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PODCAST

Robot or Not?

John Siracusa and Jason Snell

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.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

2:30

364: Wood-Fired Food Truck

Robot or Not? ·

2026/10/05

Listener Gregory makes us wonder if pizza made, not in a truck, but in a separate wood-fired oven trailer, is a food truck… or perhaps something else? Hosts John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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3:21

340: Out of Pocket

Robot or Not? ·

2026/03/23

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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5:39

327: Blogs

Robot or Not? ·

2025/11/10

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

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1:26

325: Wire

Robot or Not? ·

2025/10/13

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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2:23

324: Landscaper

Robot or Not? ·

2025/09/29

Who scapes the lands? Who gardens the gardens? Who mows and who blows? Not us! John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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5:40

310: Arc

Robot or Not? ·

2025/03/22

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.

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4:13

306: Roomba-like Items

Robot or Not? ·

2025/01/27

In the end, the Grain Weevils and robot lawn mowers come for us all. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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2:39

287: Autonomous Excavator

Robot or Not? ·

2024/05/16

Listener Ivan sent in a link to an autonomous excavator that assembled a six-foot wall out of rocks. Is it the Roomba of construction materials?! John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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9:54

284: ⚾️ Robot Umps ⚾️

Robot or Not? ·

2024/03/28

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.

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1:48

281: Killer Robot

Robot or Not? ·

2024/02/19

Listener Kent is building actual killer robots. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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4:02

280: Hat

Robot or Not? ·

2024/02/05

What makes a hat a hat? John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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12:50

279: Streets

Robot or Not? ·

2024/01/22

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.

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5:44

278: Spatula

Robot or Not? ·

2024/01/08

Spatulas, scrapers, flippers, and home economics. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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3:12

277: Coffee

Robot or Not? ·

2023/12/25

A question about cold brew coffee makes us question everything about coffee. Is everything coffee? Probably not. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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6:35

276: Italian Ice

Robot or Not? ·

2023/12/11

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.

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10:50

275: Musician

Robot or Not? ·

2023/11/27

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

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4:45

274: Avoid All Robots

Robot or Not? ·

2023/11/13

Some timely news regarding a university warning its community members to “avoid all robots.” John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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4:03

273: Lies

Robot or Not? ·

2023/10/30

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.

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9:33

272: Spoiler Policy

Robot or Not? ·

2023/10/16

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

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5:16

271: Nachos

Robot or Not? ·

2023/10/02

Hold on, John, Jason’s got this one. John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

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291 results

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