The Incomparable

237 Cameos

Is that just a really short acting part, or is it only a cameo?

236 Stay-at-Home Moms

We salute all Moms, no matter their classification.

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.)

234 Pasta Draft

A bunch of baseball writers drafted pastas. John has thoughts.

233 Magnetic Slime

Does texture matter when it comes to robots?

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!)

231 CAPTCHAs of South African “robots”

Select all ROBOT RELATED PODCASTS.

If there are none, click Stop.

230 Accents

John has one, but also doesn’t have one. Mary married some merry carrots.

229 Friendship

Listener Ashley wants to know about the true meaning of friendship.

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.

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.)

226 Email, and Preparing the Way (for Roombas)

Jason starts to ask John a question, but everything gets derailed.

225 Car

What makes a car a car, and not a truck, or an SUV, or a crossover?

224 Next Wednesday

When is Next Wednesday? Is it Wednesday? Or the Wednesday after that?

223 Money

What makes something money? Is gold money? Is Bitcoin?

222 Sundays

Do Sundays start the week, or end it? When does the week end, and is that the weekend?

221 Cooking

What’s cooking? Is making tea cooking? John’s answers may surprise you. They certainly surprised Jason.

220 Popcorn

The proper way to eat popcorn. 🍿

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.

218 Photo

Listener Beth seeks enlightenment about what makes something a photo.

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.

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?

215 A Criterion of Data

Singular or plural?

214 Religious or Spiritual

When you see an org chart and money changes hands, your spirituality has become something else.

213 Daylight Saving Time

Should we really spring forward and fall back?

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?

211 Rules for Watching TV

Do you always start watching at the beginning? And do you have to watch till the end?

210 Burrito, Part 2 (Qdoba v. Panera)

The strange case of the burrito sandwich.

209 Dog-Shaped Dogs

What is the shape of a dog?

208 Self-Driving Cars, Part 2

Tim Cook thinks that self-driving cars are robots. Does John want to revisit his opinion?

207 Pandemic Changes (or not)

Has the pandemic made John reconsider some of his previous rulings? (One guess.)

206 Relish

Not all pickles are pickles, and not all relish is pickle relish.

205 Pots and Pans

What divides pots from pans?

204 Peanut Butter

Chances are pretty good that the peanut butter you eat is terrible.

203 Bagel Update

A very unfortunate bagel on either side of the Atlantic.

202 Books

Is a book a bound, printed collection of pages, or is it something more?

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?

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!)

199 Christmas Special

In the spirit of the season, we discuss when a Christmas tree is dead. (Thanks to Listener Darran.)

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.)

197 Indoors

When are we indoors and when are we outdoors? And where do tents fit in?

196 Video

Is a GIF a video?

(Incomparable members also get a bonus episode about movie studio logos, released today.)

195 Child

When is a child no longer a child?

194 Henge

When the definition escapes its antecedent.

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?

192 Backup Brain

If we clone your body and transfer your memories to it, is it you?

191 Game

The universe is Candy Land.

190 Pillow

You can use this podcast as a pillow, if you like, but it’s still not a pillow.

189 What We’re Owed

When a book series hasn’t completed, what does the author owe us?

188 Reboot

Beginning in this episode, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto will be portraying John and Jason. Or not.

187 The Cloud

Is The Cloud just Other People’s Computers? Watch out for Cloud Men!

186 Gum

Most people aren’t eating light bulbs.

185 Blanket

Listener James sends us a special message from beneath his blanket.

184 Indie Developer

What’s an Indie Developer, and is John one now? What does it mean to be “indie?”

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.

182 Working From Home

Whatever this is called, a lot of us are doing it these days.

181 Camera

My other car is also a camera.

180 Tabs

Tabs or spaces?

AFTERSHOW: Commas.

179 Grocery Store

But what if they also sell shampoo there?

178 Morning

Morning has broken, like the first… morning?

