Robot or Not?
By John Siracusa and Jason Snell
Listen to a podcast, please open Podcast Republic app. Available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Image by John Siracusa and Jason Snell
Category: Philosophy
Open in Apple Podcasts
Open RSS feed
Open Website
Rate for this podcast
Subscribers: 137
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 329
Description
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.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
327: Blogs
|
Nov 10, 2025 |
|
326: Spiders and Other Bugs
|
Oct 27, 2025 |
|
325: Wire
|
Oct 13, 2025 |
|
324: Landscaper
|
Sep 29, 2025 |
|
323: Pasta Roundup
|
Sep 15, 2025 |
|
322: Vehicle
|
Sep 01, 2025 |
|
321: Glass
|
Aug 18, 2025 |
|
320: Parasol
|
Aug 04, 2025 |
|
319: Market
|
Jul 21, 2025 |
|
318: Charger
|
Jul 07, 2025 |
|
317: AI Hype
|
Jun 23, 2025 |
|
316: Spacesuits
|
Jun 09, 2025 |
|
315: 10th Anniversary Episode
|
May 22, 2025 |
|
314: Bay Leaf
|
May 20, 2025 |
|
313: Tech
|
May 05, 2025 |
|
312: Unanchored Buoys
|
Apr 22, 2025 |
|
311: Mushroombot
|
Apr 07, 2025 |
|
310: Arc
|
Mar 22, 2025 |
|
309: Flying
|
Mar 10, 2025 |
|
308: Gibson Robot Guitar
|
Feb 24, 2025 |
|
307: Sandwich Legal Update II
|
Feb 10, 2025 |
|
306: Roomba-like Items
|
Jan 27, 2025 |
|
305: Console
|
Jan 13, 2025 |
|
304: Calendar Year
|
Dec 30, 2024 |
|
303: Tipping
|
Dec 16, 2024 |
|
302: Sandwich Legal Update
|
Dec 02, 2024 |
|
301: Fan/Light
|
Nov 18, 2024 |
|
300: Fast Food
|
Nov 04, 2024 |
|
299: Window
|
Oct 21, 2024 |
|
298: Henchman
|
Oct 07, 2024 |
|
297: Relay Podcastathon Special 2024
|
Sep 25, 2024 |
|
296: Catchphrase
|
Sep 16, 2024 |
|
295: Homepods and Other Robots (or Not)
|
Sep 02, 2024 |
|
294: Double Space
|
Aug 19, 2024 |
|
293: Severe Weather
|
Aug 05, 2024 |
|
292: Tea
|
Jul 22, 2024 |
|
291: Hawaiian Shirts
|
Jul 08, 2024 |
|
290: Airport Wheelchair
|
Jun 24, 2024 |
|
289: Vending Machine
|
Jun 10, 2024 |
|
288: El Camino
|
May 27, 2024 |
|
287: Autonomous Excavator
|
May 16, 2024 |
|
286: Dishwashing Methods
|
Apr 29, 2024 |
|
285: Theme Songs / Skip Intro
|
Apr 15, 2024 |
|
284: ⚾️ Robot Umps ⚾️
|
Mar 28, 2024 |
|
283: (Pizza) Pie
|
Mar 14, 2024 |
|
282: Places You've Been
|
Mar 04, 2024 |
|
281: Killer Robot
|
Feb 19, 2024 |
|
280: Hat
|
Feb 05, 2024 |
|
279: Streets
|
Jan 22, 2024 |
|
278: Spatula
|
Jan 08, 2024 |
|
277: Coffee
|
Dec 25, 2023 |
|
276: Italian Ice
|
Dec 11, 2023 |
|
275: Musician
|
Nov 27, 2023 |
|
274: Avoid All Robots
|
Nov 13, 2023 |
|
273: Lies
|
Oct 30, 2023 |
|
272: Spoiler Policy
|
