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iHeart

Robot or Not?

Robot or Not?

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.

Episodes

327: Blogs

November 10, 2025 • 5 mins

What’s a blog, and what’s a news outlet? Are Jason and John bloggers?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

326: Spiders and Other Bugs

October 27, 2025 • 2 mins

Listener Kev needs us to unpack John’s comment about “spiders and other bugs.” Does that mean spiders are bugs? And what are the other bugs? Spooky!

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

325: Wire

October 13, 2025 • 1 min

Listener Matt can’t stand it when someone calls a USB cable a wire. But what does John think?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

324: Landscaper

September 29, 2025 • 2 mins

Who scapes the lands? Who gardens the gardens? Who mows and who blows? Not us!

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

323: Pasta Roundup

September 15, 2025 • 6 mins

John fields some important questions about pasta from listeners Connor, Joshua, and Lee, including the definition of Al Dente and noodles versus pasta.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

322: Vehicle

September 1, 2025 • 2 mins

Listener Eric asks if vehicles are only motorized, and we ponder how small a thing can be before it’s not a vehicle anymore.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

321: Glass

August 18, 2025 • 3 mins

Can a drinking glass be made out of plastic? Or is it just a cup?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

320: Parasol

August 4, 2025 • 1 min

Summer is in full swing, so Listener Ken has asked us to differentiate between umbrellas and parasols.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

319: Market

July 21, 2025 • 2 mins

Listener Marc ponders the “VR headset market” and wants to know what makes a market a market.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

318: Charger

July 7, 2025 • 2 mins

Listener Eric really needs his kids to differentiate between charger blocks and charging cables.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

317: AI Hype

June 23, 2025 • 4 mins

Listener Christian, your time has come. Is an AI Lock the same as a Smart Lock? Or a Fuzzy Logic Lock? When bicycle gear shifters are called “AI”, how do we define what any of this means? I know—let’s ask John.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

316: Spacesuits

June 9, 2025 • 4 mins

Listener Lorne asks what makes a spacesuit a spacesuit, and it gets complicated in a hurry.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

315: 10th Anniversary Episode

May 22, 2025 • 6 mins

Let’s get back to basics. We celebrate our improbable 10th anniversary with a letter from Listener Scott, who has a lot of questions about his son’s book “Science Comics: Robots and Drones.”

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

314: Bay Leaf

May 20, 2025 • 4 mins

Listener Paul doubts the efficacy of the Bay Leaf. Host John ponders the longevity of Spices. Host Jason admits to keeping spices 15 years past their expiration dates.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

313: Tech

May 5, 2025 • 3 mins

Listener Jason (not host Jason) wants to know if “non-tech items” are really tech items.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

312: Unanchored Buoys

April 22, 2025 • 3 mins

Listener Ben asks: If a Buoy is unanchored and works hard to stay where it is, is it the Roomba of the seas?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

311: Mushroombot

April 7, 2025 • 3 mins

Listener Jim wants John to weigh in on the story of the mushroom that was given a robot body, and while that does sound fascinating, the answer seems to be right there in the description.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

310: Arc

March 22, 2025 • 5 mins

Listener Victor brings us a question from another “or Not?” podcast about how many points are required to make something a story, episode, or character arc.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

309: Flying

March 10, 2025 • 4 mins

Listeners Joshua and Matthias want to know about flying in (or on) an airplane.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

308: Gibson Robot Guitar

February 24, 2025 • 1 min

Listener Jason (not that one) wants to know if the Gibson Robot Guitar is just trying to jump on the robot bandwagon as a form of fancy marketing.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

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