177 Walking Distance

It’s within walking distance. How far is that?

176 Swipe Right

Where does your finger go when you “swipe right”?

175 Beard

When is it stubble and when is it more?

174 Reading

It’s fundamental, yes. But is it something you can do with your ears?

173 River

When is a body of water a river?

172 Soup, Part II

Is soup a drink? What separates liquids from food?

171 Dish

From dish to plate to bowl.

170 City

Does it all come down to the U.S. Postal Service?

169 Burgers

And do sliders have to slide?

168 Augmented Reality

An Accidental AR podcast.

167 Pet Names

Can we differentiate between how people name pets and how they name children? Listeners Rover and Whiskers, drop us a line.

166 Smart Devices

Where do we draw the line between a regular device and a “smart” device?

165 Leftovers

When does a meal turn into leftovers?

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?

163 Family

What constitutes family? Blood relatives only? Are friends family? Are co-workers family? Can you escape your family?

162 Doors

What about when they’re ajar?

161 Storefronts

Select all the STOREFRONTS to prove that you’re a human.

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.

159 Campus Delivery Robots

Prompted by a note from Listener Zach, we discuss the trend of “autonomous food delivery vehicles” on college campuses.

158 Pants

The entire conversation is pants. (The Brits will get that.)

157 Board Games

How much board is required?

156 Combination Restaurants

We’ll see you at the Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito/KFC/Taco Bell.

155 TV and Movies

When is it a TV show and when is it a movie? It’s confusing.

154 American Food

It all goes back to Mesopotamia.

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”?

152 Milk

Legal news: Is Almond Milk milk?

151 “Chick Flick”

What is a “Chick Flick”? Let’s start off by taking apart the term itself.

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?

149 Simulated Universe

Is this real or are we in a video game? How can we tell the true nature of the universe?

148 Hacker

Do hackers do good, or bad, or both?

147 Cult

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

Merry Christmas, everybody!

146 GIF

Choosy mothers pronounce it differently.

145 Database

Where spreadsheets and databases collide.

144 Soup

“You haven’t done soup yet, have you?”

143 Phones

Smartphones, dumb phones, feature phones, and computers in your pocket.

142 Toasters

Slot toasters, toaster ovens, and the definitions thereof.

141 Podcasting

What makes something a podcast? OMG, are we one?!

140 Bread

Bread is bread, but what about hot dog buns, bagels, tortillas, and pitas?

139 Planets, and also Pluto

John is given the opportunity to endorse or reject the rulings of the International Astronomical Union.

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?

137 Nerds and Geeks

The subtle and vexing difference between a nerd and a geek.

136 Programming

What is computer programming? And what doesn’t qualify?

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.

134 Personal Computers

Is a Mac a PC? Is an iPad a computer? Does John favor a broad definition or a narrow one?

133 Gnocchi

What makes pasta pasta?

132 Seasons

The conundrum of seasons versus eternally pleasant weather.

131 Savory Donuts

Bagels are not donuts, people.

130 Sweaters

Listener Ed, we’ve got bad news.

129 Pets

What makes an animal a pet?

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?

127 Potato Chips

From Sour Cream & Onion to BBQ, what are the “real” potato chip flavors?

126 Vacation

If you don’t go anywhere, is it a vacation? What if you go somewhere, but you don’t relax?

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?

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?

123 Janet from “The Good Place”

Never believe what a robot tells you.

122 Night (bark) Joggers (bark)

A dog interlude.

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!

120 Death

Okay, time to call it. Time of death— wait, wait, everybody hold on. How do we define death?

119 Life

How can we call something alive?

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.

117 Brunch

We discuss the names of meals and when they happen, and make an interesting(?) digression into human sleep cycles.

116 Salad

From leafy greens to sugary Jell-O concoctions, all sorts of things are called salads.

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.

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.

113 Art

I don’t know what it is, but I know it when I see it.

112 Donuts

We don’t know quite what an old-fashioned donut is, but we know what we like… and what we don’t.