Oct 16, 2023 |
|
271: Nachos
|
Oct 02, 2023 |
|
270: Relay FM Podcastathon Special
|
Sep 26, 2023 |
|
268: Sigh
|
Sep 18, 2023 |
|
269: The Worst
|
Sep 04, 2023 |
|
267: Hiatus
|
Aug 22, 2023 |
|
266: AI Camerabot
|
Aug 07, 2023 |
|
265: Frown
|
Jul 24, 2023 |
|
264: Cookie Dough
|
Jul 07, 2023 |
|
263: Shade
|
Jun 26, 2023 |
|
262: Keys
|
Jun 12, 2023 |
|
261: Buildings
|
May 29, 2023 |
|
260: Dish v. Plate (revisited)
|
May 15, 2023 |
|
259: Ports
|
May 01, 2023 |
|
258: Beach
|
Apr 17, 2023 |
|
257: Island
|
Apr 03, 2023 |
|
256: Stepmom
|
Mar 20, 2023 |
|
255: Ice
|
Mar 06, 2023 |
|
254: Shoes
|
Feb 20, 2023 |
|
253: University
|
Feb 06, 2023 |
|
252: Friend of the Show
|
Jan 23, 2023 |
|
251: Happy New Year
|
Jan 09, 2023 |
|
250: Roomba Update
|
Dec 26, 2022 |
|
249: Blaine the Mono
|
Dec 12, 2022 |
|
248: The Follow-Up Episode
|
Nov 28, 2022 |
|
247: Garlic
|
Nov 14, 2022 |
|
246: Undead Zombie Spider Robots
|
Oct 31, 2022 |
|
245: Werewolves
|
Oct 17, 2022 |
|
244: House or Boat?
|
Oct 03, 2022 |
|
243: Wheels and Doors
|
Sep 19, 2022 |
|
242: A Group of Robots
|
Sep 05, 2022 |
|
241: Voltron
|
Aug 22, 2022 |
|
240: Holes in a Straw
|
Aug 08, 2022 |
|
239: Monolith
|
Jul 25, 2022 |
|
238: Electronic vs. Electric
|
Jul 11, 2022 |
|
237: Cameos
|
Jun 27, 2022 |
|
236: Stay-at-Home Moms
|
Jun 13, 2022 |
|
235: Robot Loathing
|
May 30, 2022 |
|
234: Pasta Draft
|
May 16, 2022 |
|
233: Magnetic Slime
|
May 02, 2022 |
|
232: Stillsuits
|
Apr 18, 2022 |
|
231: CAPTCHAs of South African "robots"
|
Apr 04, 2022 |
|
230: Accents
|
Mar 21, 2022 |
|
229: Friendship
|
Mar 07, 2022 |
|
228: America
|
Feb 21, 2022 |
|
227: Semi-Homemade Cooking with John Siracusa
|
Feb 07, 2022 |
|
226: Email, and Preparing the Way (for Roombas)
|
Jan 24, 2022 |
|
225: Car
|
Jan 10, 2022 |
|
224: Next Wednesday
|
Dec 27, 2021 |
|
223: Money
|
Dec 13, 2021 |
|
222: Sundays
|
Nov 29, 2021 |
|
221: Cooking
|
Nov 15, 2021 |
|
220: Popcorn
|
Nov 01, 2021 |
|
219: Camping
|
Oct 18, 2021 |
|
218: Photo
|
Oct 04, 2021 |
|
217: Floating Bridge
|
Sep 20, 2021 |
|
216: Grocery Robot Swarm
|
Sep 07, 2021 |
|
215: A Criterion of Data
|
Aug 16, 2021 |
|
214: Religious or Spiritual
|
Aug 02, 2021 |
|
213: Daylight Saving Time
|
Jul 19, 2021 |
|
212: Dishwasher
|
Jul 05, 2021 |
|
211: Rules for Watching TV
|
Jun 21, 2021 |
|
210: Burrito, Part 2 (Qdoba v. Panera)
|
Jun 07, 2021 |
|
209: Dog-Shaped Dogs
|
May 24, 2021 |
|
208: Self-Driving Cars, Part 2
|
May 10, 2021 |
|
207: Pandemic Changes (or not)
|
Apr 27, 2021 |
|
206: Relish
|
Apr 05, 2021 |
|
