Robot or Not?

Hosted by 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.

Latest Episode: August 4, 2025

320 Parasol

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

Previous Episodes

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    July 21, 2025
    319 Market

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

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    July 7, 2025
    318 Charger

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

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    June 23, 2025
    317 AI Hype

    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.

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    June 9, 2025
    316 Spacesuits

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

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    May 22, 2025
    315 10th Anniversary Episode

    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.”

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    May 20, 2025
    314 Bay Leaf

    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.

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    May 5, 2025
    313 Tech

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

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    April 22, 2025
    312 Unanchored Buoys

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

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    April 7, 2025
    311 Mushroombot

    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.

  • Robot or Not? cover art
    March 22, 2025
    310 Arc

    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.

See All Episodes…