The Worst
Listener Andrew is worried that things we say are “the worst” are really just bad.
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August 21, 2023
267 Hiatus
Listener Magnus is concerned that his favorite podcast is on hiatus. When is something on hiatus and when is it cancelled?
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August 7, 2023
266 AI Camerabot
Finally we talk about robots again. If a robot controls a camera, is it a camera robot?
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July 7, 2023
264 Cookie Dough
If it’s never meant to make a cookie, is it still cookie dough? (Also: Peanut Butter Spread, Cheese Food, and other food labeling we have known.)
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May 29, 2023
261 Buildings
A chair is not a house and house is not a home, but is a house a building? And what about gazebos?
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May 15, 2023
260 Dish v. Plate (revisited)
Jason’s trip to his mother’s house makes him rethink his definition of what a dish is. Also, he gets some upsetting news about the long-term relationship between the fork and the spoon.
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April 17, 2023
258 Beach
Where do beaches exist? And what materials do they need to be comprised of?
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April 3, 2023
257 Island
The difference between islands and continents, and also why Pluto can be a planet if you want to lower your standards.
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March 20, 2023
256 Stepmom
Sometimes they’re wicked, sometimes not. Can an adult call a parent’s new wife a stepmom? Bonus: Can you be too old to be an orphan?
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February 6, 2023
253 University
What makes a university? Is it the buildings, or the people, or the big hole you throw money into?
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January 23, 2023
252 Friend of the Show
Listener Rob and Listener Reiner, who are not Director Rob Reiner, want to know if they are Friends of the Show.
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December 26, 2022
250 Roomba Update
Some deeper questions about whether certain Roomba behavior makes it more or less of a robot.
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November 28, 2022
248 The Follow-Up Episode
For the very first time, we do some housekeeping about holes, Russian robots, salad, genocide, Voltron, and available sales leads.
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September 5, 2022
242 A Group of Robots
When robots flock together naturally, will humans give them a name? Or will we be too busy dying?
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July 25, 2022
239 Monolith
It’s a big thing in the middle of nowhere. Does it need to be a rock to be a monolith?
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May 30, 2022
235 Robot Loathing
Listener/Professor Lisa can handle conceptual analysis on her own, but she does wonder why campus delivery robots make her so angry. (It wasn’t just because they’re Russian.)
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April 18, 2022
232 Stillsuits
Paul Atreides and the Fremen sure look cool, but won’t they die of hyperthermia in those suits?
(Incomparable Members will find a special bonus episode of Robot or Not in the First Class feed today. Become a member for lots of goodies!)
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April 4, 2022
231 CAPTCHAs of South African “robots”
Select all ROBOT RELATED PODCASTS.
If there are none, click Stop.
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March 21, 2022
230 Accents
John has one, but also doesn’t have one. Mary married some merry carrots.
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February 21, 2022
228 America
Why do Americans crowd out the rest of two continents from the namespace? John thinks it’s about imperialism; Jason thinks it’s because our country has no proper name.
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February 7, 2022
227 Semi-Homemade Cooking with John Siracusa
Listener Scott wants to know what “homemade” cooking is. Jason made this episode from scratch. (But the theme song was store-bought.)
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January 24, 2022
226 Email, and Preparing the Way (for Roombas)
Jason starts to ask John a question, but everything gets derailed.
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December 27, 2021
224 Next Wednesday
When is Next Wednesday? Is it Wednesday? Or the Wednesday after that?
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November 29, 2021
222 Sundays
Do Sundays start the week, or end it? When does the week end, and is that the weekend?
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November 15, 2021
221 Cooking
What’s cooking? Is making tea cooking? John’s answers may surprise you. They certainly surprised Jason.
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October 18, 2021
219 Camping
Listeners Jono and Chris, and friend Tony Sindelar, have questions about what John defines as ‘camping.’ Suffering is surprisingly part of the calculation.
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September 20, 2021
217 Floating Bridge
Listener Isaac wants us to judge if a certain “floating bridge” is actually a ferry. This leads, of course, to a discussion of infinite bridges and whether a fairy is a ferry in California.
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September 7, 2021
216 Grocery Robot Swarm
If robots at a grocery-store warehouse works in tandem, are they robots? If they have a hive mind, are they still robots?
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August 2, 2021
214 Religious or Spiritual
When you see an org chart and money changes hands, your spirituality has become something else.
