Robot or Not?

229: Friendship 07.03.2022 5:23 ↓

Listener Ashley wants to know about the true meaning of friendship. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

228: America 21.02.2022 5:13 ↓

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. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

227: Semi-Homemade Cooking with John Siracusa 07.02.2022 15:16 ↓

Listener Scott wants to know what “homemade” cooking is. Jason made this episode from scratch. (But the theme song was store-bought.) John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

226: Email, and Preparing the Way (for Roombas) 24.01.2022 8:21 ↓

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

225: Car 10.01.2022 5:37 ↓

What makes a car a car, and not a truck, or an SUV, or a crossover? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

224: Next Wednesday 27.12.2021 6:49 ↓

When is Next Wednesday? Is it Wednesday? Or the Wednesday after that? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

223: Money 13.12.2021 6:21 ↓

What makes something money? Is gold money? Is Bitcoin? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

222: Sundays 29.11.2021 2:28 ↓

Do Sundays start the week, or end it? When does the week end, and is that the weekend? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

221: Cooking 15.11.2021 4:21 ↓

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

220: Popcorn 01.11.2021 4:16 ↓

The proper way to eat popcorn. 🍿 John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

219: Camping 18.10.2021 8:38 ↓

Listeners Jono and Chris, and friend Tony Sindelar, have questions about what John defines as ‘camping.’ Suffering is surprisingly part of the calculation. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

218: Photo 04.10.2021 4:55 ↓

Listener Beth seeks enlightenment about what makes something a photo. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

217: Floating Bridge 20.09.2021 3:15 ↓

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. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

216: Grocery Robot Swarm 07.09.2021 7:43 ↓

If robots at a grocery-store warehouse works in tandem, are they robots? If they have a hive mind, are they still robots? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

215: A Criterion of Data 16.08.2021 5:17 ↓

Singular or plural? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

214: Religious or Spiritual 02.08.2021 2:03 ↓

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

213: Daylight Saving Time 19.07.2021 6:24 ↓

Should we really spring forward and fall back? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

212: Dishwasher 05.07.2021 9:40 ↓

When do you run the dishwasher? Do you rinse the dishes first? And wouldn’t it be nice if our dishwashers were robots? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

211: Rules for Watching TV 21.06.2021 8:29 ↓

Do you always start watching at the beginning? And do you have to watch till the end? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

210: Burrito, Part 2 (Qdoba v. Panera) 07.06.2021 4:48 ↓

The strange case of the burrito sandwich. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

209: Dog-Shaped Dogs 24.05.2021 9:13 ↓

What is the shape of a dog? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

208: Self-Driving Cars, Part 2 10.05.2021 7:54 ↓

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

207: Pandemic Changes (or not) 27.04.2021 2:00 ↓

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

206: Relish 05.04.2021 8:01 ↓

Not all pickles are pickles, and not all relish is pickle relish. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

205: Pots and Pans 22.03.2021 4:51 ↓

What divides pots from pans? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.