111 Artificial Intelligence

What makes machine intelligence “real AI”? And what is the difference between strong and weak AI?

110 Anime and Kaiju

The very definition of video entertainment from Japan.

109 Sport

What makes something a sport, and not an exercise or a game?

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.

107 Science Fiction

What’s science fiction? And more importantly, is Star Wars science fiction, fantasy, or something else?

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.

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.

104 Pizza Toppings

What toppings are allowed on pizza? And what about using a knife and fork to eat pizza? There are many rules.

103 Pizza

John weighs in on what makes something a pizza, including the horror of the Turkey Dinner Pizza.

102 Sandwiches

Exploring what makes a sandwich, while also discussing the history of food, sandwiches as satire, and the difference between llamas and camels.

101 Supervillains

John helps Jason figure out the precise moment when a villain becomes a supervillain.

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.)

99 Your Hosts

Are John and Jason robots? All will be revealed!

98 Human Beings

Could it be? Are we all robots?

97 Captchas

What does a robot do when it gets to a web page with a checkbox that says “I’m not a robot”?

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?

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?

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.

93 Nintendo R.O.B.

Game controller, robot, or total embarrassment?

92 Pronunciation

ˈrōˌbät or rōbət?

91 Naked Robotic Core

An unadorned iPhone can be a Naked Robotic Core, but is it a robot?

90 Mechagodzilla

Look who was under the tree! It’s a giant mechanical monster!

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?

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?

87 K5 Mall Robot

It patrols the mall. Sometimes it knocks over small children.

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.)

85 The Bicentennial Man

A robot slowly turns himself human. When does he stop being a robot?

84 Metal Mario

Sometimes Mario is metallic. Does that make him a robot?

83 Kayaks

They are boats with paddles. What else are they?

82 The Borg

Straight out of “Star Trek” come these technological villains. Also, we discuss larger issues including AIs and hive minds.

81 The Energizer Bunny

It just keeps going, and going, and going….

80 Tachikoma and Fuchikoma

Little cute robots from “Ghost in the Shell.”

79 SpaceX

Self-guided rockets and drone barges.

78 Hot Dogs

They’re sure tasty, and it’s meat between bread, but are hot dogs sandwiches?

77 Daft Punk

They sure look like robots. But who’s under the masks?

76 Animals in “Blade Runner”

The owl and the snake from “Blade Runner” raise some interesting questions.

75 Bubo

A little metal owl from “Clash of the Titans.” Crafted by the gods, can he possibly be a robot?

74 Gort

The robot from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, plus a long digression into Star Trek androids.

73 Cartoons

Is all animation “cartoons”?

72 Robots from “Castle in the Sky” and “The Iron Giant”

Two beloved metal creatures from animation.

71 RoboCop

That “Robo” prefix is sure interesting, and he’s probably a cop, but…

70 The Robots of “Futurama”

Bender, Calculon, and Hedonismbot.

69 Tron

He fights for the users inside a computer. Can software people be robots?

68 Canadarm

A fancy “robot arm” from Canada. But when is a robot arm just an arm, and when is it a robot?

67 Silicone Stingray

Part animal, part machine. But is it a robot?

66 Traffic lights in South Africa

Please obey robot.

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.

64 Rossum’s Universal Robots

Karel Capek’s play that made this podcast possible.

63 Animatronic Creatures

The Country Bears, Chuck E. Cheese, and the things from Five Nights at Freddy’s.

62b Filesystems and Flowerpot Robots

Live from RelayCon WWDC 2016, it’s a special live edition of Robot or Not.

62 General Grievous

He’s a droid with a cough. So what’s the deal?

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?

60 Inspector Gadget

Go go Gadget! Also we get off on a tangent about Penny, inspired by The Flop House.

59 The Doctor from “Star Trek: Voyager”

Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Can a hologram be a robot?

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.