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July 5, 2021
212 Dishwasher
When do you run the dishwasher? Do you rinse the dishes first? And wouldn’t it be nice if our dishwashers were robots?
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June 21, 2021
211 Rules for Watching TV
Do you always start watching at the beginning? And do you have to watch till the end?
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May 10, 2021
208 Self-Driving Cars, Part 2
Tim Cook thinks that self-driving cars are robots. Does John want to revisit his opinion?
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April 27, 2021
207 Pandemic Changes (or not)
Has the pandemic made John reconsider some of his previous rulings? (One guess.)
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January 25, 2021
201 Apocalypse
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the robot, happy stuff: When does the apocalypse start, and when do we reach post-apocalyptic times?
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January 11, 2021
200 Microscopic “Robots”
We celebrate our 200th episode by going back to where it all started—news about whether something is a robot or not. Also, we may have inadvertently started a religion. (Congratulations, Listener Eric!)
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December 24, 2020 Christmas tree death
199 Christmas Special
In the spirit of the season, we discuss when a Christmas tree is dead. (Thanks to Listener Darran.)
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December 14, 2020
198 Soda
Fizzy water. Is it soda, or pop, or a soft drink, or something else?
(Incomparable members also get a bonus episode about Coca-Cola and cocaine, also released today.)
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November 30, 2020
197 Indoors
When are we indoors and when are we outdoors? And where do tents fit in?
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November 16, 2020
196 Video
Is a GIF a video?
(Incomparable members also get a bonus episode about movie studio logos, released today.)
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October 5, 2020
193 Puppet
When is it a puppet, and when is it just someone in a suit? And what does this mean for the future of Gritty?
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September 21, 2020
192 Backup Brain
If we clone your body and transfer your memories to it, is it you?
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August 24, 2020
190 Pillow
You can use this podcast as a pillow, if you like, but it’s still not a pillow.
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August 10, 2020
189 What We’re Owed
When a book series hasn’t completed, what does the author owe us?
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July 27, 2020
188 Reboot
Beginning in this episode, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto will be portraying John and Jason. Or not.
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June 1, 2020
184 Indie Developer
What’s an Indie Developer, and is John one now? What does it mean to be “indie?”
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May 18, 2020
183 Slots and Ports
Is a port a slot? PCMCIA cards have slots, but USB devices have ports. Either way, Jason has to make amends.
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October 7, 2019
167 Pet Names
Can we differentiate between how people name pets and how they name children? Listeners Rover and Whiskers, drop us a line.
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September 23, 2019
166 Smart Devices
Where do we draw the line between a regular device and a “smart” device?
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August 26, 2019
164 Cover Version
Listener Luke sent in this week’s theme song. Is it a cover version of our canonical theme song? When is a new version of a song not a cover?
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August 14, 2019
163 Family
What constitutes family? Blood relatives only? Are friends family? Are co-workers family? Can you escape your family?
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July 1, 2019
160 Bacon
By popular demand, John has done his research—or maybe not?—and is here to break down what is bacon and what is an impostor.
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June 11, 2019
159 Campus Delivery Robots
Prompted by a note from Listener Zach, we discuss the trend of “autonomous food delivery vehicles” on college campuses.
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May 6, 2019
156 Combination Restaurants
We’ll see you at the Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito/KFC/Taco Bell.
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March 18, 2019
153 Live Action
If the new “Lion King” film features CGI animals talking with other CGI animals, is it a “live-action” movie or just a different kind of animation? What about a movie like “Avengers: Infinity War”?
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February 18, 2019
151 “Chick Flick”
What is a “Chick Flick”? Let’s start off by taking apart the term itself.
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February 4, 2019
150 Marty the Supermarket Robot
In a rare topical episode, John and Jason discuss Marty, the tall, googly-eyed robot that may soon be roaming the aisles of a supermarket near you. Does Marty meet the Roomba test? Are the googly eyes fooling anyone?
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January 21, 2019
149 Simulated Universe
Is this real or are we in a video game? How can we tell the true nature of the universe?
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December 24, 2018
147 Cult
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”
Merry Christmas, everybody!
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September 17, 2018
140 Bread
Bread is bread, but what about hot dog buns, bagels, tortillas, and pitas?
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September 3, 2018
139 Planets, and also Pluto
John is given the opportunity to endorse or reject the rulings of the International Astronomical Union.
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August 20, 2018
138 Job Security
John’s worked (and left) a lot of jobs. What’s his personal philosophy about job security versus going it alone as an independent?
