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

340: Out of Pocket

March 23, 2026 • 3 mins

Listener Tom really wants us to explain what it means if someone is “out of pocket.” This leads to some existential questions about the pocket and the people who may not be in it.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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339: Can

March 16, 2026 • 4 mins

Listener Niels follows on from the logical question of if a glass can be made of plastic to ponder what makes a can a can.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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338: Facial Hair

March 9, 2026 • 1 min

Listener Justin tries to get us to stretch the definition of “facial hair” beyond the beard.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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337: Shirt

March 2, 2026 • 2 mins

Listener Roy brings us into his debate with his teenage son about what makes a shirt a shirt.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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336: Building

February 23, 2026 • 2 mins

Listener Jack wants to know if a few famous gates and statues are also buildings.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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335: Pop-Tart Pie

February 16, 2026 • 4 mins

Listener Gregory thinks Pop-Tarts are pies. We have ratio questions. Also: We remember so many burned palates caused by calzones and McDonald’s fruit pies.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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334: Open-Faced Sandwiches and French Bread Pizzas

February 9, 2026 • 6 mins

Listener Gregory tries to confuse us with a question about open-faced sandwiches and pizza. We largely ignore him and talk about different ways to eat things that are like pizza, but aren’t quite pizza.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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333: Scrolling

February 2, 2026 • 3 mins

Listener Scott’s wife sure has a strange definition of which way is up.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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332: Basement

January 26, 2026 • 6 mins

Listener Joel has discovered some Canadians referring to the first floor of a two-story house as a “basement.” Does this defy all reason? How low must you go to be a basement?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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331: Supercars and Hypercars

January 12, 2026 • 11 mins

Host John Siracusa asks himself to discuss the difference between Supercars and Hypercars, while Jason looks on.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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330: Sleigh

December 29, 2025 • 3 mins

The difference between a slegh and a sled.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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329: Charger follow-up

December 15, 2025 • 6 mins

Listener William challenges our ruling about chargers and we get deep into the weeds of car charging.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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328: Hoodie

December 1, 2025 • 7 mins

Stephen Hackett has called us out and requests John’s ruling.

John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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