205: Pots and Pans
|
Mar 22, 2021 |
|
204: Peanut Butter
|
Mar 08, 2021 |
|
203: Bagel Update
|
Feb 22, 2021 |
|
202: Books
|
Feb 08, 2021 |
|
201: Apocalypse
|
Jan 25, 2021 |
|
200: Microscopic "Robots"
|
Jan 11, 2021 |
|
199: Christmas Special
|
Dec 24, 2020 |
|
198: Soda
|
Dec 14, 2020 |
|
197: Indoors
|
Nov 30, 2020 |
|
196: Video
|
Nov 16, 2020 |
|
195: Child
|
Nov 02, 2020 |
|
194: Henge
|
Oct 19, 2020 |
|
193: Puppet
|
Oct 05, 2020 |
|
192: Backup Brain
|
Sep 21, 2020 |
|
191: Game
|
Sep 07, 2020 |
|
190: Pillow
|
Aug 24, 2020 |
|
189: What We're Owed
|
Aug 11, 2020 |
|
188: Reboot
|
Jul 27, 2020 |
|
187: The Cloud
|
Jul 13, 2020 |
|
186: Gum
|
Jun 29, 2020 |
|
185: Blanket
|
Jun 15, 2020 |
|
184: Indie Developer
|
Jun 01, 2020 |
|
183: Slots and Ports
|
May 18, 2020 |
|
182: Working From Home
|
May 04, 2020 |
|
181: Camera
|
Apr 20, 2020 |
|
180: Tabs
|
Apr 06, 2020 |
|
179: Grocery Store
|
Mar 23, 2020 |
|
178: Morning
|
Mar 09, 2020 |
|
177: Walking Distance
|
Feb 24, 2020 |
|
176: Swipe Right
|
Feb 10, 2020 |
|
175: Beard
|
Jan 27, 2020 |
|
174: Reading
|
Jan 13, 2020 |
|
173: River
|
Dec 30, 2019 |
|
172: Soup, Part II
|
Dec 16, 2019 |
|
171: Dish
|
Dec 02, 2019 |
|
170: City
|
Nov 18, 2019 |
|
169: Burgers
|
Nov 04, 2019 |
|
168: Augmented Reality
|
Oct 21, 2019 |
|
167: Pet Names
|
Oct 07, 2019 |
|
166: Smart Devices
|
Sep 23, 2019 |
|
165: Leftovers
|
Sep 09, 2019 |
|
164: Cover Version
|
Aug 26, 2019 |
|
163: Family
|
Aug 14, 2019 |
|
162: Doors
|
Jul 29, 2019 |
|
161: Storefronts
|
Jul 15, 2019 |
|
160: Bacon
|
Jul 01, 2019 |
|
159: Campus Delivery Robots
|
Jun 11, 2019 |
|
158: Pants
|
Jun 03, 2019 |
|
157: Board Games
|
May 20, 2019 |
|
156: Combination Restaurants
|
May 06, 2019 |
|
155: TV and Movies
|
Apr 15, 2019 |
|
154: American Food
|
Apr 01, 2019 |
|
153: Live Action
|
Mar 18, 2019 |
|
152: Milk
|
Mar 04, 2019 |
|
151: "Chick Flick"
|
Feb 18, 2019 |
|
150: Marty the Supermarket Robot
|
Feb 04, 2019 |
|
149: Simulated Universe
|
Jan 21, 2019 |
|
148: Hacker
|
Jan 07, 2019 |
|
147: Cult
|
Dec 24, 2018 |
|
146: GIF
|
Dec 10, 2018 |
|
145: Database
|
Nov 26, 2018 |
|
144: Soup
|
Nov 12, 2018 |
|
143: Phones
|
Oct 29, 2018 |
|
142: Toasters
|
Oct 15, 2018 |
|
141: Podcasting
|
Oct 01, 2018 |
|
140: Bread
|
Sep 17, 2018 |
|
139: Planets, and also Pluto
|
Sep 03, 2018 |
|
138: Job Security
|
Aug 20, 2018 |
|
137: Nerds and Geeks
|
Aug 06, 2018 |
|
136: Programming
|
Jul 23, 2018 |
|
135: Reality TV
|
Jul 09, 2018 |
|
134: Personal Computers
|
Jun 25, 2018 |
|
133: Gnocchi
|
Jun 11, 2018 |
|