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July 9, 2018
135 Reality TV
When is a game show a game show, and when is it reality television? Also, we reveal our favorite reality TV show.
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June 25, 2018
134 Personal Computers
Is a Mac a PC? Is an iPad a computer? Does John favor a broad definition or a narrow one?
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May 28, 2018 Endless mildness?
132 Seasons
The conundrum of seasons versus eternally pleasant weather.
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April 2, 2018 What are the boundaries?
128 The Midwest
Did both of Jason’s parents both come from the Midwest, or only one? What are the true boundaries of America’s heartland?
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March 19, 2018 Canonical flavors
127 Potato Chips
From Sour Cream & Onion to BBQ, what are the “real” potato chip flavors?
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March 5, 2018 And what about Staycations?
126 Vacation
If you don’t go anywhere, is it a vacation? What if you go somewhere, but you don’t relax?
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February 19, 2018 Not a pie
125 Cheesecake
Is cheesecake cheese, cake, pie, tart, or none of the above? Does the angle of the pan matter? Does crust content matter? Do any of us matter, really?
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February 7, 2018 Ethical problems
124 The Trolley Problem
As recently highlighted on “The Good Place”, it’s a classic ethical conundum that John wants absolutely no part of. And what if the trolley drives itself?
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December 25, 2017 Ho, ho, ho
121 Holidays and Holiday Movies
What makes a movie a holiday movie? How do they celebrate winter holidays in warm climates? Merry Christmas to all, especially in Australia!
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December 11, 2017 This is the big one
120 Death
Okay, time to call it. Time of death— wait, wait, everybody hold on. How do we define death?
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November 13, 2017 There’s only one R in Sherbet
118 Ice Cream
It would seem like ice cream versus frozen yogurt would be the main debate. But the pronunciation of a third competitor completely derails us.
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October 31, 2017 Meal times and sleep times
117 Brunch
We discuss the names of meals and when they happen, and make an interesting(?) digression into human sleep cycles.
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October 16, 2017 Fruit Salad? Yummy yummy.
116 Salad
From leafy greens to sugary Jell-O concoctions, all sorts of things are called salads.
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October 2, 2017 BBQ
115 Barbecue
Continuing our confused series of episodes about food-related topics, it’s time for John and Jason to talk about Jason’s favorite food style and what happens when you put food on a grill.
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September 18, 2017 Will it blend?
114 Smoothie
If everything can be a smoothie, then nothing is. So we try to define what makes a smoothie and acts as a bulwark against the milkshake.
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August 21, 2017 Two blind men describe an elephant.
112 Donuts
We don’t know quite what an old-fashioned donut is, but we know what we like… and what we don’t.
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August 7, 2017 When is a machine truly intelligent?
111 Artificial Intelligence
What makes machine intelligence “real AI”? And what is the difference between strong and weak AI?
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July 24, 2017 What defines Anime?
110 Anime and Kaiju
The very definition of video entertainment from Japan.
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July 10, 2017 Baseball? Is not sport, is game.
109 Sport
What makes something a sport, and not an exercise or a game?
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June 26, 2017 Ketchup or Peanut Butter?
108 Condiments and Favorite Foods
Exploring Jason’s favorite food, what a “favorite food” even is, and the hazy dividing line between condiments and other edibles.
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June 12, 2017 Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
107 Science Fiction
What’s science fiction? And more importantly, is Star Wars science fiction, fantasy, or something else?
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May 29, 2017 Microchips. Not potato chips.
106 Computer Chips
Is everything a computer chip? Is nothing a computer chip? Jason thinks this is gonna be good. John thinks it’s obvious.
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May 15, 2017 Bialys!
105 Canonical Bagel Flavors
What is the canon of bagels? Why are some ingredients allowed in an Everything Bagel but not any other bagel style? What makes raisins an acceptable ingredient, yet bars blueberries? Mr. Siracusa, native of the great state of New York, educates Mr. Snell, one of those California hippie types, about what a real bagel is.
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May 2, 2017 Canonical pizza toppings
104 Pizza Toppings
What toppings are allowed on pizza? And what about using a knife and fork to eat pizza? There are many rules.
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April 17, 2017 You have left Pizza Country.
103 Pizza
John weighs in on what makes something a pizza, including the horror of the Turkey Dinner Pizza.
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April 3, 2017 What is a sandwich?
