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

285: Theme Songs / Skip Intro

April 15, 2024 • 9 mins

We follow up on some feedback about our theme songs, and theme songs in general, while taking on whether we use the Skip Intro button when we should be listening to TV theme songs.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

It’s baseball’s Opening Day, so here’s our discussion of automated balls and strikes, also known as “Robot Umps,” how they relate to automated Hawk-Eye tennis calls, and why we won’t ever know how good human umpires could actually be.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

283: (Pizza) Pie

March 14, 2024 • 4 mins

Fresh out of the oven for Pi Day, here’s a discussion of who exactly thinks pizza is a pie.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

282: Places You've Been

March 4, 2024 • 8 mins

Do you have to leave the airport or get out of the car to claim you’ve been somewhere? (And are you under oath?)

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

281: Killer Robot

February 19, 2024 • 1 min

Listener Kent is building actual killer robots.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

280: Hat

February 5, 2024 • 4 mins

What makes a hat a hat?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

279: Streets

January 22, 2024 • 12 mins

I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside. Sometimes the streets have no name, but other times they are named roads, or avenues, or boulevards, or drives. What does it all mean? Does Jason live on a road or a drive? When we go there, we go there with you. It’s all we can do.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

278: Spatula

January 8, 2024 • 5 mins

Spatulas, scrapers, flippers, and home economics.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

277: Coffee

December 25, 2023 • 3 mins

A question about cold brew coffee makes us question everything about coffee. Is everything coffee? Probably not.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

276: Italian Ice

December 11, 2023 • 6 mins

A perfectly normal discussion of Italian Ice takes a left turn and goes into outer space, where other ices are available.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

275: Musician

November 27, 2023 • 10 mins

When is someone a musician? Are DJs musicians? And more importantly, are John and Jason musicians?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

274: Avoid All Robots

November 13, 2023 • 4 mins

Some timely news regarding a university warning its community members to “avoid all robots.”

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

273: Lies

October 30, 2023 • 4 mins

On John’s other podcast, Casey Liss often says he lied when he means he made a mistake. So what is a lie? (Trust us, we totally answer this one.)

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

272: Spoiler Policy

October 16, 2023 • 9 mins

Listener Nick wonders what John’s policy on spoilers is. (Spoilers for “Romeo and Juliet” and “Citizen Kane.”)

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

271: Nachos

October 2, 2023 • 5 mins

Hold on, John, Jason’s got this one.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

270: Relay FM Podcastathon Special

September 26, 2023 • 14 mins

Live from the Relay FM Podcastathon, Jason and special guest Stephen Hackett ask John a bunch of questions from the Robot Or Not question list. Topics include: Toast, Roadkill, Sandwich Order of Operations, Garage, and Cereal Soup. Please donate to St. Jude and help move us one step closer to the day where no child dies from cancer.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell with Stephen Hackett.

Mark as Played

268: Sigh

September 18, 2023 • 4 mins

Listener Jamie wonders whether his dog is really sighing. We discuss noises dogs make. Also, after posting our previous episode we realized we got the numbering of the podcast out of order. Sigh.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

269: The Worst

September 4, 2023 • 2 mins

Listener Andrew is worried that things we say are “the worst” are really just bad.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

267: Hiatus

August 21, 2023 • 3 mins

Listener Magnus is concerned that his favorite podcast is on hiatus. When is something on hiatus and when is it cancelled?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

266: AI Camerabot

August 7, 2023 • 8 mins

Finally we talk about robots again. If a robot controls a camera, is it a camera robot?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.

Death, Sex & Money

Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Crime Junkie

If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.

Start Here

A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.

Advertise With Us

Robot or Not?

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}285: Theme Songs / Skip Intro

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}284: ⚾️ Robot Umps ⚾️

283: (Pizza) Pie

282: Places You've Been

281: Killer Robot

280: Hat

279: Streets

278: Spatula

277: Coffee

276: Italian Ice

275: Musician

274: Avoid All Robots

273: Lies

272: Spoiler Policy

271: Nachos

270: Relay FM Podcastathon Special

268: Sigh

269: The Worst

267: Hiatus

266: AI Camerabot

Popular Podcasts

285: Theme Songs / Skip Intro

284: ⚾️ Robot Umps ⚾️