57 Baymax

He’s an inflatable, medical robot from “Big Hero 6”—but can you back up your personality and still be a robot?

56 The Incomparable’s Logo

Our own robot (or not) is in the spotlight at last.

55 The Tin Woodman

If he only had a heart.

54 T-1000

It’s made of liquid metal.

53 Tamagotchi

Is it even a game? What if you had a video game that featured a robot?

52 The Robots of “Destiny”

From Bungie’s bestselling video game, Ghosts, Exos, Rasputin, and other things that might be robots.

51 Lego Simulated Worm Toy

A software model of a flatworm, piloting a Lego Mindstorms toy.

50 The Matrix

Agents and Oracles and Architects from the “Matrix” trilogy.

49 Chatbots

They listen to us and talk back. But is that enough?

48 Replicants

Roy Batty, Pris, and all the rest. They’ve seen the Tannhauser Gate, but are they robots?

47 Thomas and Friends

Living rail cars in Sodor.

46 Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo

The bots from “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

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.

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.

43 Daleks and Cybermen

Two enemies wrapped in metal shells from “Doctor Who” face their ultimate foe—the judgment of John Siracusa.

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.

41 Burritos

This one seems to have gotten in by mistake.

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?

39 Cars (from “Cars”)

If the cars in Pixar’s “Cars” movies aren’t cars, what are they, and where did they come from?

38 Podcasts

Just in time for the holidays, some existential questions. Also, could a robot be on a podcast?

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..?

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.

35 Herbie The Love Bug

A Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own!

34 Aperture Science

GlaDOS, Wheatley, turrets, cubes, spheres and more.

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.

32 Lobot

Cloud City’s majordomo from “The Empire Strikes Back” is in the spotlight.

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!

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.

29 Johnny 5

That little guy from “Short Circuit.”

28 The TARDIS

The blue box from “Doctor Who” might be sentient, might be alive, but is it a robot?

27 V’ger

V’ger and the Ilia probe, both from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. Also, John complains about fake skin on androids.

26 Cylons

The metal robots (and their fleshy successors) from the old and new “Battlestar Galactica.”

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.

24 Sasquatch

The bigfoot/sasquatch from “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

23 Space Probes

From golf carts on Mars to New Horizons flying past Pluto, these are impressive machines, but are they robots?

22 Hitchbot

He tried to hitch his way across the country, but was dismembered in Philadelphia.

Image by archier on Flickr.

21 Droids

Are droids robots? Do they have rights? Is the Empire based on a robo-slave economy?

20 Pinocchio

Are we seriously talking about magic here?

19 Marvin the Paranoid Android

Your plastic pal who’s fun to be with!

18 Commander Data

Is an android a robot?

17 The Terminator

I know now why you humans cry.

16 Siri

So-called intelligent agents.

15 The Major

From “Ghost in the Shell,” a human brain in a mechanical body. And what about uploaded brains and bodies?

14 Jaegers

Big robots with people inside, as seen in “Shogun Warriors” and “Pacific Rim.”

13 Transformers

Like the song says.

12 USS Enterprise

The main computer of the USS Enterprise.

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.”

10 ASIMO

Honda’s ASIMO, Sony’s AIBO, and other cute things that can do The Robot dance. Also, our Radio Shack memories.

9 Assembly-Line Robots

Look for the union label.

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?

7 Telepresence Robots

They’re funny, but are they robots?

6 Self-Driving Cars

Pondering sentient Google cars, Johnny Cab, and autopilots.

5 Emotions

The greatest prog rock album ever made.

4 K-9

John and Jason try to understand robot dogs. Plus, a trip through old “Doctor Who” episodes.

3 Darth Vader

Cyborgs and robots and humans—how do we tell these things apart?

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.

1 Mr. Roboto

We explain why we’re here, and then discuss the protagonist of Styx’s 1983 album “Kilroy Was Here.”

0 Origin

A flashback to past podcasts, as a way of explaining why this podcast exists.