102 Sandwiches
Exploring what makes a sandwich, while also discussing the history of food, sandwiches as satire, and the difference between llamas and camels.
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March 20, 2017 How super is my villain?
101 Supervillains
John helps Jason figure out the precise moment when a villain becomes a supervillain.
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March 6, 2017 At long last… the end?
100 The Robot
Your hosts return to where it all began and then prepare to set out for new horizons.
(Robot or Not will return in two weeks with a new series of episodes.)
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February 27, 2017 John Siracusa and Jason Snell themselves.
99 Your Hosts
Are John and Jason robots? All will be revealed!
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February 13, 2017 Fill in the blank.
97 Captchas
What does a robot do when it gets to a web page with a checkbox that says “I’m not a robot”?
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February 6, 2017 Gatekeeper droid or door?
96 The Gate at Jabba’s Palace
The gate at Jabba’s palace in “Return of the Jedi” talks to droids, or has something inside it that talks to droids. So is it a robot?
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January 30, 2017 Roomba of the Sea?
95 Autonomous Sailboats
They roam the ocean, scanning for important data and relaying their information home. There are no humans on board. Are these lonely sea voyagers robots?
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January 23, 2017 A monster from the Dark Tower
94 Shardik
The robotic guardian of the Beams. He looks like a bear but has a satellite dish on his head. He’s a thousand years old.
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January 16, 2017 Nintendo’s Robotic Operating Buddy
93 Nintendo R.O.B.
Game controller, robot, or total embarrassment?
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January 2, 2017 iPhone, Unadorned
91 Naked Robotic Core
An unadorned iPhone can be a Naked Robotic Core, but is it a robot?
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December 26, 2016 John loves him.
90 Mechagodzilla
Look who was under the tree! It’s a giant mechanical monster!
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December 19, 2016 They fight!
89 Battlebots
Among the fiercest creatures in the machine kingdom are the Battlebots. They’re designed for fighting! But are they really robots, or is that just a clever marketing name?
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December 12, 2016 Educational toys or robots?
88 School Babies and CPR Dummies
High school students carry them around and learn what it’s like to be a parent. Or you learn how to revive them by pressing their chest and breathing into their mouths. But are these learning tools also educational robots?
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December 5, 2016 Does it follow Asimov’s laws?
87 K5 Mall Robot
It patrols the mall. Sometimes it knocks over small children.
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November 28, 2016 It’s in the brain!
86 The Hosts of “Westworld”
The HBO series “Westworld” makes us contemplate whether its central characters, the Hosts, are robots or not. (We recorded this episode after the first seven episodes of season one had aired; forgive us if it was revealed later that “To Serve Man” was actually a cookbook.)
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November 21, 2016 Robin Williams, Isaac Asimov, and Grobycs!
85 The Bicentennial Man
A robot slowly turns himself human. When does he stop being a robot?
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November 14, 2016 Do metal men dream of robot sheep?
84 Metal Mario
Sometimes Mario is metallic. Does that make him a robot?
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October 31, 2016 You will be assimilated.
82 The Borg
Straight out of “Star Trek” come these technological villains. Also, we discuss larger issues including AIs and hive minds.
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October 24, 2016 Nothing outlasts the Energizer
81 The Energizer Bunny
It just keeps going, and going, and going….
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October 17, 2016 They’re adorable…
80 Tachikoma and Fuchikoma
Little cute robots from “Ghost in the Shell.”
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October 3, 2016 Sandwich or Not, part 2
78 Hot Dogs
They’re sure tasty, and it’s meat between bread, but are hot dogs sandwiches?
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September 19, 2016 How do you like our owl?
76 Animals in “Blade Runner”
The owl and the snake from “Blade Runner” raise some interesting questions.
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September 12, 2016
75 Bubo
A little metal owl from “Clash of the Titans.” Crafted by the gods, can he possibly be a robot?
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September 5, 2016 She’s a real woman, Jim.
74 Gort
The robot from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, plus a long digression into Star Trek androids.
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August 22, 2016 Two animation robots.
72 Robots from “Castle in the Sky” and “The Iron Giant”
Two beloved metal creatures from animation.
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August 15, 2016 RoboCop
71 RoboCop
That “Robo” prefix is sure interesting, and he’s probably a cop, but…
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August 1, 2016 Lightcycles are cool.
69 Tron
He fights for the users inside a computer. Can software people be robots?
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July 25, 2016 Oh, Canada!
