John Siracusa and Jason Snell

Robot or Not?

Society EN ↓ 356 episodes

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.

Author

John Siracusa and Jason Snell

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.theincomparable.com

Latest episode

Jul 7, 2026

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Episodes

104: Pizza Toppings 02.05.2017

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

103: Pizza 17.04.2017

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

102: Sandwiches 03.04.2017

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

101: Supervillains 20.03.2017

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

100: The Robot 06.03.2017

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 27.02.2017

Are John and Jason robots? All will be revealed!

98: Human Beings 20.02.2017

Could it be? Are we all robots?

97: Captchas 13.02.2017

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 06.02.2017

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 30.01.2017

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 23.01.2017

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. 16.01.2017

Game controller, robot, or total embarrassment?

92: Pronunciation 09.01.2017

ˈrōˌbät or ˈrōbət?

91: Naked Robotic Core 02.01.2017

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

90: Mechagodzilla 26.12.2016

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

89: Battlebots 19.12.2016

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 12.12.2016

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 05.12.2016

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

86: The Hosts of "Westworld" 28.11.2016

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 21.11.2016

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

84: Metal Mario 14.11.2016

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

83: Kayaks 07.11.2016

They are boats with paddles. What else are they?

82: The Borg 31.10.2016

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

81: The Energizer Bunny 24.10.2016

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

80: Tachikoma and Fuchikoma 17.10.2016

Little cute robots from “Ghost in the Shell.”

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