John Siracusa and Jason Snell

Robot or Not?

Society EN ↓ 367 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.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.theincomparable.com

Author

John Siracusa and Jason Snell

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.theincomparable.com

Latest episode

Oct 12, 2026

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Episodes

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.”

79: SpaceX 10.10.2016

Self-guided rockets and drone barges.

78: Hot Dogs 03.10.2016

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

77: Daft Punk 26.09.2016

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

76: Animals in "Blade Runner" 19.09.2016

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

75: Bubo 12.09.2016

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

74: Gort 05.09.2016

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

73: Cartoons 29.08.2016

Is all animation “cartoons”?

72: Robots from "Castle in the Sky" and "The Iron Giant" 22.08.2016

Two beloved metal creatures from animation.

71: RoboCop 15.08.2016

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

70: The Robots of "Futurama" 08.08.2016

Bender, Calculon, and Hedonismbot.

69: Tron 01.08.2016

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

68: Canadarm 25.07.2016

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

67: Silicone Stingray 18.07.2016

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

66: Traffic lights in South Africa 11.07.2016

Please obey robot.

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