68 Canadarm
A fancy “robot arm” from Canada. But when is a robot arm just an arm, and when is it a robot?
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July 4, 2016 Tennis or not?
65 Serena Williams
It’s Wimbledon time, and so our discussion turns to tennis, and Serena Williams—who is not a robot, despite her perhaps wishing she was.
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June 27, 2016 R.U.R.
64 Rossum’s Universal Robots
Karel Capek’s play that made this podcast possible.
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June 20, 2016 Charles E. Cheese Esquire
63 Animatronic Creatures
The Country Bears, Chuck E. Cheese, and the things from Five Nights at Freddy’s.
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June 18, 2016 Our first live episode
62b Filesystems and Flowerpot Robots
Live from RelayCon WWDC 2016, it’s a special live edition of Robot or Not.
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June 6, 2016 Yes, we said elevators
61 Elevators
They go up, they go down. They might even go sideways from time to time. And they can be smart. But are they robots?
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May 30, 2016 What if penny met a dinosaur?
60 Inspector Gadget
Go go Gadget! Also we get off on a tangent about Penny, inspired by The Flop House.
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May 23, 2016 Hologram or not
59 The Doctor from “Star Trek: Voyager”
Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Can a hologram be a robot?
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May 16, 2016
58 Synths
From the AMC TV series “Humans,” the lifelike Synths look like humans but don’t act like it. And they bleed a funny color.
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May 9, 2016 “Big Hero 6”
57 Baymax
He’s an inflatable, medical robot from “Big Hero 6”—but can you back up your personality and still be a robot?
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May 2, 2016 You know, that robot
56 The Incomparable’s Logo
Our own robot (or not) is in the spotlight at last.
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April 11, 2016 Feed me, or I die!
53 Tamagotchi
Is it even a game? What if you had a video game that featured a robot?
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April 4, 2016 “Destiny”
52 The Robots of “Destiny”
From Bungie’s bestselling video game, Ghosts, Exos, Rasputin, and other things that might be robots.
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March 28, 2016
51 Lego Simulated Worm Toy
A software model of a flatworm, piloting a Lego Mindstorms toy.
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March 21, 2016 Hello, Mr. Anderson.
50 The Matrix
Agents and Oracles and Architects from the “Matrix” trilogy.
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March 14, 2016 In IRC, on AOL, and elsewhere
49 Chatbots
They listen to us and talk back. But is that enough?
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March 7, 2016 “Blade Runner”
48 Replicants
Roy Batty, Pris, and all the rest. They’ve seen the Tannhauser Gate, but are they robots?
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February 22, 2016 MST3K bots
46 Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo
The bots from “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”
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February 15, 2016 Very tiny machines
45 Nanobots
Enter the realm of the very, very tiny as John and Jason ponder if size matters when it comes to whether something is a robot or not.
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February 8, 2016 Bruce Schneier’s metaphor
44 The Internet of Things
Security expert Bruce Schneier said the Internet of Things was a robot, but what does John think?
You can probably guess.
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February 1, 2016 Doctor Who monsters
43 Daleks and Cybermen
Two enemies wrapped in metal shells from “Doctor Who” face their ultimate foe—the judgment of John Siracusa.
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January 25, 2016 “Saga”
42 Prince Robot IV
It’s right there in the name of this character from the acclaimed comic book “Saga,” but as we’ve learned, names can be misleading.
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January 11, 2016 C-3PO’s toaster oven
40 Swimming Pool Cleaners
Things that clean your swimming pool: are they Roombas or just dumb hoses? Also, if a toaster can’t be a robot, can a robot be a toaster?
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January 4, 2016 So who made the cars? And where are they?
39 Cars (from “Cars”)
If the cars in Pixar’s “Cars” movies aren’t cars, what are they, and where did they come from?
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December 28, 2015 Are you listening to a robot?
38 Podcasts
Just in time for the holidays, some existential questions. Also, could a robot be on a podcast?
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December 21, 2015 The Reverse Cybog Posit
37 Clockwork Droids
Doctor Who’s clockwork repair droids (from the episodes “Girl in the Fireplace” and “Deep Breath”) come under scrutiny. Sure, they start out as robots, but do they become something else..?
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December 14, 2015 Marvel movie robots or not
36 Iron Man, Ultron, and Vision
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and specifically “Iron Man 3” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” deep robot-or-not questions about Iron Man’s suits, Ultron, and the Vision.