132: Seasons
|
May 28, 2018 |
|
131: Savory Donuts
|
May 14, 2018 |
|
130: Sweaters
|
Apr 30, 2018 |
|
129: Pets
|
Apr 16, 2018 |
|
128: The Midwest
|
Apr 02, 2018 |
|
127: Potato Chips
|
Mar 19, 2018 |
|
126: Vacation
|
Mar 05, 2018 |
|
125: Cheesecake
|
Feb 19, 2018 |
|
124: The Trolley Problem
|
Feb 07, 2018 |
|
123: Janet from "The Good Place"
|
Jan 22, 2018 |
|
122: Night (bark) Joggers (bark)
|
Jan 08, 2018 |
|
121: Holidays and Holiday Movies
|
Dec 25, 2017 |
|
120: Death
|
Dec 11, 2017 |
|
119: Life
|
Nov 27, 2017 |
|
118: Ice Cream
|
Nov 13, 2017 |
|
117: Brunch
|
Oct 31, 2017 |
|
116: Salad
|
Oct 16, 2017 |
|
115: Barbecue
|
Oct 02, 2017 |
|
114: Smoothie
|
Sep 18, 2017 |
|
113: Art
|
Sep 04, 2017 |
|
112: Donuts
|
Aug 21, 2017 |
|
111: Artificial Intelligence
|
Aug 07, 2017 |
|
110: Anime and Kaiju
|
Jul 24, 2017 |
|
109: Sport
|
Jul 10, 2017 |
|
108: Condiments and Favorite Foods
|
Jun 26, 2017 |
|
107: Science Fiction
|
Jun 12, 2017 |
|
106: Computer Chips
|
May 29, 2017 |
|
105: Canonical Bagel Flavors
|
May 15, 2017 |
|
104: Pizza Toppings
|
May 02, 2017 |
|
103: Pizza
|
Apr 17, 2017 |
|
102: Sandwiches
|
Apr 03, 2017 |
|
101: Supervillains
|
Mar 20, 2017 |
|
100: The Robot
|
Mar 06, 2017 |
|
99: Your Hosts
|
Feb 27, 2017 |
|
98: Human Beings
|
Feb 20, 2017 |
|
97: Captchas
|
Feb 13, 2017 |
|
96: The Gate at Jabba's Palace
|
Feb 06, 2017 |
|
95: Autonomous Sailboats
|
Jan 30, 2017 |
|
94: Shardik
|
Jan 23, 2017 |
|
93: Nintendo R.O.B.
|
Jan 16, 2017 |
|
92: Pronunciation
|
Jan 09, 2017 |
|
91: Naked Robotic Core
|
Jan 02, 2017 |
|
90: Mechagodzilla
|
Dec 26, 2016 |
|
89: Battlebots
|
Dec 19, 2016 |
|
88: School Babies and CPR Dummies
|
Dec 12, 2016 |
|
87: K5 Mall Robot
|
Dec 05, 2016 |
|
86: The Hosts of "Westworld"
|
Nov 28, 2016 |
|
85: The Bicentennial Man
|
Nov 21, 2016 |
|
84: Metal Mario
|
Nov 14, 2016 |
|
83: Kayaks
|
Nov 07, 2016 |
|
82: The Borg
|
Oct 31, 2016 |
|
81: The Energizer Bunny
|
Oct 24, 2016 |
|
80: Tachikoma and Fuchikoma
|
Oct 17, 2016 |
|
79: SpaceX
|
Oct 10, 2016 |
|
78: Hot Dogs
|
Oct 03, 2016 |
|
77: Daft Punk
|
Sep 26, 2016 |
|
76: Animals in "Blade Runner"
|
Sep 19, 2016 |
|
75: Bubo
|
Sep 12, 2016 |
|
74: Gort
|
Sep 05, 2016 |
|
73: Cartoons
|
Aug 29, 2016 |
|
72: Robots from "Castle in the Sky" and "The Iron Giant"
|
Aug 22, 2016 |
|
71: RoboCop
|
Aug 15, 2016 |
|
70: The Robots of "Futurama"
|
Aug 08, 2016 |
|
69: Tron
|
Aug 01, 2016 |
|
68: Canadarm
|
Jul 25, 2016 |
|
67: Silicone Stingray
|
Jul 18, 2016 |
|
66: Traffic lights in South Africa
|
Jul 11, 2016 |