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December 7, 2015 Herbie is full of love
35 Herbie The Love Bug
A Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own!
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November 30, 2015 Portal and Portal 2
34 Aperture Science
GlaDOS, Wheatley, turrets, cubes, spheres and more.
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November 23, 2015 “Small Wonder”
33 Vicki from “Small Wonder”
She’s a small wonder, pretty and bright with soft curls.
She’s a small wonder, a girl unlike other girls.
She’s a miracle, and I grant you
She’ll enchant you at her sight.
She’s a small wonder, and she’ll make your heart take flight.She’s fantastic, made of plastic.
Microchips here and there.
She’s a small wonder, brings love and laughter everywhere. -
November 16, 2015 …or not
32 Lobot
Cloud City’s majordomo from “The Empire Strikes Back” is in the spotlight.
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November 9, 2015 What’s in that Skype window?
31 robots.txt
It’s right there in the name, but what about the things that connect to it? And what about when Merlin talks about putting things “in the robot”? We need answers, John!
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November 2, 2015 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
30 Twiki and Dr. Theopolis
We take you back to the days of “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” to debate the show’s two artificial sidekicks.
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October 19, 2015 They’re not built, they’re grown
28 The TARDIS
The blue box from “Doctor Who” might be sentient, might be alive, but is it a robot?
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October 12, 2015 Star Trek: The Motion Picture
27 V’ger
V’ger and the Ilia probe, both from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. Also, John complains about fake skin on androids.
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October 5, 2015 Battlestar Galactica
26 Cylons
The metal robots (and their fleshy successors) from the old and new “Battlestar Galactica.”
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September 28, 2015 Conceptual toaster questions
25 Home Appliances
What would a toaster have to do in order to be a robot? This episode introduces Siracusa’s Law, which somehow involves kitchen countertops.
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September 21, 2015 The Six Million Dollar Man
24 Sasquatch
The bigfoot/sasquatch from “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
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September 14, 2015 Doubles!
23 Space Probes
From golf carts on Mars to New Horizons flying past Pluto, these are impressive machines, but are they robots?
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September 7, 2015 Dressed up like a ghost
22 Hitchbot
He tried to hitch his way across the country, but was dismembered in Philadelphia.
Image by archier on Flickr.
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August 31, 2015 The ethics of Star Wars sentience
21 Droids
Are droids robots? Do they have rights? Is the Empire based on a robo-slave economy?
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August 17, 2015 Life… don’t talk to me about life
19 Marvin the Paranoid Android
Your plastic pal who’s fun to be with!
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July 20, 2015 Human brains, mechanical bodies
15 The Major
From “Ghost in the Shell,” a human brain in a mechanical body. And what about uploaded brains and bodies?
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July 13, 2015 Big robots with little people inside
14 Jaegers
Big robots with people inside, as seen in “Shogun Warriors” and “Pacific Rim.”
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June 29, 2015 Knight Rider
11 KITT
The “Knight Rider” car is cool, but is it a robot? What about KITT’s evil twin, KARR? Also, the dark pre-history of Pixar’s “Cars.”
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June 25, 2015 Toy robots
10 ASIMO
Honda’s ASIMO, Sony’s AIBO, and other cute things that can do The Robot dance. Also, our Radio Shack memories.
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June 19, 2015 The lowest possible form of robot?
8 Roomba
Does a self-guided vacuum cleaner cross John’s minimum bar for a robot? And what does that have to do with ants and dogs?
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June 10, 2015 Are they robots or marketing?
6 Self-Driving Cars
Pondering sentient Google cars, Johnny Cab, and autopilots.
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June 2, 2015 Tin dogs
4 K-9
John and Jason try to understand robot dogs. Plus, a trip through old “Doctor Who” episodes.
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May 29, 2015 Cyborgs and Sith Lords
3 Darth Vader
Cyborgs and robots and humans—how do we tell these things apart?
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May 25, 2015 Supermarket self check-out and ATMs
2 Service Kiosks
John’s position on supermarket self-checkout machines, Jason’s need for beer when he visits his in-laws, and whether attaching arms to things makes them robots.
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May 22, 2015 Domo Arigato
1 Mr. Roboto
We explain why we’re here, and then discuss the protagonist of Styx’s 1983 album “Kilroy Was Here.”
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April 7, 2015 How it all started.
0 Origin
A flashback to past podcasts, as a way of explaining why this podcast exists.