|
65: Serena Williams
|
Jul 04, 2016 |
|
64: Rossum's Universal Robots
|
Jun 27, 2016 |
|
63: Animatronic Creatures
|
Jun 20, 2016 |
|
62b: Filesystems and Flowerpot Robots
|
Jun 18, 2016 |
|
62: General Grievous
|
Jun 13, 2016 |
|
61: Elevators
|
Jun 06, 2016 |
|
60: Inspector Gadget
|
May 30, 2016 |
|
59: The Doctor from "Star Trek: Voyager"
|
May 23, 2016 |
|
58: Synths
|
May 16, 2016 |
|
57: Baymax
|
May 09, 2016 |
|
56: The Incomparable's Logo
|
May 02, 2016 |
|
55: The Tin Woodman
|
Apr 25, 2016 |
|
54: T-1000
|
Apr 18, 2016 |
|
53: Tamagotchi
|
Apr 11, 2016 |
|
52: The Robots of "Destiny"
|
Apr 04, 2016 |
|
51: Lego Simulated Worm Toy
|
Mar 28, 2016 |
|
50: The Matrix
|
Mar 21, 2016 |
|
49: Chatbots
|
Mar 14, 2016 |
|
48: Replicants
|
Mar 07, 2016 |
|
47: Thomas and Friends
|
Feb 29, 2016 |
|
46: Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo
|
Feb 22, 2016 |
|
45: Nanobots
|
Feb 15, 2016 |
|
44: The Internet of Things
|
Feb 08, 2016 |
|
43: Daleks and Cybermen
|
Feb 01, 2016 |
|
42: Prince Robot IV
|
Jan 25, 2016 |
|
41: Burritos
|
Jan 18, 2016 |
|
40: Swimming Pool Cleaners
|
Jan 11, 2016 |
|
39: Cars (from "Cars")
|
Jan 04, 2016 |
|
38: Podcasts
|
Dec 28, 2015 |
|
37: Clockwork Droids
|
Dec 21, 2015 |
|
36: Iron Man, Ultron, and Vision
|
Dec 14, 2015 |
|
35: Herbie The Love Bug
|
Dec 07, 2015 |
|
34: Aperture Science
|
Nov 30, 2015 |
|
33: Vicki from "Small Wonder"
|
Nov 23, 2015 |
|
32: Lobot
|
Nov 16, 2015 |
|
31: robots.txt
|
Nov 09, 2015 |
|
30: Twiki and Dr. Theopolis
|
Nov 02, 2015 |
|
29: Johnny 5
|
Oct 26, 2015 |
|
28: The TARDIS
|
Oct 19, 2015 |
|
27: V'ger
|
Oct 12, 2015 |
|
26: Cylons
|
Oct 05, 2015 |
|
25: Home Appliances
|
Sep 28, 2015 |
|
24: Sasquatch
|
Sep 21, 2015 |
|
23: Space Probes
|
Sep 14, 2015 |
|
22: Hitchbot
|
Sep 07, 2015 |
|
21: Droids
|
Aug 31, 2015 |
|
20: Pinocchio
|
Aug 24, 2015 |
|
19: Marvin the Paranoid Android
|
Aug 17, 2015 |
|
18: Commander Data
|
Aug 11, 2015 |
|
17: The Terminator
|
Aug 03, 2015 |
|
16: Siri
|
Jul 27, 2015 |
|
15: The Major
|
Jul 20, 2015 |
|
14: Jaegers
|
Jul 13, 2015 |
|
13: Transformers
|
Jul 07, 2015 |
|
12: USS Enterprise
|
Jul 02, 2015 |
|
11: KITT
|
Jun 29, 2015 |
|
10: ASIMO
|
Jun 25, 2015 |
|
9: Assembly-Line Robots
|
Jun 22, 2015 |
|
8: Roomba
|
Jun 19, 2015 |
|
7: Telepresence Robots
|
Jun 15, 2015 |
|
6: Self-Driving Cars
|
Jun 10, 2015 |
|
5: Emotions
|
Jun 04, 2015 |
|
4: K-9
|
Jun 02, 2015 |
|
3: Darth Vader
|
May 29, 2015 |
|
2: Service Kiosks
|
May 25, 2015 |
|
1: Mr. Roboto
|
May 22, 2015 |
|
0: Origin
|
Apr 07, 2015 |